Deadly Force * (1983, Wings Hauser, Joyce Ingalls, Paul Shenar, Al Ruscio) – Classic Movie Review 13,048

Wings Hauser stars as vigilante ex-cop Stoney Cooper chasing a serial killer, in the pretty deadly, violent 1983 action thriller film Deadly Force.

‘When the cops won’t, and the courts can’t…Stoney Cooper will give you justice!’

Director Paul Aaron’s 1983 film Deadly Force is a pretty deadly, violent police action thriller, with most of the clichés known to the genre served up half-reheated: disgraced cop, serial killer, estranged wife etc.

Wings Hauser brings little conviction to the part of a vigilante disgraced former police officer named Stoney Cooper, afflicted with the usual catalogue of troubles from his separated spouse (Joyce Ingalls), cop buddy (Lincoln Kilpatrick) and a crazed serial murderer he is chasing in Los Angeles. The serial killer has murdered a friend’s daughter, so Cooper goes private detective and vigilante to bring the killer to justice.

The film’s main problem, though, is the generic screenplay by Ken Barnett, Barry Schneider and Robert Vincent O’Neil, which feels rather stale and second hand, but it manages to pack in enough action.

Could you even get a more generic movie title than Deadly Force? Even so, that’s better than the original title Fierce Encounter.

The cast include Wings Hauser, Joyce Ingalls, Paul Shenar, Al Ruscio, Arlen Dean Snyder, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Bud Ekins, and Estelle Getty from the Golden Girls!.

Wings Hauser and producer Sandy Howard had worked together on Vice Squad (1982). They were hoping for a Dirty Harry-style series, but no sequels followed.

Deadly Force is directed by Paul Aaron, runs 95 minutes, is made by Force Productions, Sandy Howard Productions, Hemdale and Transpacific Media Productions, is released by Embassy Pictures (US) and Entertainment Film Distributors (UK), is written by Ken Barnett, Barry Schneider and Robert Vincent O’Neil, is shot by Norman Leigh and David Meyers, is produced by Sandy Howard, and is scored by Gary Scott.

The film was released on July 8, 1983, by Embassy Pictures.

The cast are Wings Hauser as Stoney Cooper, Joyce Ingalls as Eddie Cooper, Paul Shenar as Joshua Adams, Al Ruscio as Sam Goodwin, Arlen Dean Snyder as Ashley Maynard, Lincoln Kilpatrick as Otto Hoxley, Bud Ekins as Harvey Benton, J. Víctor López as Diego, Hector Elias as Lopez, Ramón Franco as Jesus, Gina Gallego as Maria, Big Yank as Jefferson, Estelle Getty as Gussie, Victoria Vanderkloot as Beverly, Richard Beauchamp as Tony the Bomber, Paul Benjamin as Lester, Bill Berry as Jack, Eddie Braun as Eduardo, Flo Di Re as Stenographer, BJ Davis as Marty, and Ned Eisenberg as Rat Game Owner.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,048

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