Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986)

Bounty hunter Nick Randall (Rutger Hauer) is offered two hundred fifty thousand dollars by the C.I.A. to get the terrorist behind the bombing of a Los Angeles, California movie theater. Nick quit the C.I.A. because he couldn't trust them. Can they be trusted now, and can he stop the terrorists?

Director:

Gary Sherman

Writers:

Michael Patrick Goodman, Brian Taggert

Stars:

Rutger Hauer, Gene Simmons, Robert Guillaume

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rutger Hauer	...	Nick Randall
Gene Simmons	...	Malak Al Rahim
Robert Guillaume	...	Philmore Walker
Mel Harris	...	Terry
William Russ	...	Det. Danny Quintz
Susan MacDonald	...	Louise Quintz
Jerry Hardin	...	John Lipton
Hugh Gillin	...	Patrick Donoby
Robert Harper	...	Dave Henderson
Eli Danker	...	Robert Aziz
Joseph Nasser	...	Hasson
Suzanne Wouk	...	Jamilla
Gerald Papasian	...	Abdul Renza (as Gerald Papasyan)
Nick Faltas	...	Amir
Hammam Shafie	...	Chemical Expert

Storyline

This movie features a character who is a descendant of the character played by Steve McQueen in the television series of the same name. And like McQueen's Josh Randall, Hauer's Nick Randall is also a bounty hunter and also an ex-C.I.A. operative, who is asked by his former employer to help them track down a terrorist Malak Al Rahim (Gene Simmons), who is in the country, and has already made a move. But he is also looking for Randall, and the people, for whom Randall is working, are telling Malak where he can find Randall.

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Plot Keywords:

telephone booth | payphone | pay phone | cia central intelligence agency | terrorist | 

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Taglines:

He's America's most lethal weapon, a living grenade waiting to explode. Someone has just pulled the pin.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was released twenty-eight years after the original television series, Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958), debuted.

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Goofs

About a third of the way through, Nick and other policemen are trying to disarm a suspect holding seven sticks of dynamite only 100 feet away. The dynamite explodes much less than it should; seven sticks of dynamite would level a house, and everyone would have to be at least 300 feet away to avoid serious injury or death.

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Quotes

Morrison (City Desk): [answering phone] Hello, Morrison, City Desk...
Malak Al Rahim: [calculating] This is Malak Al Rahim.
Morrison (City Desk): [laughing and typing name into computer]
Malak Al Rahim: Let me save you some confusion, Mr. Morrison, there are going to be a number of people phoning tonight to claim responsibility for what I am about to do...
Morrison (City Desk): [reading from computer search] Malak Al Rahim is supposed to be in South Yemen... how do I know it's really you?
Malak Al Rahim: [pressing his hand print onto the phones glass window] You'll know it's me... I'm standing outside a Fox Cinema....
[...]

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Alternate Versions

There exist two different version on videotape. One where Malak Al Rahim dies at the end, by having his head blown off, and one where this doesn't happen. The ending where Rahim doesn't die, is very tame, since the picture just fades to black, and then fades back in, with Randaal sitting somewhere pondering his fate.

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Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: Our VHS Collection (2019)

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Soundtracks

You Are My Sunshine
Written by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell

User Reviews

Hauer is the good guy this time

After making his mark playing vicious characters in NIGHTHAWKS, THE HITCHER and FLESH + BLOOD, Rutger Hauer plays the hero in a solid action thriller,set in LA. While it is not as slick as the first LETHAL WEAPON movie, it is still quite witty and entertaining. Gene Simmons gives an understated, menacing performance as the terrorist and there's some good action.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wanted Dead or Alive

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,845,836, 18 January 1987

Gross USA:

$7,555,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,555,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

New World Pictures, Balcor Film Investors

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1