Malone | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Harley Cokeliss (as Harley Cokliss) |
Screenplay by | Christopher Frank Rudy Wurlitzer (uncredited) |
Based on | Shotgun by William P. Wingate |
Produced by | Leo L. Fuchs |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Gerald Hirschfeld |
Edited by | Todd Ramsay |
Music by | David Newman |
Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $10 million [1] |
Box office | $3,060,858 |
Malone is a 1987 American action thriller film starring Burt Reynolds in the eponymous role alongside Cliff Robertson, Cynthia Gibb, Lauren Hutton, Scott Wilson, and Kenneth McMillan. It is an adaptation of William P. Wingate's novel Shotgun, written by Christopher Frank and Rudy Wurlitzer, and directed by Harley Cokeliss (credited under his birth name Harley Cokliss).
Richard Malone is a covert CIA operative specializing in assassinations, but has grown disillusioned with his line of work and suddenly resigns, much to the chagrin of his superiors. Malone begins driving aimlessly before his Ford Mustang breaks down in a rural Oregon valley. Malone pushes it to a gas station and garage owned by Paul Barlow, who runs the station with his 17-year-old daughter Jo. Barlow suggests the fastest way to repair the car is to tow it 60 miles to a larger service station. Malone opts to wait for the necessary parts to arrive. Paul invites Malone to stay in the spare room. Malone and Paul become friends as they discuss their respective military service in the Vietnam War.
Jo snoops through Malone's possessions, finding a handgun. Malone helps Paul with his repair work and sizes up the town, which is under the thumb of Charles Delaney, who buys up all the property he can and forces people to sell if they first refuse. Outwardly a respectable and affluent businessman, Delaney is, in fact, a white nationalist leading a group of terrorist cells throughout the country, turning the property he buys into havens for his cause. A group of Delaney's thugs harass Malone and Jo on a bridge and refuse to let them pass. Malone defends himself when he is attacked. He severely beats the ringleader, Dan Bollard, sending him to the hospital. Dan's brother, Calvin, is goaded into killing Malone by Delaney's right-hand man Madrid. Calvin tries to shoot Malone at the local barber shop, but Malone shoots and kills Calvin instead.
While Sheriff Hawkins is holding Malone at the jail, Delaney breezes in to introduce himself. Delaney tells the sheriff to let him go, then orders Madrid to arrange a hit on Malone. The next day, two hitmen come to the service station. Malone kills both with a shotgun that he had concealed in his room, but is badly wounded in the shootout. Hawkins instructs a deputy to drive Malone to the hospital. The deputy drives offroad, with Malone bouncing in the back seat. Realizing that the deputy is trying to kill him, Malone grabs the wheel and crashes the car.
Once he’s in the hospital, Malone's CIA handler Jamie arrives — sent by her superiors to assassinate Malone (by poisoning him) before Malone is wounded. They hole up together in a safe house where they rekindle their romance.
When Malone goes to pick up his car from the Barlows, Madrid leads an attack on the safe house. Jamie shoots one of the attackers but is captured by Madrid and his thugs. Madrid tortures Jamie to find out where Malone is located. She refuses to break and Madrid murders Jamie by suffocating her with a plastic bag. Malone returns to find Jamie's body with the bag still around her head.
An angry Malone soon infiltrates Delaney's sprawling compound, killing the henchmen, including Madrid, to avenge Jamie's death. Delaney retreats to his secret command center, where he tells Malone that he is part of a vast conspiracy of like-minded "patriots" who are buying up land and electing Congressmen to retake the country from "mongrels". Malone proceeds to kill Delaney and blow up his compound, then walks away, burning his Virginia driver's license.
The film was based on the novel Shotgun by William Wingate, which was published in 1980. The New York Times wrote "There is nothing at all new in" the book "but Mr. Wingate tells his story very well, and there is something in all of us that responds joyously to the sight of an avenging angel destroying bullies and the forces of evil." [2]
Reynolds was paid $3 million for the role. He said at the time:
I was attracted to Malone because I thought there was a chance the movie might be more than a guy running away from his past. Let's be honest. The film is Shane . I am an ex-CIA man whose car breaks down in a small town who then gets close to a family and attempts to battle a Lyndon LaRouche character played by Cliff [Robertson]. I'm not doing Clint in Pale Rider . There's a little bit of Stallone from First Blood in this, but I'm not playing the damaged-goods-guy Sly became in Rambo . Just to show you how movies change, Gérard Depardieu and Christopher Lambert at one point were going to play Malone. I wonder how this guy got rewritten into me. [3]
It was a difficult period in Reynolds' career. His last few films had been flops, there were rumors he had AIDS, and he was being sued for punching director Dick Richards on his previous film. [4]
"Riding shotgun" was a phrase used to describe the bodyguard who rides alongside a stagecoach driver, typically armed with a break-action shotgun, called a coach gun, to ward off bandits or hostile Native Americans. In modern use, it refers to the practice of sitting alongside the driver in a moving vehicle. The coining of this phrase dates to 1905 at the latest.
