Chains of Gold

Last updated
Chains of Gold
Chains Of Gold.jpg
GenreAction
Crime
Drama
Written byJohn Petz
Linda Favila
Anson Downes
John Travolta
Directed by Rod Holcomb
Starring
Music by Trevor Jones
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producers Jonathan D. Krane
Don Schain
Production location Miami
Cinematography Bruce Surtees
Dariusz Wolski
EditorChristopher Nelson
Running time95 minutes
Production companyM.C.E.G.
Budget$10 million [1]
Original release
Network Showtime
ReleaseSeptember 15, 1991 (1991-09-15)

Chains of Gold is a 1991 American made-for-television crime drama film starring and co-written by John Travolta. [2] It was directed by Rod Holcomb and included one of the early performances of Joey Lawrence, who was nominated for Young Artist Award for his role in the movie.

Contents

The film premiered on Showtime on September 15, 1991 in United States and was released theatrically in Germany. It was released to DVD on December 15, 1998.

The opening credits state that Chains of Gold is "based on actual events", though details of the actual events themselves remain difficult to pin down.

The film was shot in Miami, Florida, USA. It is the only film so far written by twice-nominated Academy Award actor John Travolta.

Plot

Scott Barnes (Travolta) is a former ad executive turned social worker living in Miami. He is also a recovering alcoholic who stopped drinking after killing his son in a drunk-driving crash. One of his cases is Tommy (Joey Lawrence) a street kid who has been selling crack for an organization called the Youth Incentive Program (YIP). Barnes is unaware of this, but suspects something when Tommy buys expensive gifts for his mother and sister. He also notices the YIP tattoo on Tommy's arm.

Tommy is kidnapped by YIP and forced to package crack into vials in an abandoned building with many other children. After Tommy does not come home for several days, his sister calls the morgue and they inform her he is dead. Barnes goes to the morgue to identify Tommy, but discovers it is not him, although he sees the YIP tattoo on the corpse. While trying to find Tommy, he witnesses a shootout where one of the gunmen has a YIP tattoo. He goes to see Sgt. Palco (Bernie Casey), who tells him about YIP. Barnes, convinced Tommy has been kidnapped by YIP, then talks to the head of the narcotics division, Lt. Ortega (Hector Elizondo) who tries to convince him to stay away from the gang.

While looking for Tommy in the streets, Barnes notices the YIP henchman James (Ramon Franco) and follows him to a nightclub. There, he meets his old girlfriend Jackie (Marilu Henner) and is shocked when he sees her speaking to James. After sleeping together, Barnes learns Jackie is a lawyer for YIP and tells her he wants to get into the organization to rescue Tommy. After some consternation, Jackie tells Barnes that YIP is willing to induct him as a member.

Barnes goes to meet with Carlos (Benjamin Bratt), the head of YIP, who wants him to help expand the organization into the suburbs. James then shows him around the organization and leads him to the warehouse where Tommy is being held. Tommy tries escaping and is taken to the Madison House, an abandoned factory where members of YIP who commit transgressions are killed. Barnes finds out about this from one of Tommy's friends. Barnes is taken to the Madison House and sees Tommy. He then goes to see Lt. Ortega, who tells him if he interferes further, he will be charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics. One of Carlos' henchmen sees Barnes enter the police station and informs Carlos, who now believes him to be an FBI agent.

Barnes goes to see Jackie and discovers that she has been killed by Carlos' henchmen, who then attack him. Barnes escapes but is quickly kidnapped by the henchmen. He is taken to the Madison House and thrown into an elevator pit filled with alligators, but gets caught in the wiring and manages to escape. Barnes finds Carlos and the two have a fist-fight just as the police raid the building. Barnes finally manages to punch Carlos down into the elevator pit, killing him. The police arrest the rest of the YIP members and Barnes drives away with Tommy in a police car.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<i>American Ninja</i> 1985 film

American Ninja is a 1985 American martial arts action film produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus's Cannon Films. Directed by Sam Firstenberg, who specialized in this genre in the 1980s, the film stars Michael Dudikoff in the title role and is the first installment in the American Ninja franchise, followed by American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1987). It had a mixed reception, but it was a financial success, and since then, it has been considered a cult film.

