Desperate Measures (1998)

San Francisco police officer Frank Connor is in a frantic search for a compatible bone marrow donor for his gravely ill son. There's only one catch: the potential donor is convicted ... See full summary »

Director:

Barbet Schroeder

Writer:

David Klass

Stars:

Michael Keaton, Andy Garcia, Brian Cox

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Keaton	...	Peter McCabe
Andy Garcia	...	Frank Conner
Brian Cox	...	Captain Jeremiah Cassidy
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Dr. Samantha Hawkins
Erik King	...	Nate Oliver
Efrain Figueroa	...	Vargas
Joseph Cross	...	Matthew Conner
Janel Moloney	...	Sarah Davis
Richard Riehle	...	Ed Fayne
Tracey Walter	...	Medical Inmate
Peter Weireter	...	SWAT Team Commander
Keith Diamond	...	Derrick Wilson
Steve Park	...	Dr. Gosha
Steven Schub	...	SWAT in Airduct
Neal Matarazzo	...	Cell Guard

Storyline

San Francisco police officer Frank Connor is in a frantic search for a compatible bone marrow donor for his gravely ill son. There's only one catch: the potential donor is convicted multiple murderer Peter McCabe who sees a trip to the hospital as the perfect opportunity to get what he wants most: freedom. With McCabe's escape, the entire hospital becomes a battleground and Connor must pursue and, ironically, protect the deadly fugitive who is his son's only hope for survival.

---

Plot Keywords:

hospital | police | escape | prison escape | psycho thriller | 

---

Taglines:

His son needs a DNA donor to live. The clock is ticking. The only match is a vicious killer. Now all Frank Conner has to do is catch him.

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apegnosmenes kiniseis

Filming Locations:

Closed Norton Air Force Base, San Bernardino, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£349,271 (UK) (27 February 1998)

Gross:

$13,668,777 (USA) (10 April 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandalay Entertainment, Eaglepoint

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is set in San Francisco, but actually filmed in Pittsburgh. They used Grant Street in downtown Pittsburgh because it is a brick road like many of the roads in San Francisco. Also the front of the hospital is really One Mellon Bank Center located on Grant Street, the same building in the helicopter scene of Jean-Claude Van Damme's Sudden Death.

---

Goofs

Rigging to make semi trailer appear to jackknife is visible.

---

Quotes

Peter McCabe: Do you like school, Matt? I Fucking hated every minute of it.

---

Connections

References Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

---

Soundtracks

"PROUD MARY"
Written by John Fogerty (as John C. Fogerty)
Performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival

User Reviews

Garcia and Keaton are perfectly matched.

Michael Keaton and Andy Garcia are perfectly matched in this generally absorbing action thriller; you can sense right away that they had great chemistry working together, and they manage to create two characters more three-dimensional than the ones typically found in the genre. The film does have some plot holes (okay, Garcia can't kill Keaton. But why can't he shoot him in the leg or something?), and the last 20 minutes are pretty overblown, but the concept is thought-provoking and the filmmakers deserve credit for avoiding a cliched moralistic conclusion; indeed, the final scene of the film is very amusing. (**1/2)