Tightrope (1984)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Richard Tuggle

Writer:

Richard Tuggle (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 August 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A cop on the edge...

Plot:

Wes Block is a detective who's put on the case of a serial killer. His victims are young and pretty women...

Plot Keywords:

Killer | Victim | Rape | Detective | Murder

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Capt. Wes Block
Geneviève Bujold	...	Beryl Thibodeaux
Dan Hedaya	...	Det. Molinari
Alison Eastwood	...	Amanda Block
Jenny Beck	...	Penny Block (as Jennifer Beck)
Marco St. John	...	Leander Rolfe
Rebecca Perle	...	Becky Jacklin
Regina Richardson	...	Sarita
Randi Brooks	...	Jamie Cory
Jamie Rose	...	Melanie Silber
Margaret Howell	...	Judy Harper
Rebecca Clemons	...	Girl with Whip
Janet MacLachlan	...	Dr. Yarlofsky
Graham Paul	...	Luther
Bill Holliday	...	Police Chief
John Wilmot	...	Medical Examiner
Margie O'Dair	...	Mrs. Holstein
Joy N. Houck Jr.	...	Swap Meet Owner
Stuart Baker-Bergen	...	Blond Surfer
Donald Barber	...	Shorty
Robert Harvey	...	Lonesome Alice
Ron Gural	...	Coroner Dudley
Layton Martens	...	Sgt. Surtees
Richard Charles Boyle	...	Dr. Fitzpatrick
Becki Davis	...	Nurse
Jonathan Sachar	...	Gay Boy
Valerie Thibodeaux	...	Black Hooker
Lionel Ferbos	...	Plainclothes Gus
Eliott Keener	...	Sandoval
Cary Wilmot Alden	...	Secretary
David Valdes	...	Manes
James Borders	...	Carfagno
Fritz Manes	...	Valdes
Jonathan Shaw	...	Quono
Don Lutenbacher	...	Dixie President
G. Wood	...	Conventioneer (as George Wood)
Kimberly Georgoulis	...	Sam
Glenda Byers	...	Lucy Davis (as Glenda Byars)
John Schluter	...	Piazza Cop (as John Schluter Jr.)
Nick Krieger	...	Rannigan
Lloyd Nelson	...	Patrolman Restic
David Dahlgren	...	Patrolman Julio
Rod Masterson	...	Patrolman Gallo
Glenn Wright	...	Patrolman Redfish
Angela Hill	...	Woman Reporter
Ted Saari	...	T.V. News Technician

Directed by
Richard Tuggle

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Tuggle		screenplay

Produced by
Clint Eastwood	....	producer
Fritz Manes	....	producer

Original Music by
Lennie Niehaus

Cinematography by
Bruce Surtees

Film Editing by
Joel Cox

Casting by
Phyllis Huffman

Production Design by
Edward C. Carfagno

Set Decoration by
Ernie Bishop

Costume Design by
Glenn Wright

Makeup Department
Barbara Guedel	....	makeup artist
Marlene D. Williams	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Fritz Manes	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
L. Dean Jones Jr.	....	second assistant director
Paul Moen	....	second assistant director
David Valdes	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Edward Alona	....	property master (as Eddie Alona)
Airick Kredell	....	lead man
Bob Lawless	....	stand-by painter
Michael Muscarella	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Rick Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Dick Alexander)
Neil Burrow	....	sound effects editor
William Cawley	....	first assistant sound editor (2003 restoration)
Gordon Davidson	....	sound effects editor
Les Fresholtz	....	sound re-recording mixer
William B. Kaplan	....	sound mixer (as William Kaplan)
Alan Robert Murray	....	sound effects editor
Alan Robert Murray	....	supervising sound editor
Vern Poore	....	sound re-recording mixer
Chester Slomka	....	sound effects editor (as Chet Slomka)
Jules Strasser	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Joseph A. Unsinn	....	special effects (as Joe Unsinn)

