One of Martin Scorsese’s favorites and, by his own admission, a major influence on Taxi Driver and The Departed, Contract centers on Claude (Vince Edwards), who enters into the assassination racket as the most sure fire path to his dream of home ownership. After several successful commissions on the East Coast, he is summoned to LA to take out ex–gangland moll Billie (Caprice Toriel), who is under heavy police protection in advance of her grand-jury testimony against her former paramour. Saddled with two grumbling bodyguards (Herschel Bernardi and Phillip Pine), Claude meticulously maps out how he's going to bump Billie off, but his killer cool starts seeping away as chance and bad luck continually foil his best laid plans.