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. was an American actor and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series, such as Gunsmoke (1962–1965), Hawk (1966), and Dan August (1970–1971). He had leading roles in films, such as Navajo Joe (1966) and 100 Rifles (1969), and his breakthrough role was as Lewis Medlock in Deliverance (1972).
Cannonball Run II is a 1984 American action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds and an all-star cast, released by Warner Bros. and Golden Harvest. The film is the second installment of the Cannonball Run trilogy and a sequel to The Cannonball Run (1981). Like the first film, it is set around an illegal cross-country race.
Smokey and the Bandit is a 1977 American action comedy road film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams, and Mike Henry. The film marks the directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham.
Navajo Joe is a 1966 spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Burt Reynolds as the titular Navajo Indian who opposes a group of bandits responsible for killing his tribe.
Rattlers is a 1976 horror film starring Sam Chew, Elisabeth Chauvet, Tony Ballen, Dan Priest, Ron Gold, Darwin Joston, and Gary Van Ormand. The film was produced, directed and co-written by John McCauley. Harry Novak, head of Boxoffice International Pictures was the executive producer. The film features an early score by Golden Globe nominated film composer Miles Goodman.
Stroker Ace is a 1983 American action comedy sport film directed by Hal Needham and starring Burt Reynolds as the eponymous Stroker Ace, a NASCAR driver.
White Lightning is a 1973 American action film directed by Joseph Sargent, written by William W. Norton, and starring Burt Reynolds, Jennifer Billingsley, Ned Beatty, Bo Hopkins, R. G. Armstrong and Diane Ladd. It marked Laura Dern's film debut.
Sharky's Machine is a 1981 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Burt Reynolds, who stars in the title role. It is the film adaptation of William Diehl's 1978 novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Gerald Di Pego. It also stars Vittorio Gassman, Brian Keith, Charles Durning, Earl Holliman, Bernie Casey, Henry Silva, Darryl Hickman, Richard Libertini, Rachel Ward and Joseph Mascolo.
Heat is a 1986 American neo-noir dramatic action thriller film about an ex-mercenary working as a bodyguard in Las Vegas. The film was written by William Goldman, based on his 1985 novel of the same name. Heat was directed by Dick Richards and Jerry Jameson. The film stars Burt Reynolds, Karen Young, Peter MacNicol, Howard Hesseman, Neill Barry and Joseph Mascolo.
The Squaw Man is a 1931 American pre-Code Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It was his third time filming the same play but the first in sound. It stars Warner Baxter in the leading role.
Uphill All The Way is a 1986 American comedy Western film directed by Frank Q. Dobbs and starring Roy Clark, Mel Tillis, Glen Campbell, Burl Ives, Trish Van Devere, Elaine Joyce, Frank Gorshin and Sheb Wooley. The film has developed a very small cult following among Western fans.
Skullduggery is a 1970 American adventure film directed by Gordon Douglas produced by Saul David and starring Burt Reynolds, Susan Clark. It is based on the French novel Les Animaux dénaturés (1952) by Jean Bruller.
The Day the Ponies Come Back is a 2000 French/American drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg.
The Guy from Harlem is a 1977 American blaxploitation film directed by Rene Martinez Jr.
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys is a 1969 American comedy Western film directed by Burt Kennedy. It stars Robert Mitchum and George Kennedy.
Masquerade is a 1965 British comedy thriller film directed by Basil Dearden based on the 1954 novel Castle Minerva by Victor Canning. It stars Cliff Robertson and Jack Hawkins and was filmed in Spain.
Safe House is a 2012 American action thriller film directed by Daniel Espinosa, written by David Guggenheim, and starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. The film follows Matt Weston (Reynolds), a CIA officer on a low-level posting in Cape Town, South Africa, who is in charge of a safe house where the CIA is interrogating Tobin Frost (Washington), a veteran operative accused of betraying the agency. When the safe house is attacked by mercenaries, Weston flees with Frost in his charge. As the team of killers, who seem to be one step ahead of the pair, track them throughout Cape Town, Weston wonders who to trust. Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Rubén Blades, Nora Arnezeder and Robert Patrick co-star.
Fuzzy Settles Down is a 1944 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield.
William P. Wingate was an author. His work includes the novel Shotgun, which was adapted into the 1987 film Malone starring Burt Reynolds.