Wedlock (1991)

A male prison escapee heads for his hidden loot electronically attached to a female prisoner.

Director:

Lewis Teague

Writer:

Broderick Miller

Stars:

Rutger Hauer, Mimi Rogers, Joan Chen

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rutger Hauer	...	Frank Warren
Mimi Rogers	...	Tracy Riggs
Joan Chen	...	Noelle
James Remar	...	Sam
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Warden Holliday
Basil Wallace	...	Emerald
Grand L. Bush	...	Jasper
Denis Forest	...	Puce
Glenn Plummer	...	Teal
Belle Avery	...	Deborah
Ismael 'East' Carlo	...	Chief Officer
Ed Crick	...	Sergeant #1
Zaid Farid	...	Policeman #1
Richard Gilbert-Hill	...	Security Guard #2
Colin Hamilton	...	Minister

Storyline

Frank (Rutger Hauer has been convicted of stealing millions of dollars of diamonds which have not been recovered. In his uni-sex prison, each inmate has an unknown partner; when the two are separated by more than 100 yards, an explosive collar kills both inmates. Frank and his female partner escape and head for the money, but they are hotly pursued by his double-crossing colleagues.

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Plot Keywords:

diamond | prison | escape | on the run | money | 

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Taglines:

Break-Ups Are Hard ... But Divorce is Deadly!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong violence, and for language

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 September 1991 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Deadlock

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles River, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), Incorporated Television Company (ITC), Spectacor Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The concept of convicts wearing explosive collars around their necks, which will explode if they get one hundred yards outside the prison, or separate from their "Wedlock" partner, was recycled from The Running Man (1987), in which Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and other convicts wore explosive collars around their necks, which would explode if they tried to escape, and if the perimeter was not deactivated.

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Goofs

Obvious stunt doubles for Frank and Tracy when falling in the river from the hill during their jail escape.

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Quotes

Frank: Can I be frank with you? You couldn't turn me on if I had a switch.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits end with the sounds of the wedlock collar's warning alarm and an explosion.

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Alternate Versions

In Germany only a cut version was released to avoid an FSK 18 rating

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Connections

Referenced in Het uur van de wolf: Rutger Hauer: Blond, blue eyes (2006)

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Soundtracks

All the Good Times Are Past and Gone
(uncredited)
Traditional
Performed by Bill Monroe

User Reviews

Better than you might think

Rutger Hauer's movies tend to be better than one would expect from genre pieces, often because of a special feel for atmosphere and quirk. Deadlock was one of the first movies to feature the newer, heavier Hauer, who uses his heft to the advantage of his characterization, creating a slightly ridiculous figure (who goes from a ludicrous pony-tail for his duel-to-the-death to a sort of swami outfit to something that looks like it ought to be upholstering a chair in a whorehouse) who is not quite up to the circumstances he finds himself in, but perseveres anyway. Smart, but hardly a criminal mastermind, his Frank is teamed with an especially charming Mimi Rogers. Hardly surprising that they go from insults to clinches, but it is appealing that the main thing keeping them apart (their abysmal track records in romance) is what, thanks to empathy, helps bridge the differences between them. The sci-fi gimmick here is really beside the point. What counts is the presence of several skillful actors and their deftly drawn characters. Stephen Tobolowsky is especially amusing, and he has the movie's best line: "You nonconformists are all alike."