The Ambulance (1990)

A comic-book artist meets a woman on the NY streets, but after a quick flirtation, she suddenly collapses, and is picked-up by an old ambulance. He checks all the hospitals in the area, but the woman seems to have disappeared.

Director:

Larry Cohen

Writer:

Larry Cohen

Stars:

Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Megan Gallagher

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eric Roberts	...	Josh Baker
James Earl Jones	...	Lt. Spencer
Megan Gallagher	...	Officer Sandra Malloy
Red Buttons	...	Elias Zacharai
Janine Turner	...	Cheryl
Eric Braeden	...	The Doctor
Richard Bright	...	McClosky
James Dixon	...	Detective 'Jughead' Ryan
Jill Gatsby	...	Jerilyn
Martin Barter	...	Street Gang Leader
Laurene Landon	...	Patty
Nick Chinlund	...	Hugo (as Nicholas Chinlund)
Matt Norklun	...	Ambulance Driver
Rudy Jones	...	Ambulance Driver
Stan Lee	...	Marvel Comics Editor

Storyline

Josh Baker meets a very special woman, Cheryl, in the streets of New York. Suddenly she collapses, and she's picked up by an ambulance. When Josh wants to visit her in the hospital, it appears that she hasn't been admitted in the hospital. Josh follows the roommate of Cheryl, and she disappears after a ride in the same ambulance. It's up to Josh to solve the secret behind this strange vehicle.

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Plot Keywords:

disappearance | conspiracy | investigation | amateur detective | abduction | 

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Taglines:

You'll be in perfect health before you die.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ambulance

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Epic Productions, Esparza / Katz Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kevin Hagen's last film.

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Quotes

Cheryl: They were going to sell me like an animal!

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Connections

Featured in Movie Nights: The Ambulance (2015)

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Soundtracks

Do You Want My Love
Written by Gary McLaughlin & Gavin Christopher
Performed by Gavin Christopher
Produced by Gary McLaughlin

User Reviews

Another fun Larry Cohen flick!

More and more I love the work of writer/director Larry Cohen and I can only encourage people to check out his versatile imagination. "The Ambulance" is less ambitious, comical and outrageous than some of Cohen's more famous achievements (like "God Told me To", "It's Alive" or "Q – the Winged Serpent") but it definitely is a well-elaborated and entertaining B-movie. Once again, Cohen succeeds in turning a familiar and every-day topic into an exciting and rather suspenseful thriller. Inconspicuously and well organized, a group of fake nurses and doctors drive around New York in an old-type of ambulance, picking up diabetics that suffer from a 'sudden attack'. After they're brought into the cool conveyance, they disappear and no one ever hears from them again. The womanizing comic-book artist Josh Baker coincidentally stumbles upon this suspicious organization when a broad he's been stalking for a long time is taken away in front of him. His search for the girl results in a tense and involving movie, filled with ingenious plot-twists and adorably eccentric New York-characters. The screenplay is very clever, the dialogues are well written and there isn't a dull moment in the entire movie. 'The Ambulance' isn't a horror film so the deaths aren't as sadistic as in other Cohen films and there's also the lack of pungent social criticism. Still, this is a truly cool movie that deserves a wider audience. Judging by his performance here, I'd say it's unjust that Eric Roberts' career went to waste so badly. He looks a little goofy but his lines are exhilarating and his bad-boy charisma definitely works for the character he plays. Even more amusing are the supporting roles like, for example, James Earl Jones as the weird and over-stressed copper and Red Buttons as the persistent journalist. Check it out!