American Roulette (1988)

Carlos Quintas, the democratically-elected president of an unnamed South American country, has been deposed by a military coup. He is in London, the head of a government in exile, rallying ... See full summary »

Director:

Maurice Hatton

Writers:

Maurice Hatton, Pablo Neruda (poetry)

Stars:

Andy Garcia, Kitty Aldridge, Guy Bertrand

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andy Garcia	...	Carlos Quintas
Kitty Aldridge	...	Kate Webber
Guy Bertrand	...	Ruben
Ricardo Sibelo	...	Miguel
Lino Omoboni	...	Alfonso
Ben Onwukwe	...	Hi-jacked Van Driver
Peter Guinness	...	Policeman
Sheila Burrell	...	Raul's Neghbour
Alfredo Michelsen	...	Ramon
Carola Palacios	...	Inez
Adolpho Cozzi	...	Paco
Gloria Romo	...	Raul's Widow
Yves Aubert	...	Reporter at ICA
Robert Stephens	...	Screech
Juanita Waterman	...	Zoe

Storyline

Carlos Quintas, the democratically-elected president of an unnamed South American country, has been deposed by a military coup. He is in London, the head of a government in exile, rallying international support. He is also a poet of talent and reputation, in love with Kate, his assistant, who has a secret of her own and keeps Carlos at a distance. The generals have a team of professionals in London bent on kidnap and assassination. Hovering around Carlos are two Russians, who may be KGB, an American book publisher, who may be CIA, an elusive Brit, probably from her majesty's secret service, and his own few supporters. Is Carlos doomed? Whom can he trust?

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Plot Keywords:

president | poet | exile | secret agent | political assassination | 

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 1988 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Amerikai rulett

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Screen Productions, Channel Four Films, Mandemar Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

User Reviews

Black - You like it, Red, you don't!

Actually a collaboration between Australia and the U.S. this was originally conceived as a telemovie, but received theatrical release instead.

Garcia is reliably good as always as Carlos Quintas, the deposed South American President currently in London looking for someone to support his cause. (No-one has causes like the South Americans!) His mind is only half on his job...the other half on his assistant Kate (played by Kitty Aldridge). On the periphery are a handful of questionably loyal individuals who could be either CIA, KGB, or rejects from a Bond movie!

The plot doesn't matter, the film doesn't matter, but its all in good fun and eminently watchable. Brit actress Susannah York appears as herself. David Freeman and Buck Henry served as back-up script consultants for AMERICAN ROULETTE.