<i>Staying Alive</i> (1983 film) 1983 film by Sylvester Stallone

Staying Alive is a 1983 American dance drama film and the sequel to Saturday Night Fever (1977). The film was directed by Sylvester Stallone, who co-produced and co-wrote the film with original Fever producer Robert Stigwood, and writer Norman Wexler. Staying Alive stars John Travolta, reprising his Saturday Night Fever role as Tony Manero, with Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Joyce Hyser, Julie Bovasso, Viktor Manoel and Kevyn Morrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Travolta</span> American actor

Joseph Allen Travolta is an American actor. He is the older brother of actor John Travolta.

<i>Perfect</i> (1985 film) 1985 drama film by James Bridges

Perfect is a 1985 American romantic drama film directed by James Bridges and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was written by Aaron Latham and James Bridges and is based on a series of articles that appeared in Rolling Stone magazine in the late 1970s, chronicling the popularity of Los Angeles health clubs among single people. Its story follows journalist Adam Lawrence, who is assigned to interview a successful entrepreneur accused of dealing drugs. He is then assigned to cover a second story and decides to do an exposé on fitness clubs, where he meets an aerobics instructor named Jessie Wilson, who does not have a great deal of trust in journalists. It stars John Travolta, Jamie Lee Curtis, Anne De Salvo, Marilu Henner, Laraine Newman, Matthew Reed, and Jann Wenner.

<i>Rustlers Rhapsody</i> 1985 film by Hugh Wilson

Rustlers' Rhapsody is a 1985 American comedy–Western film. It is a parody of many Western conventions, most visibly of the singing cowboy films that were prominent in the 1930s and the 1940s. The film was written and directed by Hugh Wilson, who was supposedly inspired by working at CBS Studio Center, the former Republic Pictures backlot. It stars Tom Berenger as a stereotypical good-guy cowboy, Rex O'Herlihan, who is drawn out of a black-and-white film and transferred into a more self-aware setting. Patrick Wayne, son of Western icon John Wayne, co-stars, along with Andy Griffith, Fernando Rey, G.W. Bailey, Marilu Henner and Sela Ward.

<i>Miracles</i> (1989 film) 1989 Hong Kong action film directed by Jackie Chan

Miracles is a 1989 Hong Kong action film starring and directed by Jackie Chan. The film is set in 1930s Hong Kong and is a variation of Frank Capra's Lady for a Day (1933) and Pocketful of Miracles (1961), which in turn were based on "Madame La Gimp", a 1929 short story by Damon Runyon. The film is written by Edward Tang with inputs from Chan.

<i>Kangaroo Jack: GDay U.S.A.!</i> 2004 American film

Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.! is a 2004 animated action comedy film. It is a sequel to 2003's Kangaroo Jack that is directed by Ron Myrick and Jeffrey Gatrall. Released direct-to-video in 2004, it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Castle Rock Entertainment and was distributed by Warner Home Video.

<i>One Good Cop</i> 1991 film by Heywood Gould

One Good Cop is a 1991 American crime drama film written and directed by Heywood Gould and starring Michael Keaton, Rene Russo, Anthony LaPaglia and Benjamin Bratt. Keaton portrays New York City Police Department Detective Artie Lewis, who, with his wife Rita (Russo), adopts his late partner's (LaPaglia) children and loves them as their own. He also targets one of the criminals responsible for his partner's death. He initially seeks justice for his adoptive children, but ultimately chooses retaliation by robbing his quarry to support his new family, endangering them and his career.

<i>Duel of Fists</i> 1971 Hong Kong film

Duel of Fists is a 1971 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Chang Cheh and starring David Chiang and Ti Lung. Filmed on location in Bangkok, the story concerns a Hong Kong engineer (Chiang) who goes to Thailand to find his long-lost half-brother, who is a Muay Thai boxer.

<i>Naked Came the Manatee</i> 1996 novel by Elmore Leonard

Naked Came the Manatee (ISBN 978-0399141928) is a mystery thriller parody novel published in 1996. It is composed of thirteen chapters, each written by a different Miami-area writer. It was originally published as a serial in the Miami Herald'sTropic magazine, one chapter per issue, and later published as a single novel. Its title is a reference to the literary hoax Naked Came the Stranger. The book was conceived of and edited by Tom Shroder, then editor of Tropic. Dave Barry came up with the first chapter, which was then handed to the next writer, and so on until Carl Hiaasen had to tie all the loose threads together in the final chapter. Each chapter was written on deadline for publication in the magazine.

<i>Three Girls About Town</i> 1941 film by Leigh Jason

Three Girls About Town is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Leigh Jason and starring Joan Blondell, Binnie Barnes and Janet Blair. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The story was written by Richard Carroll.

