An action-packed thriller starring Charles Bronson as Jack Murphy, a cop who is running to stay alive long enough to even the score with his wife's killer.An action-packed thriller starring Charles Bronson as Jack Murphy, a cop who is running to stay alive long enough to even the score with his wife's killer.An action-packed thriller starring Charles Bronson as Jack Murphy, a cop who is running to stay alive long enough to even the score with his wife's killer.
- Carl
- (as Joseph Spallina Roman)
- Tony Vincenzo
- (as Chris De Rose)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirector J. Lee Thompson and producer Pancho Kohner sat down with Kathleen Wilhoite prior to shooting to discuss how to get along with her co-star Charles Bronson. Their advice worked and Bronson and Wilhoite got along splendidly on set.
- GoofsMurphy and Arabella leave Murphy's friend's cabin (right before he's murdered by Joan Freeman) and that very evening, Arabella sees a newspaper with the heading "Escaped Cop Kills Again". The newspaper even writes that Arabella is his accomplice. However, there's no reason for the police to assume that the murderer was Murphy. Joan Freeman shoots the victim with his own rifle, not Murphy's gun. Moreover, it's highly implausible that the police could even know about a murder in a very remote cabin in the woods, make inquiries and somehow mark Murphy as a suspect, and get the story into the evening papers, all in the space of a few hours.
- Quotes
Frank Vincenzo: [threateningly] Oh, Murphy, let me ask you: you ever hear of Murphy's law? "If anything can possibly go wrong, it will." A lot of things could happen to someone like you: you can get run over by a truck; the gas heater in your apartment could blow up; or you could lose a wheel going down the freeway at 80 miles an hour. Got to remember that.
[Murphy, unimpressed by the mobster's threats, bends forward, smiling]
Jack Murphy: The only law I know is "Jack Murphy's law." It's very simple: don't *fuck* with Jack Murphy. You remember that.
- SoundtracksMurphy's Law
Written and Performed by Paul McCallum, Kathleen Wilhoite and John Bisharat
For a reason we will discover late in the flick, he is being hunted by a FEMALE ASSASSIN. Played wonderfully by Carrie Snodgrass (which looks like a role Helen Mirren would rock today). She is brutal and calculating and devoid of any maternal instincts.
Bronson is also saddled with a street urchin played by Katherine Wilhoite. She's foul mouthed and mean but also streetwise when it comes to surviving.
Together they set out to clear Murphy's name from a crime he'd been framed for.
What I dig about J. Lee Thompson, is that he really doesn't paint a pretty picture when it comes to humanity. People do ugly things. And innocent people do get killed. In a lesser flick, I think they would sanitize the violence. But he doesn't. And for a movie made in the mid-80's it's surprising how well it holds up.
Bronson isn't going to be known for his depth in character here. He is...who he is. Which isn't a bad thing. You want him to be the sad sack cop. Burned out and tired. Fed up. He looks and acts physically tired.
In this case, the thing does work for what it is.
- statuskuo
- Feb 19, 2021
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $6,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $9,947,631
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,388,907
- Apr 20, 1986
- Gross worldwide
- $9,947,631
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1