The Domino Principle is a 1977 neo-noir thriller film starring Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, Mickey Rooney and Richard Widmark.

[3] Kramer wrote in his memoirs that he "wouldn't be surprised" if Hackman, Bergen and Widmark "would prefer to remain as anonymous as the conspirators" in the film, adding "if I'm right, it's a feeling I share.

"[4] Roy Tucker (Gene Hackman), serving time in San Quentin for the murder of his wife's first husband, is introduced to a man named Marvin Tagge by Warden Ditcher.

Tucker is initially wary of the offer and confides in his cellmate Oscar Spiventa, who warns him that he is being groomed as an expendable hitman by "them", a nameless cabal that runs the country from the shadows.

In the end, Tucker is unable to resist the prospect of reuniting with his wife Ellie and decides to accept the offer.

The two organization agents there immediately kill Spiventa and take Tucker to the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, where he meets General Tom Reser, a confederate of Tagge and Pine.

At Hollywood Burbank Airport, Tucker tells Tagge that he deliberately fired short, so he knows someone else killed the target.

Tagge reveals that two other shooters were in place, including Spiventa, who is not only still alive but was recruited in 1961; Tucker himself has been manipulated by the organization for over a decade.

", to which Tagge replies that it all depends on the man who gave the original order for the assassination: "If he panics, then the dominoes start to fall."

The couple return to Costa Rica where Tucker sees his new life dismantled as quickly as it was assembled: his false passport destroyed, his bank account emptied and Ellie run into and killed by a passing truck.

The film closes with a resolute Tucker vowing not to give up as he walks down a beach with a rifle, unaware he is in the crosshairs of yet another assassin.

"[11] In March 1976 Kramer announced he had signed a deal with Lew Grade to make two films; the first was to be The Domino Principle with Gene Hackman and Candice Bergen, and the second was to be The Sheikhs of Araby, a comedy with Sid Caesar and Don Rickles.

"[17] The film opened to mostly negative reviews and lasted only two to three weeks in theaters, dooming Kramer's first attempt at directing a thriller.

[1] The Variety review stated: "The Domino Principle is a weak and tedious potboiler starring Gene Hackman as a tool of mysterious international intrigue, and a barely recognizable Candice Bergen in a brief role as his perplexed wife.