The Patriot (1986)

Director:

Frank Harris

Writers:

Katt Shea
Andy Ruben

Release Date:

25 July 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

One man stands between unstoppable terrorist and unthinkable destruction.

Plot:

Agent tries to track down terrorists who are intercepting government nuclear weapons. |

Plot Keywords:

Nuclear Weapons | M 16 | Patriot | African American | Murder By Gunshot

Cast

Gregg Henry	...	Lieutenant Matt Ryder
Simone Griffeth	...	Sean
Michael J. Pollard	...	Howard
Jeff Conaway	...	Mitchell
Stack Pierce	...	Atkins
Leslie Nielsen	...	Admiral Frazer
Glenn Withrow	...	Pink
Larry Mintz	...	Bite
Diane Stevenett	...	Maggie
Anthony Caldarella	...	Eight Ball
Mike Gomez	...	Kenwood
Larry Moss	...	Devon
Smith Osbourne	...	Rosa
Sally Brown	...	Girl in Bar
Mike Muscat	...	Pool Room Bully
Lorin Jean Vail	...	Howard's Girl (as Lorin Vail)
Gene Lehfeldt	...	Shore Patrol
Gary Kalpakoff	...	Rig Worker
B.L. Foley	...	Crane Operator
Andy Lentz	...	Party Guest
Rick McCallum	...	Hairy Hand
Peter Griffin	...	Kregg Guard
Ron Adams	...	Radio Dispatcher
Ross Borden	...	Navy Officer
Jacqueline Jacobs	...	Bar Fly
King Williams	...	Diver #1
Paul Nielsen	...	Diver #2
Jack Spinney	...	Diver #3
Terry Hite	...	Diver #4
Bill Agin	...	Agin Brothers Band
Dick Agin	...	Agin Brothers Band
Denny Hale	...	Agin Brothers Band
Dan Agin	...	Agin Brothers Band
Jeff Agin	...	Agin Brothers Band
Richard Diaz	...	Agin Brothers Band

Directed by
Frank Harris

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Andy Ruben
Katt Shea		(as Katt Shea Ruben)

Produced by
Michael Bennett	....	producer
Diane S. Harris	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Jay Ferguson

Cinematography by
Frank Harris

Film Editing by
Richard E. Westover

Casting by
Paul Bengston
David Cohn

Art Direction by
Brad Einhorn

Set Decoration by
Tori Nourafchan

Costume Design by
Robin Lewis West

Makeup Department
Tena Austin	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Scott Javine	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Scott Javine	....	first assistant director
William Shea	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Brent Scrivener	....	property maker
Mick Strawn	....	property maker
Peter A. Tullo	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Glenn E. Berkovitz	....	sound mixer
Gail Clark Burch	....	adr editor
Jeffrey J. Haboush	....	sound re-recording mixer
Randy Honaker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Adam Johnston	....	supervising sound editor
Debbie Pinthus	....	boom operator
Greg P. Russell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steve Sollars	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Fred Cramer	....	special effects

Stunts
John Barrett	....	stunt coordinator
John Barrett	....	stunts
Darwin Benjamin	....	stunts
Bud Davis	....	stunts
Kane Hodder	....	stunts
Steve Hulin	....	stunts
Alan Marcus	....	associate stunt coordinator
Alan Marcus	....	stunts
Gary Pike	....	stunts
Rick Prieto	....	stunts
Víctor Quintero	....	stunts
Cheyenne Rivera	....	stunts
Charlie Skeen	....	stunts
Lucy Wardle	....	stunts
Bobby Burns	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Frank Harris	....	grip
Loren Hillebrand	....	best boy
Gary Kalpakoff	....	camera operator
Gene Lehfeldt	....	gaffer

Editorial Department
Sara Lineberger	....	assistant film editor
Kathleen Minks	....	telecine coordinator
Ray Morfino	....	color timer
Jeff Taylor	....	editorial consultant
Pamela Winn-Barnett	....	assistant film editor (as Pamela Winn)

Music Department
Budd Carr	....	music supervisor
Joanne Weiss	....	music coordinator
Richard E. Westover	....	music editor

