Assault in Paradise (1977)

A Native American travels around a resort town, murdering cops and rich people with a high-powered crossbow, while demanding that the town's richest residents pay him money to stop the killings.

Director:

Richard Compton

Writers:

John C. Broderick (screenplay), John C. Broderick (story)

Stars:

Oliver Reed, Deborah Raffin, James Mitchum

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oliver Reed	...	Nick McCormick
Deborah Raffin	...	Cindy Simmons
James Mitchum	...	Tracker (as Jim Mitchum)
Stuart Whitman	...	William Whitaker
John Ireland	...	Chief Haliburton
Paul Koslo	...	Victor
Arch Archambault	...	Insp. Davey
Robert Lussier	...	Wolf
Dennis Redfield	...	Jackson
Kipp Whitman	...	Officer Steiner
Bill Allen	...	Carson the Butler
Daniel Knapp	...	T.J. Caulfield
Shatka Bearstep	...	Red Sky (as Shatka Bear-Step)
Richard Michael Alexander	...	Larry Owens
Richard Ellman Kennedy	...	Texan

Storyline

In the town of Paradise, Arizona, shady land deals enrich a handful of select few. The town's mayor and sheriff are corrupt and aware of the land schemes. Incensed by this, native-American Victor plans to extort money from the rich as punishment for the land they stole. He starts by killing two local cops with his crossbow. He leaves a note claiming the rich must pay a ransom or die. He demands 1 million dollars to be delivered within 24 hours. The Chief of police, Haliburton, contacts local businessman William Whitaker and they decide to keep the whole thing confidential. They don't want the Press or the Feds involved since it could reveal the local land frauds. Instead, they hire private security investigator Nick McCormick, who advises them to pay out the ransom. The town boasts the largest number of millionaires in the country. Most of them agree with the plan to pay up the ransom and keep things under wraps. They are accused by the local media of being like a 'white-collar mafia'...

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | killing | helicopter | hostage | corruption | 

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Taglines:

They called it paradise - but it was Hell on Earth!

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Maniac!

Filming Locations:

Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Inter-Ocean Films, Sunset Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A year later Oliver Reed would work with James Mitchum's dad Robert in The Big Sleep.

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Connections

Featured in Paul Koslo on 'Maniac!' (2016)

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Soundtracks

Victor's Theme: 'Shoot Him'
Performed and Written by Roger McGuinn and Patrick Ferrell
Produced by Roger McGuinn and Patrick Ferrell

User Reviews

Movie maniacs can stand the boredom as much as this film does.

This killer MANIAC is an Injun who brings down two cops with an arsenal of arrows, only to be wanted and captured by local authorities. Want to find out the rest of the story? Then sit back and stay comfy out of this dumb and boring thriller that reveals a wrongful identity of lameness. Otherwise, I've just saved you a great deal of 90 minutes from this! And no, this isn't the Caroline Munro bloodbath classic that would consume your everyday life forever.