Cocaine Cowboys

Cocaine Cowboys (1979)

It'll Blow You Away!

A rock band is on the brink of super-stardom. Until now they've juggled their music career with cocaine smuggling. The musicians and their manager wish to sever ties with organized-crime, leave the drug world behind and concentrate on music. They are coerced into doing one last job for the Mob. They lose the $2 million of cocaine and find themselves marked men unless they can fulfill their obligations.

Date of release
1979-10-05
TMDB
4.0 / 10 (12)
Runtime
1h 23m
Genres
Drama, Crime
Director
Ulli Lommel

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: Montauk Point

Cocaine Cowboys is a 1979 American crime drama film directed by Ulli Lommel and starring Tom Sullivan and Jack Palance. The film follows a drug smuggler who attempts to leave the narcotics trade behind by reinventing himself as a rock musician. Inspired in part by Sullivan's own experiences, the production was financed by Sullivan and filmed primarily at the Montauk estate of Andy Warhol, who makes a cameo appearance.

Production

Principal photography on Cocaine Cowboys began in the summer of 1978, with much of the production centered around Warhol's Montauk property, which served as a rehearsal and filming location for the fictional rock band featured in the film. Inspired by rock groups such as the Rolling Stones, the production assembled a band to perform in the film while Sullivan took the lead role.

Veteran actor Jack Palance was cast as the band's manager after being offered a substantial advance payment. Warhol also agreed to appear in a cameo role as himself, reportedly receiving an additional fee of $4,000 on top of the three-month rental income from the Montauk estate. He appeared in the film conducting an on-screen interview with Palance.

During filming, however, the production became increasingly troubled. According to Warhol associate Vincent Fremont, the crew caused significant disruption at the property, while local police were called to the estate on multiple occasions. Relations further deteriorated when Fremont attempted to collect Warhol's acting fee and allegedly encountered an armed producer.

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