No Mercy (1986)

Director:

Richard Pearce

Writer:

James Carabatsos (writer)

Release Date:

19 December 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

When passion and hatred know no limits, expect no mercy.

Plot:

Maverick Chicago cop Eddie Jillette poses as a hit man to meet with someone in from New Orleans looking to have a job done...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Gunfight | Motel | Showdown | Bayou

Cast

Richard Gere	...	Eddie Jillette
Kim Basinger	...	Michel Duval
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Losado
George Dzundza	...	Captain Stemkowski
Gary Basaraba	...	Joe Collins
William Atherton	...	Allan Deveneux
Terry Kinney	...	Paul Deveneux
Bruce McGill	...	Lieutenant Hall
Ray Sharkey	...	Angles Ryan
Marita Geraghty	...	Alice Collins
Aleta Mitchell	...	Cara
Fred Gratton	...	Quiet
Dionisio	...	Pinto
Ray Brown	...	Benny Blue
Kim Chan	...	Old Asian Man

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (uncut) | Norway:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 (original rating) (cut) | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Trivia:

The car wash in the beginning of the movie still exists. It is now a Mobile Station on Elston Avenue in Chicago.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: The cat's trainer is briefly visible from under the hotel clerk's desk while Eddie and Michel are waiting for Losado.

Quotes:

Michel Duval: I'm not a whore.
Eddie Jillette: What?
Michel Duval: I'm not a whore. I've never been with anyone except Losado.
Eddie Jillette: So?
Michel Duval: I'm not a whore.

Background Better Than Story

On the surface, this film, which I like, is like dozens of other revenge-the-death-of-a-cop-partner stories. But the saving grace of the movie is the characters, and some of the dialogue.

Spoilers in the following

Eddie Jilette is a tough cop. A tough Chicago cop. But what distinguishes the film that his Captain is tougher and nastier. In a later scene in the film, the captain and Eddie are in an airport where, in the Men's washroom, after making sure that they're alone, the captain gives Eddie a weapon to kill the villain, and expects him to use it. In most such films, a tough cop usually has a captain who's either a politician or a wimp. How refreshing!

The film also has a nice touch. Eddie rents all the rooms of a hotel in Algiers. The only inhabitants were the clerk and a cat. Eddie tells the clerk to beat it, because he's expecting a showdown battle there. Shortly before the battle commences, we see the cat leave the building.

One I've watched several times and one that's in my library.