Vigilante Force (1976)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

George Armitage

Writer:

George Armitage (written by)

Release Date:

25 April 1978 (Norway)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They called it God's Country... until all hell broke loose!

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam Veteran | California | Small Town | Oil Worker | Explosion

Cast

Kris Kristofferson	...	Aaron Arnold
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Ben Arnold
Victoria Principal	...	Linda Christopher
Bernadette Peters	...	Little Dee
Brad Dexter	...	Mayor Bradford
Judson Pratt	...	Harry Lee
David Doyle	...	Homer Arno
Antony Carbone	...	Freddie Howe
Andrew Stevens	...	Paul Sinton
Shelly Novack	...	D.O. Viner
Paul Gleason	...	Michael J. Loonius (as Paul X. Gleason)
John Steadman	...	Shakey Malone
Lilyan McBride	...	Boots Linden
Jimmy Lydon	...	Tom Cousy (as James Lydon)
Peter Coe	...	Lu Murietta

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:(Banned) | UK:X (theatrical rating) (uncut) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 | Australia:R | Finland:(Banned) | Norway:16 (1978) | Norway:18 | Sweden:(Banned) | USA:PG | UK:18 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company:

Chateau Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the showdown on the ranch, Viner climbs up an oil rig. When he gets shot, he falls down and the crash mat is visible.

Soundtrack:

Take Me To Morning

Jan-Michael Vincent at his best!

When this film came out in 1976, Jan-Michael Vincent was at the height of his popularity, though Kris Kristofferson got top billing, Vincent actually steals this movie from Kristofferson. Showing leading man appeal, Vincent shows if given above-average material he could more than carry a movie, though dated, Vigilante Force was a typical blue-collar, mid-70's movie, as previously stated, town police along with Vincent bring in Kristofferson and his buddies to clean-up the town, but then using their power for their own personal gains, Vincent tries to give his brother the benefit of the doubt, until he realizes he now has to drive them out of town or kill them. This movie was probably the peak of Vincent's big screen career, it's hard to believe this movie didn't elevate Vincent to super-star status, though Vincent had a fine run as an actor in the 70's, mainstream appeal evaded Vincent and though he appeared in Burt Reynold's "Hooper" in 1978, by the end of 1979, Vincent's star had fallen and he was relegated to low-budget B movies, eventually turning to T.V. to revive his flagging career.