"The Human Factor" was made in 1975, which means it's turning 40 years old this year. And yet, the themes and several aspects that feature here are still painfully relevant nowadays as well. I'm writing this user-comment in January 2015, not even two weeks after the cowardly terrorist attack in Paris, France, and still during the aftermath of numerous terror alerts all across Europe. The film centers on American families being the unwary and innocent targets of ruthless Italian left-wing terrorists. Whether for political or religious reasons, embassies and authorities in various countries are still protecting their compatriots that work abroad out of fear for kidnapping or murder. It's truly sad to see that the world hasn't changed one bit and that humanity is still as selfish and extreme as it ever was. But hey, I'm just supposed to write a review… The final project of director Edward Dmytryk, who was particularly famous in the forties & fifties thanks to movies like "Crossfire" and "The Caine Mutiny", is a tense and engaging action/thriller with a handful of harshly violent sequences and a remarkable lead role for veteran actor George Kennedy. He stars as NATO computer specialist John Kingsdale, working in Naples and playing computer games with his friendly colleague most of the time. But when he returns home to his beloved wife and three children one night, they have been viciously massacred by unknown assailants for an unknown reason. After the funeral the deeply saddened John hesitates one moment to shoot himself through the head, but he shoots the TV-screen instead and vows to personally track down his family's killers. With the help of his colleague and their computer equipment, John discovers that he deals with a group of terrorists that invade the homes of American families through responding to newspaper ads. He prevents another massacre, but meanwhile John himself is also chased by the local authorities. "The Human Factor" is an overall very solid vigilante/revenge thriller. The script is occasionally tedious and confusing due to all the computer slang, especially during the first half of the film, but this is widely compensated during the explosive final act, with a furious battle in a Naples' backstreet alley and a gritty finale inside a crowded supermarket. Several people pointed out that George Kennedy was an odd choice to play the mad avenger, but he's a terrific all-around actor and brings more realism to the part. If, for example, Charles Bronson would have played John Kingsdale, "The Human Factor" would have been more stereotypical and a lot less persuasive. Recommended!

Edward Dmytryk ended his feature directorial career with this rather routine action film which is a little sluggish. The Human Factor was hardly the kind of film that a celebrated director should have gone out on. After all, Dmytryk has such classics as Murder My Sweet, Crossfire, and The Caine Mutiny to his credit.George Kennedy is our hero/protagonist who has his wife and three children executed by terrorists who made his the first targeted family of an extortion plan to kill an American family every three days if the USA does not pony up some large coin of the realm.As Kennedy is a computer programmer working and living in Rome he has access to some real intelligence gathering machinery. Colleagues like John Mills and Rita Tushingham help. Kennedy upsets Italian police inspector Raf Vallone with his pro-active approach and doing his own investigation.The Human Factor is a slow paced film, but it does have a nice action packed climax where Kennedy takes care of business the way Dirty Harry Callahn would. You'll enjoy if you can wait that long.

I generally don't care for revenge films but this was a rare exception! I did not see it when it was first released, but a few years later while I was working as an American ex-patriot in Saudi Arabia. My family and children were with me in Saudi, and we lived on the local economy, as George Kennedy did in the movie. This movie really hit home with me and a lot of other ex-pats that were overseas at the time! It showed how vulnerable we really were living in a foreign country where we were quite often resented for even being there! I've always been a George Kennedy fan, even though he's probably not the greatest actor of all time. He's a very likable and believable actor that consistently does a good job! I give him and this film both of my thumbs up! I highly recommend this film to anyone that is even thinking about taking a job in a foreign country!

Having just finished reading Maltin's one line summary of this film, I have to assume that he didn't see it, or has forgotten it if he did. "A violent, bloody chronicle..." he opines. Any man who truly loved his family would become violent and would spill the blood of those who took away his most cherished things on earth, his wife and children. I saw this film during it's initial release in Europe in 1975 and it gave me an enhanced appreciation for my family. I highly recommend it and will purchase it on DVD if it's available. The only reason I don't already own this film is I'd forgotten the title over the years. Thanks to the staff of IMDb for the excellent filmographies that allow searches of this type.