The Defiant Ones (1986)

Remake of the 1958 classic, in which two convicts of different color must cooperate in order to survive when they manage to escape a chain gang sentence.

Director:

David Lowell Rich

Writers:

James Lee Barrett (screenplay), Nedrick Young (story) (as Nathan Douglas)

Stars:

Robert Urich, Carl Weathers, Ed Lauter

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Urich	...	Johnny 'Joker' Johnson
Carl Weathers	...	Cullen Monroe
Barry Corbin	...	Floyd Carpenter
Ed Lauter	...	Sheriff Leroy Doyle
Laurie O'Brien	...	Pauline
Thalmus Rasulala	...	Fred
William Sanderson	...	Mason
Ritch Brinkley	...	Lonny
Ebbe Roe Smith	...	Deputy Miller
Wil Wheaton	...	Clyde
Charles Bartlett	...	Jeffcoat
Richard Fullerton	...	First Guard
Bob Harris	...	Driver

Storyline

Carl Monroe and 'Joker' Johnson share some things: They are both in jail and they both hate each other. After a fist fight the are going to be put into an other jailhouse by car. They come to blows so wild that their transport has an accident. They manage to escape chained to each other, still hating each other and the sheriff hunting them.

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Plot Keywords:

unlikely friendship | police | fistfight | single mother | on the run | 

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Taglines:

Two escaped cons. Men with nothing in common but two centuries of hate. And one foot of chain steel.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wil Wheaton filmed his scenes in between foot surgeries.

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Connections

Referenced in Quantum Leap: Unchained - November 2, 1956 (1991)

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Soundtracks

There's a Man Going Round Takin' Names
(uncredited)
Performed by Carl Weathers with Robert Urich

User Reviews

The story of two men in jail who escaped when they were going to be transferred into another place

This is a remake of the famous film of 1958 starred by Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier, i.e. a white and black men who hated each other but at the end both understood that their reason and means to escape are the same and it did not matter with the skin color. Weathers although not Poitier as an actor was close in his performance to Sidney. I cannot say the same about Robert Urich who was very far to be at the same level as Tony Curtis. Again here color and photography were much better than the version of 1958, but nothing else.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Defiant Ones

Company Credits

Production Co:

MGM Television, Stormy Weathers Production, Urich Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1