Getting Even

Getting Even (1986)

A soldier-of-fortune steals some Russian nerve gas from Afghanistan, and brings it to the U.S. to be analyzed. A greedy millionaire rancher finds out about it and sets out to steal it.

Date of release
1986-02-21
TMDB
3.4 / 10 (8)
Runtime
1h 29m
Genres
Action, Adventure
Director
Dwight H. Little

Casting

Interesting facts

Getting Even is a 1986 American action thriller film directed by Dwight H. Little and starring Edward Albert, Audrey Landers, Joe Don Baker and Caroline Williams. The story concerns an extortion plot which threatens to engulf the city of Dallas in a cloud of corrosive military gas. It is also known as Hostage: Dallas in some international markets, which was its working title.

Production

Producer Mike Liddle and oil heir Al Hill Jr. were tennis teammates in their youth. They reconnected in 1980, when Liddle was hired by Hill thanks to his qualifications as a pilot and plane broker. Hill had started investing in others' films and, in 1984, decided to create his own outfit AGH Productions, drafting Liddle to manage its operations. This was the company's first feature.

Edward Albert was recommended by the film's casting agent. In the script, his character had a boxing background, but he did not feel he could learn the sport so quickly, so his real-life kenjutsu experience was incorporated instead. Although Audrey Landers' European singing career was given as the reason for her casting, she was also Hill's girlfriend at the time.

Film started on July 8, 1985, and extended into August. AGH used the legal entity Tyler Productions for the shoot. 84 percent of the crew hailed from Texas. Temperatures were frequently in the 100 to 115-degree range, even at night, and a rare brand of makeup had to be ordered to cope with the sweat. The opening scene was filmed at a sand pit dug for the occasion in Seagoville.

While Landers received props for her on-set attitude, Baker was more difficult to work with. He balked at taking instructions from the weapons coordinator on the basis of his lengthy career, drank a lot, and did not like to work too early or too late, so most of his scenes were bunched up in the afternoon. Albert lost his mother, Margo, during production.

Belkin brought on veteran stunt coordinator Paul Baxley, whom Little credits with maximizing the film's limited resources. The Reunion Tower scene was made possible by Hill's relationship with the owners of the restaurant located on top of the building. Albert performed the entire climbing sequence himself, although other stunts, such as the helicopter finale, proved too dangerous.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

Recommended