Other crew
Randi Feldman	....	script supervisor
Alan Z. McCurdy	....	production coordinator
Curtis Paine	....	production assistant
Evie Treen	....	aerial coordinator
Woody Treen	....	diving coordinator
Steven J. Wolfe	....	production executive (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Crown International Pictures
• Patriot Productions

Distributors

• Aquarius TV (2006) (Greece) (TV)
• Astro Distribution (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• BCI Eclipse (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Crown International Pictures
• MTC Video (1987) (Greece) (VHS)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Rhino Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• VPS Film-Entertainment GmbH (1986) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Vestron Video (video)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Australia:M | Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Santa Barbara, California, USA

Company:

Crown International Pictures

Quotes:

Pink:It sure doesn't look like much.
Atkins:One of these got fifteen times the punch as the one we dropped on Hiroshima.
Pink:What's a Hiroshima?

Soundtrack:

HULLY GULLY

Gregg Henry was there before either Mel Gibson or Steven Seagal...

...as THE PATRIOT, a former Navy SEAL, now turned biker, who is called upon by his old pals in the Navy to help stop evil underwater smugglers, who are stealing nuclear weapons and use them for bad purposes (as if there were any good purposes anyway).

Now, while most people don't know who the heck Gregg Henry is, some of you might remember him as the main bad guy villain from "PAYBACK", which coincidentally starred "the other Patriot", Mel Gibson (so that movie was unofficially "The Battle of the two Patriots"). In that movie, Henry was really doing what he does best, which was being a unsympathetic number one A-hole (he also played similar A-hole roles in "SLITHER", "BALLISTIC" and "BODY DOUBLE"). In this movie however, he's our main hero - the guy we're supposed to root for and identify with - and he actually succeeds by mere default, as all the other (male) characters in this movie are either sleazy scumbags, stupid criminals, military personnel, or simple retards. So, unless you're a woman, or rooting for Admiral Frazer (played by Leslie Nielsen in probably his *least* funny role ever - and also one of the smallest roles ever, only getting two short scenes), then Lieutenant Matt Ryder aka The Patriot is your guy.

The female lead, Sean, is played by Simone Griffeth, whom most of us probably only know from "DEATH RACE 2000" where she played Annie "Paine" Smith, and after that he career slowly but surely faded away, this movie being one of the final nails in the coffin, even though she actually did a good job here, playing a woman torn between two men - the other one being navy-guy Mitchell, played by the crazy-lookin' Jeff Conaway (from "TAXI" and "CELEBRITY REHAB"-fame), probably during his mid-80s substance abuse period, as he looks strung-out throughout the entire film.

Ryder and Sean go out to sea to hunt down the bad guys, with only the assistance of their helicopter-pilot pal Kenwood (Mike Gomez, "Cojones" from "HEARTBREAK RIDGE"), and loony buddy Howard (Michael J. Pollard of "BONNIE AND CLYDE"-fame), who is only in a handful of scenes, and randomly disappears before the great raid at the end, not to be seen or heard from again. I've no idea why he got 3rd billing in this movie, as his role was so short and completely redundant.

The bad guys are a mixed bag of nuts, not really led by anyone it seems (but we find out in the end who their "leader" supposedly is). The 2nd hand man is a bad-ass mo-fo played by Stack Pierce (who was a regular in other Frank Harris'-movies, and also got a nice part in "WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S II"), who has two simpleminded henchmen, Pink (played by Glenn Withrow, who's probably the least successful actor from "THE OUTSIDERS") and Bite (Larry Mintz aka 'Knobby' from "BURGLAR"). Also among the bad guys is a lunatic who goes by the name "Eight Ball" (played by Anthony Caldarella, who hasn't done anything memorable apart from this turkey), who mostly just stands around with his hands in his pockets, angrily staring at Ryder and making crude remarks for no apparent reason, until the end where they have a big showdown on the oil rig, where most of the action takes place.

Anyway, if you like this movie, you may also enjoy other Frank Harris-directed action-flicks, like "LOW BLOW" or "KILLPOINT", who along with this movie all are available in a DVD-box set called "10 MAXIMUM ACTION MOVIES", where I got it from.

I give it 5/10 because it was neither the worst b-movie I've seen, nor was it one of the best, but the action was decent, and the actors were interesting cast, so it was a good enough time-killer for me.