Dead Man's Revenge (TV 1994)

Bitter and vengeful fugitive Luck Hatcher, dignified former slave turned bounty hunter Jessup Bush, and wily deputy U.S. Marshal Bodine all converge in a small town so they can hatch an ... See full summary »

Director:

Alan J. Levi

Writers:

Jim Byrnes, David Chisholm

Stars:

Bruce Dern, Michael Ironside, Vondie Curtis-Hall

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Dern	...	Payton McCay
Michael Ironside	...	Luck Hatcher
Vondie Curtis-Hall	...	Jessup Bush
Keith Coulouris	...	Tom Hatcher / Bodine
Daphne Ashbrook	...	Carrey Rose
Tobin Bell	...	Bullock
John M. Jackson	...	Beesly
Melora Walters	...	Bunny
Jack Rader	...	Hawkins
Doug McClure	...	Granger
Randy Travis	...	U. S. Marshal
Ping Wu	...	Chim Xu
Robert Cornthwaite	...	Storekeeper
Eric Boles	...	Bank Teller
Larry Cedar	...	Simmons

Storyline

Bitter and vengeful fugitive Luck Hatcher, dignified former slave turned bounty hunter Jessup Bush, and wily deputy U.S. Marshal Bodine all converge in a small town so they can hatch an intricate con in order to bring greedy and ruthless railroad speculator Payton McCay to justice.

---

Plot Keywords:

revenge plot | small western town | wild west | shootout | cowboy boots | 

---

Taglines:

Some Men Will Stop At Nothing ... To Get Revenge

---

Genres:

Western

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blutige Vergeltung

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Beesly: Sir, you look like a man of means. Maybe you'd like to purchase one of these here prints. The name's Beesly - professional photographer and visual historian, specializing in the dead.
Tom Hatcher: Dead what?
Beesly: Whatever chooses to be, sir... made eternal by the science of photochemistry. I particularly favor the criminal element as there appears to be a cultural victory in their death and a social interest in their lives. Sir, you appear to be somewhat of that caliber yourself. And if you think you might be ...
[...]

User Reviews

Film Maker's Revenge

The opening ten minutes of this 1994 western are very intense

and very violent, drawing the line between our hero and our

villain...then the film descends into a dopey wannabe comedy a la

"The Sting," and never recovers.

I cannot discuss the plot much because of all the surprise

endings and twists and turns, but here are the basics in a

nutshell: Michael Ironside is a landowner whose spread is

coveted by Bruce Dern, a railroad speculator. Dern kills Ironside's

wife and child, and throws Ironside into jail. Years later, Ironside

escapes and is tracked by bounty hunter Vondie Curtis-Hall and

U.S. marshal Keith Coulouris, who has the nicest hair of any man

in any western.

Curtis-Hall kills Ironside and collects the bounty from Dern, but

wait, read the film's title! Ironside is alive, and Coulouris is really

his son. It seems Curtis-Hall and Ironside have teamed up to stick

it to Dern, and Coulouris may not side with family when it comes to

bringing Dern in according to the law.

What follows is a very complicated con game as other cast

members are revealed to be in on the whole plan to get Dern, but

have troubles trying to keep ahead of the rich railroad magnate.

Doug McClure is along as one of Dern's clumsy henchmen in one

of his last, and most embarassing, roles.

The murder of Ironside's family in the opening minutes leads the

viewer to think this will be an intense and horrific revenge drama.

This gloom is easy to get into, as Curtis-Hall is also no smiles as

the "bounty hunter." The plot takes this one hundred and eighty

degree turn into winking comedy, and never recovers that dramatic

tension again. Ironside is so intense, he rarely seems to be in on

the joke. Curtis-Hall is harassed in the beginning of the film

because he is black, but this subplot is dropped in favor of unfunny

Newman and Redford-type antics. The film holds no surprises,

and eventually you might think things would be easier if someone

would have plugged Dern in the first act.

Country singer Randy Travis plays a small role as Coulouris'

boss, and he is stiffer than hardtack. He has a good screen

presence, but his line delivery is terrible. I have heard more

emotion from the drive thru speaker at Burger King.

Despite some good work by Ironside and Curtis-Hall (who would

go on to punish the world by directing "Glitter"), I will have to slightly

not recommend "Dead Man's Revenge."

This is rated (PG13) for physical violence, gun violence, very mild

profanity, mild sexual references, and some adult situations.