Road House (1989)

A tough bouncer is hired to tame a dirty bar.

Director:

Rowdy Herrington

Writers:

R. Lance Hill (story) (as David Lee Henry), R. Lance Hill (screenplay) (as David Lee Henry)

Stars:

Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patrick Swayze	...	Dalton
Kelly Lynch	...	Doc
Sam Elliott	...	Wade Garrett
Ben Gazzara	...	Brad Wesley
Marshall R. Teague	...	Jimmy (as Marshall Teague)
Julie Michaels	...	Denise
Red West	...	Red Webster
Sunshine Parker	...	Emmet (as 'Sunshine' Parker)
Jeff Healey	...	Cody
Kevin Tighe	...	Tilghman
John Doe	...	Pat McGurn
Kathleen Wilhoite	...	Carrie
Travis McKenna	...	Jack
Roger Hewlett	...	Younger
Kurt James Stefka	...	Hank

Storyline

Serene and laconic, yet powerful and lethal, Dalton is an expert in martial arts and the best professional bouncer in the business. With such a reputation, Dalton is summoned in a small town in Missouri to clean up the sleazy bar called The Double Deuce from the troublemakers who terrorize the customers, without knowing, however, that the villainous local entrepreneur, Brad Wesley, wants things to remain unchanged. As Dalton cleans up the nightclub, and with it, the town from Wesley's hired goons, a deep wound from a knife will inspire a passionate affair with local Dr. Elizabeth "Doc" Clay. Now, the corrupt Wesley has enough reasons to take Dalton out of the way, nevertheless, the bouncer has the final say.

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Plot Keywords:

wet g string contest | female frontal nudity | leg spreading | having sex with skirt hiked up | woman disrobing | 

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Taglines:

Dalton lives like a loner, fights like a professional. And loves like there's no tomorrow.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

18

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

6 July 1989 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

El duro

Filming Locations:

24650 Arch St, Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,957,656, 21 May 1989

Gross USA:

$30,050,028

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$30,050,028

Company Credits

Production Co:

Silver Pictures, Star Partners II Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie's humor is somewhat intentional. Director Rowdy Herrington said he wanted to make the fights "like a Keystone Cops melee".

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Goofs

When Dalton stabs Ketchum with his own knife then uses his body as a shield from a upper shot gun blast, then throws Ketchum's body to the floor before throwing the knife into guy with the shotgun, which causes another shot to fired which would've hit Dalton cause the shotgun didn't move any during that scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bouncer Checking IDs: [to Frank Tilghman, as he enters the Bandstand] Go ahead, sir.

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Crazy Credits

While the end credits are rolling, the house band does one more number.

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Alternate Versions

The UK cinema version was intact, although the video release was cut by 10 seconds by the BBFC to remove a knee kick, a double ear-clap and a groin punch. Dialogue about felling enemies by kicking them in the knee was also removed. The cuts were waived in 2001 for the DVD release.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Enter the Ninja (2016)

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Soundtracks

Good Heart
Written by Maria McKee
Produced by Jimmy Iovine
Performed by Kris McKay
Courtesy of Arista Records

User Reviews

A Real Man Gets All The Chicks

When I sat down to watch this older film the first thing I noticed was that nearly all the women are hot, and the beginning has some of the best manly action ever.

Overall the movie was pretty good, if you like nubile chicks and strong men this movie is for you. If you like feminism you have a female doctor who is strong, know what she wants and immediately gets on her back for Dalton too. Win win..