Cloak & Dagger (1984)

11-year-old Davey, whose mother is dead and whose father doesn't spend nearly enough time with him. So the boy loses himself in video games--and even has an imaginary friend, a ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Franklin

Writers:

Tom Holland (screen story), Tom Holland (screenplay),

Stars:

Henry Thomas, Dabney Coleman, Michael Murphy

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Henry Thomas	...	Davey Osborne
Dabney Coleman	...	Jack Flack / Hal Osborne
Michael Murphy	...	Rice
Christina Nigra	...	Kim Gardener
John McIntire	...	George MacCready
Jeanette Nolan	...	Eunice MacCready
Eloy Casados	...	Alvarez
Tim Rossovich	...	Haverman
William Forsythe	...	Morris (as Bill Forsythe)
Robert DoQui	...	Lt. Fleming
Shelby Leverington	...	Marilyn Gardener
Linden Chiles	...	Airport Security Chief
Robert Curtin	...	Murdoch
William Marquez	...	Airport Security Guard #1
Wendell Wright	...	Airport Security Guard #2

Storyline

11-year-old Davey, whose mother is dead and whose father doesn't spend nearly enough time with him. So the boy loses himself in video games--and even has an imaginary friend, a super-resourceful secret agent. When he accidentally comes into possession of a spy group's secret plans, and winds up on the run from them, he must learn to rely on himself and his imaginary pal to save his skin. But, in the end, Dad proves to be his real hero.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | espionage | boy | hero | imaginary friend | 

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Taglines:

It began as just another harmless game he played many times. Then top secret documents fell into his hands. And real bullets started flying. Now, he's being pursued by deadly enemies. And they're not playing around. But no one will believe his incredible story. In fact, there's only one person left that can save him... a legendary agent named Flack. And time is running out.

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Genres:

Action | Family | Adventure | Crime | Thriller | Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 August 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

El joven héroe

Filming Locations:

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Because the Atari 5200 version of "Cloak & Dagger" wasn't complete during filming, the cartridge props are actually other 5200 games with a "Cloak & Dagger" label stuck on them. The arcade game was complete by that time, and the signal was piped into Morris's monitor whenever he played. You can actually see the upright game cabinet standing next to Morris's computer setup.

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Goofs

The secret plans shown on the cartridge are at a very high resolution and include many "camera movements" such as zooms, pull-outs and pans. All of these were impossible to do on an Atari 5200.

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Quotes

Davey Osborne: Jack Flack always escapes.

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Connections

Referenced in 30 Rock: Alexis Goodlooking and the Case of the Missing Whisky (2012)

User Reviews

Come in Lady Ace...

I first saw Cloak and Dagger when a substitute teacher showed it to our 6th grade class. It was the coolest movie I'd ever seen because it was an action movie about kids who solve a mystery and save the day.

Henry Thomas is Davey Osbourne. His entire life is an imaginary world of secret spies. And to aid in his games of eluding spies and dodging secret plans of assasination, Davey defers to his wartime hero, Jack Flack, an action hero that he has turned into an imaginary playmate as well as a father figure guidance to make up for an absentee father.

But Davey soons finds himself in trouble as the imaginary world becomes a reality when he witnesses a shooting in a stairwell. But, before the victim draws his last breath, he hands Davey a Cloak & Dagger video cartridge that contains top secret plans. And, while the adults think he is just playing another game, Davey and his sassy friend Kim and Jack Flack all try to solve the crime.

It is a great movie in part because you get a peak at the imagination of a twelve-year-old-boy and, once again, because a few clever kids get to save the day. It definitely looked like a fun movie to make.