Chains of Gold (1990)

A Miami social worker, Scott, helps a fatherless boy. When the boy goes missing, Scott looks for him everywhere, incl. in a crack dealing gang.

Director:

Rod Holcomb

Writers:

John Petz, Linda Favila

Stars:

John Travolta, Marilu Henner, Joey Lawrence

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Travolta	...	Scott Barnes
Marilu Henner	...	Jackie
Joey Lawrence	...	Tommy
Bernie Casey	...	Sergeant Falco
Hector Elizondo	...	Lieutenant Ortega
Benjamin Bratt	...	Carlos
Ramón Franco	...	James
Conchata Ferrell	...	Martha Burke
Tammy Lauren	...	Rachel Burke
Raphael Rey Gomez	...	Bobby
Jack Lam	...	Che Che
Anson Downes	...	Ed
Will Knickerbocker	...	Donaldson
Jafari Dunn	...	Pedro
John Archie	...	Vincent

Storyline

Scott Barnes is an alcoholic turned social worker hellbent on saving a young boy named Tommy from self-destructing when he finds out he has begun selling crack in an organization called YIP, run by Carlos.

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Plot Keywords:

social worker | drugs | undercover | written by star | psychotronic film | 

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Taglines:

In the war on drugs... he was their secret weapon!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cadenas de oro

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Management Company Entertainment Group (MCEG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in 1989 for a theatrical release, but debuted on cable television.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Cut-Throats Nine (2014)

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Soundtracks

Fun House

User Reviews

A bold idealist.

John Travolta is social worker Scott Barnes, a person adamant about keeping the kids of some innercity area of California from giving into the rampant drug circles that work the street. He's been working the job for so long, he knows the dealers by name, and they know him.

The job gets personal when a close friend of his, a 13 year old boy named Tommy (Joey Lawrence), starts dealing. Unfortunately, Tommy has already become much more involved in the "Youth Incentive Program," which is the name for the dangerous clan of cocaine dealers that run the area. Travolta figures that he owes it to Tommy to help him, seeing this as an opportunity to redeem himself after having accidentally killed his only son in an accident where Scott was drunk.

Scott, the bold idealist that he is, goes undercover in one of the most dangerous drug rings (which reminds me a lot of Shredder's underground gang from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie), hoping that he can rescue Tommy from their grips before it's too late.

Though the message is good, considering it is a powerful statement especially where kids are messing up their lives in being hooked on this stuff (they run like rats in the daylights to protect their stash) because they're sold on the false philosophy that they'll become filthy rich. Likewise, it illustrates the failures of the system as Scott tries so hard for other government agencies to help him out and put an end to the mess that he's witnessed for so long. But, it does in part seem a little too unrealistic, detracting from the importance of this message somewhat, as Scott, by himself, tries to disguise himself and his motives from a very ruthless leader (Benjamin Bratt) and his even more ruthless gang of drug dealing thugs. When the stakes are high, these guys will do whatever it takes to protect their product and their money. But is Scott able to do much more to protect Tommy?