Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)

Forced by the imminent foreclosure of their friend's bar, two lifelong buddies will decide to rob a bank's armoured car, not knowing that its cargo is not money but a new street drug.

Director:

Simon Wincer

Writer:

Don Michael Paul

Stars:

Mickey Rourke, Don Johnson, Chelsea Field

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mickey Rourke	...	Harley Davidson
Don Johnson	...	Marlboro
Chelsea Field	...	Virginia Slim
Daniel Baldwin	...	Alexander
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Jimmy Jiles
Vanessa Williams	...	Lulu Daniels
Robert Ginty	...	Thom
Tia Carrere	...	Kimiko
Julius Harris	...	Old Man
Eloy Casados	...	Jose
Big John Studd	...	Jack Daniels
Tom Sizemore	...	Chance Wilder
Mitzi Martin	...	The Woman
Kelly Hu	...	Suzie
James Nardini	...	Punk with Gun

Storyline

Two lone riders and childhood friends, the rough and silent Harley Davidson and the ragged sun-baked cowboy Marlboro, assemble once more when they learn that their favourite hangout and the place where they grew up, the notorious Rock 'n' Roll Bar and Grill is facing imminent foreclosure. For this reason, against the preposterous demands for a new contract, the two lifelong buddies in unflinching determination to win back the bar, they will decide to hold up the corrupt bank's armoured car, unbeknownst to them that its cargo is not money but a new lethal and highly experimental street drug: the Crystal Dream. Now the bank wants it back and they are unstoppable. Is everything lost for Harley and Marlboro, the two well-meaning but amateurish thieves?

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Plot Keywords:

female singer | biker bar | 1922 silver dollar | sexual desire | sexual attraction | 

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Taglines:

When the going gets tough... the tough take the law into their own hands.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Harley Davidson et l'homme aux santiags

Filming Locations:

Alamo Apartments - 738 S. Sixth Ave, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$23,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,231,000, 25 August 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$7,434,726

Company Credits

Production Co:

Krisjair,Laredo,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bruce Willis was considered to play Harley Davidson in the hopes he would reunite with his good friend Don Johnson. They first worked together in Miami Vice: No Exit (1984), which was Bruce Willis's credited acting debut.

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Goofs

The Ruger Blackhawk .454 has a 5-round capacity. During the gunfight in the airplane graveyard Marlboro Man states "that gun costs about two bucks every time you fire it," then says "you spent twelve bucks and didn't hit a god***n thing." In the initial firing sequence on the DVD, Harley is only seen firing five shots, but when the camera cuts to Harley and Marlboro there already appears to be gunsmoke emitting from Harley's Ruger, which would add up to six shots before reloading.

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Quotes

Marlboro: Harley, if you were shootin' for shit you wouldn't get a whiff!

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Alternate Versions

UK cinema and video versions were cut by 2 secs by the BBFC to remove shots of a butterfly knife. The cuts were waived for the 2003 MGM DVD release.

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Connections

References Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

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Soundtracks

Wild Obsession
Performed by L.A. Guns
Written by Mick Cripps (as M. Cripps), Tracii Guns (as T. Guns), Phil Lewis (as P. Lewis),
Kelly Nickels (as K. Nickels) & Steve Riley (as S. Riley)

User Reviews

It's Better To Be Dead And Cool Than Alive And Uncool!

Here it is 2011 and I'm STILL lovin' this movie! As a matter of fact up until I looked over my IMDb history, I thought I had already reviewed it but much to my surprise I haven't. I guess that will make this review that much more better as it will be one of the more current ones.

This is one of those "you-either-get-it-or-you-don't" movies made to appeal to the egos and fantasies of the rugged alpha male. You get that sense at the opening credits as Mickey Rourke's intro scene during the opening credits makes you want to go out and ride a chopped up steel horse. It's the ultimate escape, at least for men! It's laced w/ moral fiber in that it's all about being down-and-out and still managing to drum up the where-with-all to help your fellow man. IMHO I think this movie's setbacks are through no fault of any of its creators or participants. Looking at many of the cynical reviews of movie-goers and critics of its time, it was clearly ahead of its own genre. And although many might find the title as well as some of the names of the characters to be cheesy (Virginia Slim, Jack Daniels, etc), I admire that they took the risk to acknowledge the outlaw, anti-hero biker image through images of Americana. I also read somewhere (probably on this site) that Rourke did this movie out of desperation which doesn't help a new viewer go in w/ a favorable attitude. Hopefully Mickey can look back and appreciate this piece of work like much of us do. I've still yet to see Butch & Sundance but now I'm inspired to check out Redford and Newman's piece even if it's just for the similarities that many reviewers have suggested.

I guess it comes down to the fact that this is much like anything else in that it isn't for everybody. Perhaps the audience it was intended for has dwindled substantially (if it's ever really been out there). But if that's so, we can always take comfort in knowing that we have something we can truly appreciate w/o having to be fashionable.