Stunts
George Orrison	....	stunts
Buddy Van Horn	....	stunt coordinator
Buddy Van Horn	....	stunts
George Orrison	....	stunt double: Clint Eastwood (uncredited)
Buddy Van Horn	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Kirk Bales	....	dolly grip (as Kirk E. Bales)
Billy Bragg	....	camera operator: second unit
Sal Camacho	....	assistant camera: second unit (as Salvador Camacho)
Jack N. Green	....	camera operator (as Jack Green)
Leo J. Napolitano	....	assistant camera (as Leo Napolitano)
Víctor Pérez	....	best boy electric
Marsha Reed	....	still photographer
Charles Saldana	....	key grip
Bruce D. Spellman	....	second grip (as Bruce Spellman)
Tom Stern	....	gaffer
Johnny Walker	....	assistant camera (as John Walker)
Jeff Wolf	....	assistant camera: second unit

Casting Department
Phyllis Huffman	....	casting executive

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Deborah Hopper	....	wardrobe: women (as Deborah Ann Hopper)
Glenn Wright	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Jack Garsha	....	color timer
John Morrisey	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Donald Harris	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Keith Dillin	....	transportation captain
H. William Miller	....	transportation coordinator (as Bill Miller)

Other crew
Marco Barla	....	unit publicist
Paul A. Calabria	....	animal handler (as Paul Calabria)
Judie Hoyt	....	assistant to producers
Linda Sony Kinney	....	production secretary
Michael Maurer	....	auditor
Lloyd Nelson	....	script supervisor
Elise Ganz	....	studio teacher (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Malpaso Company, The
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1987) (USA) (TV)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1984) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1985) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Sandrews (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (Spain)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Australia:M | Canada:18+ (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 | South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1984) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Malpaso Company, The

Trivia:

This is the first Clint Eastwood film with a score composed by Lennie Niehaus. Although Niehaus had orchestrated Jerry Fielding's Escape from Alcatraz (1979) a few years earlier, this was the first of 14 movies Niehaus has so far scored for Eastwood.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Despite shooting on location in New Orleans, not one person in this movie has a regional Louisiana, New Orleans, or Cajun accent.

Quotes:

Wes Block: Twenty-eight years ago I borrowed 40 dollars from my father, packed up an old, beat up suitcase, took a bus and came here. I was seventeen at the time. While I walked through the French Quarter, I looked out over the Mississippi and swore I'd never leave.
Beryl Thibodeaux: Ever come close?
Wes Block: Only once. When I looked down and saw that the suitcase was missing.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Tatort: Märchenwald (#1.576)" (2004)

A primal Effort

Clint Eastwood plays the typical tough cop this time around in New Orleans but has secrets. What starts as an interesting crime case and a question of Clint's character drags into an overlong boring venture as the same thing that happens at the beginning continues after 90 of the 115 minutes. TIGHTROPE may add a new dimension to the typical Clint Eastwood character, but it is anything but beneficial.

A girl from the red light district is murdered. As night cop and detective, but supporting single father of two, Wes Block is on the case, but his weaknesses may also tie into the murder as the bodies are starting to pile up.

Exploring the dark side of human nature is a natural thing in Hollywood. A cop on the edge as much as Block is is a basic and easy way to convey the message. Very little to no artistic quality or direction in TIGHTROPE. The dark settings and scenery are reminiscent stuff of the early 80s (THE TERMINATOR, BLADE RUNNER). If TIGHTROPE was far more straight to the point it might be a bit more watchable than it is.

A primal effort by Eastwood to act in something besides an oater or shooter. Sadly the "available light" photography left much of the movie in the dark -- literally. It scored a plus in the shock-horror department with a shot of the housekeeper's body inside the clothes dryer. Suspense builds around the prospects of Eastwood's daughter being kidnapped by the killer.A not particularly memorable film, but it got him to New Orleans.