Assassination (1987)

A presidential bodyguard is assigned to protect an objecting first lady, as repeated attempts are made on her life.

Director:

Peter R. Hunt (as Peter Hunt)

Writer:

Richard Sale

Stars:

Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Stephen Elliott

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Bronson	...	Jay Killian
Jill Ireland	...	Lara Royce Craig
Stephen Elliott	...	Fitzroy
Jan Gan Boyd	...	Charlotte Chang
Randy Brooks	...	Tyler Loudermilk
James Lemp	...	Eddie Bracken (as Erik Stern)
Michael Ansara	...	Sen. Bunsen
James Staley	...	Briggs
Kathryn Leigh Scott	...	Polly Sims
James Acheson	...	Osborne Weems
Jim McMullan	...	The Zipper
Billy Hayes	...	Pritchard Young (as William Hayes)
William Prince	...	H.H. Royce
Charles Howerton	...	President Calvin Craig
Chris Alcaide	...	Chief Justice

Storyline

Jay Killian (Charles Bronson) had been the presidential bodyguard, but for the inauguration of the recently elected president, he is assigned to the first lady, Lara Royce (Jill Ireland). Lara, a perpetually indignant, arrogantly feministic lady, initially hates the methodical and rules-following Killian, and so she does all she can to avoid him and disregard his safety procedures. The story complicates, however, when repeated attempts are made on Lara's life. Eventually, the shaken Lara decides to trust Killian's instincts and precautionary methods, and the pair embark on a difficult and often perilous cross-country journey, with the assassins close on their heels.

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Plot Keywords:

assassin | bodyguard | first lady | assassination plot | u.s. secret service | 

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Taglines:

The secret service has never been this lethal

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Assassin

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,787,449, 9 January 1987, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$6,075,793

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golan-Globus Productions, Cannon Group, Major Studio Partners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The leading male and female characters pose as a married couple to avoid unwanted notice from their terrorist pursuers; Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland actually were husband and wife at the time.

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Goofs

The college Killian tells Lara he attended does not match the diploma on his office wall.

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Quotes

Jay Killion: Charlie, get some clothes on!
Charlotte Chong: That's not what you said last night!

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Connections

Featured in Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)

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Soundtracks

March
(uncredited)
from Invasion U.S.A. (1985)
Composed by Jay Chattaway

User Reviews

Unmemorable latter-day Bronson vehicle.

In the twilight years of his career, Charles Bronson forged long-running partnerships with several directors, most notably J. Lee Thompson and Michael Winner. He did two films for one-time Bond director Peter Hunt too - the first being the decent 1981 actioner Death Hunt, the second being this indifferent political chase thriller. Assassination is pretty dull if truth be known, and come the end you'll find yourself longing for something with a bit more passion and pace, like The Wilby Conspiracy for instance (which, plotwise, this film resembles).

Bronson sleepwalks through his role as bodyguard Jay Killian, whose assignment is to protect the American President's wife, Lara Royce Craig (Jill Ireland, real-life wife of Bronson). Killian believes that Mrs Craig has been targetted by assassins; she thinks he's an over-protective, paranoid pessimist. Turns out - surprise, surprise - that Killian was right all along and someone is indeed out to eradicate her. The pair of them go on the run, pursued by the assassins.

Everyone knows that the wife of an American President is known as The First Lady. For some reason, in this film they have renamed her "One Mama"! Quite what the point of this is is anybody's guess, but it's indicative of the film's pointlessness as a whole. Most of the film's performances are lazy, and the script takes a heck of a long time to get to where it's going. If I had to label Assassination within a specific genre, I'd say it is supposed to be a "thriller". I'd say that with some reservations, however, as to say that it's a thriller it has precious few thrills.