<i>Looking for Jackie</i> 2009 Chinese film

Looking for Jackie is a 2009 film directed by Gangliang Fang and Ping Jiang and written by Xuan Hua and Jiamin Wu. It is an action and family film, which tells the story of a young boy, Zhang Yishan, who sets on a journey to meet his idol, Jackie Chan.

<i>The Doorway to Hell</i> 1930 film

The Doorway to Hell is a 1930 American pre-Code crime film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Lew Ayres and James Cagney in his second film role. The film was based on the story A Handful of Clouds, written by Rowland Brown. The film's title was typical of the sensationalistic titles of many Pre-Code films. It was marketed with the tagline "The picture Gangland defied Hollywood to make!"

"Smart-Aleck Kill" is a short story by writer Raymond Chandler. It was first published in July 1934 in the magazine Black Mask.

<i>Arjun Pandit</i> (1999 film) 1999 Indian film

Arjun Pandit is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed by Rahul Rawail and produced by N. R. Pachisia. It stars Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla. The film is a remake of the 1995 Kannada-language film Om and was the thirteenth highest-grossing film of 1999. The film is also remembered for its song Kudiyan Shehar Diyan, sung by Daler Mehndi and performed by Juhi Chawla. Upon release, the film was a box office success, grossing 20 crore against a production budget of 95 million.

<i>Rangbaaz</i> (2013 film) 2013 Indian film

Rangbaaz is an Indian Bengali language action film directed by Raja Chanda and produced under the banner of Surinder Films. The film stars Dev and Koel Mallick in lead roles. It is a remake of the 2007 Telugu film Chirutha, starring Ram Charan Teja and Neha Sharma.

<i>The Boys of Ghost Town</i> 2009 American film

The Boys of Ghost Town is a 2009 American drama film directed and produced by Pablo Véliz and written by Rosalio Martinez and Manuel Garcia. It stars Danny Trejo, Marian Zapico, and Garcia. The film follows Danny Ortega's release from prison, struggles with joining civilization, love, friendship, revenge, and his eventual rise to becoming a drug lord himself.

<i>Pasión de Amor</i> (Philippine TV series) 2015 Philippine romantic drama teleserye

Pasión de Amor is a 2015 Philippine romantic drama television series based on the 2003 Colombian telenovela Pasión de Gavilanes starring Mario Cimarro, Danna García, Juan Alfonso Baptista, Paola Rey, Michel Brown and Natasha Klauss, produced by Telemundo Internacional and R.T.I. Colombia. Directed by Eric Quizon, it is topbilled by Jake Cuenca, Arci Muñoz, Ejay Falcon, Ellen Adarna, Joseph Marco, Coleen Garcia are the main protagonists, while Wendell Ramos, Teresa Loyzaga and Dante Ponce are the main antagonists of the series. The series premiered on ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida evening block and worldwide on The Filipino Channel from June 1, 2015 to February 26, 2016, replacing Inday Bote and was replaced by We Will Survive.

<i>Paradox</i> (2017 film) 2017 Hong Kong film

Paradox is a 2017 neo-noir Hong Kong action film directed by Wilson Yip, co-produced by Soi Cheang, with action direction by Sammo Hung. Written by Jill Leung and Nick Cheuk, the film stars Louis Koo as a police inspector who travels to Pattaya to search for his teenage daughter and is aided by local detectives played by Tony Jaa and Wu Yue. Along the way, he encounters the mastermind of an organ trafficking gang who colludes with a local political aide, leading to a series of hot pursuit. Paradox is the third installment of the SPL film series, following the 2005 film, SPL: Sha Po Lang and 2015's SPL II: A Time for Consequences. The film was released in China on 17 August 2017 and in Hong Kong on 25 August 2017 and has grossed US$80.84 million worldwide against a budget of US$14.5 million.

<i>After the Storm</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Guy Ferland

After the Storm is a 2001 American adventure film starring Benjamin Bratt, Mili Avital, Armand Assante, and Simone-Élise Girard. The story centers around the efforts of a group of people to salvage valuables from a sunken yacht in the Bahamas in 1933 and their schemes to betray and double-cross one another.

References

  1. Pat H. Broeske (1989-07-30). "After the 'Fever' Broke : John Travolta, a pop-culture king of the '70s, struggles to revitalize his film career". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 2022-12-18.
  2. Broeske, Pat H. (1989-07-30). "After the 'Fever' Broke : John Travolta, a pop-culture king of the '70s, struggles to revitalize his film career". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 2022-12-18. Retrieved 2023-05-27.