Hit List is a 1989 action–thriller movie directed by William Lustig

William Lustig

William Lustig , also known as Bill Lustig, is an American film director and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre.-Movie career:...

. The tagline for the movie was: They attacked the wrong woman... They kidnapped the wrong child... And they made the wrong man their target. The film was produced by Cinetel Films and Warner Bros. Pictures and was distributed in US theaters by New Line Cinema and in Canadian theaters by Cineplex Odeon Films and on VHS format by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, but has been out of print for some time. As of December 26, 2009, Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

 has not announced any plans to release a DVD of the movie. The movie was referenced in the movie Urban Legend

Urban Legend (film)

Urban Legend is a 1998 horror film starring Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Jared Leto, Michael Rosenbaum, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Loretta Devine, Robert Englund, John Neville, Joshua Jackson, Regina King, and Tara Reid...

(1998).

Plot

Gangster boss Vic Luca (Rip Torn) is scheduled to appear in court and so hires a hit man/shoe salesman Chris Caleek (Lance Henriksen) to kill the witnesses. He has a mole in the police force who tells him names and locations of the witnesses. Unfortunately, during the last hit, the professional killer enters the wrong house. When owner Jack Collins comes home, he finds his pregnant wife unconscious in the kitchen, his friend dead in the living room and his son kidnapped. Wanting Luca to believe he has the real witness' son, Collins is taken into custody. But Collins manages to escape and takes things into his own hands.

Trivia

• Though Josh Becker and Scott Spiegel were uncredited, they wrote three drafts of the script. Everything they wrote was featured in the film.
• While re-writing the Jack Collins character, Josh Becker wanted the 'average guy' to have a profession where he knew how to fight. After William Lustig shot down the idea of Collins being a Vietnam vet, an idea he was "completely sick to death of", Becker came up with Collins being a carpenter. Becker thought Collins should at least know how to use his hands. Lustig shot that down as well. Upon meeting Jan-Michael Vincent, Becker found out he was into carpentry and was also a Vietnam vet.
• The first draft script title was originally "Hell to Pay".

Cast

• Jan-Michael Vincent
  Jan-Michael Vincent
  Jan-Michael Vincent is an American actor best known for his role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke on the 1980s U.S. television series Airwolf .-Early life:...
  
   as Jack Collins
• Leo Rossi
  Leo Rossi
  Leo Rossi is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Budd in the 1981 horror film Halloween II and as Turkell from the 1990 horror sequel Maniac Cop 2. His other films include Heart Like a Wheel , River's Edge , The Accused , Relentless and Analyze This...
  
   as Frank DeSalvo
• Lance Henriksen
  Lance Henriksen
  Lance James Henriksen is an American actor and artist best known to film and television audiences for his roles in science fiction, action, and horror films such as the Alien film franchise, and on television shows such as Millennium....
  
   as Chris Caleek
• Charles Napier
  Charles Napier (actor)
  Charles L. Napier was an American actor, known for his portrayals of square-jawed tough guys and military types.-Early life:...
  
   as Tom Mitchum
• Rip Torn
  Rip Torn
  Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...
  
   as Vic Luca
• Harold Sylvester
  Harold Sylvester
  Harold Sylvester is an American film and television actor.Sylvester was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. A graduate of New Orleans' St. Augustine High School and Tulane University, Sylvester is best known for his role on the TV series Married... with Children as Griff, the co-worker and friend of...
  
   as Brian Armstrong
• Jere Burns
  Jere Burns
  Jerald Eugene "Jere" Burns II is an American actor who has appeared in theatre productions and on television and is best known for his role as ladies' man Kirk Morris on the television series, Dear John.-Early life:...
  
   as Jared Riley
• Junior Richard as Kenny Collins
• Harreit Hall as Sandy Collins
• Ken Lerner
  Ken Lerner
  Ken Lerner is an American television, stage and film actor who is perhaps most famous for playing "Principal Flutie" in the first episodes of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Early life:...
  
   as Gravenstein
• Jack Andreozzi as Abe Fasio
• Nick Barbaro as Mario
• Lou Bonacki as Johnson
• Barry Brener as the doctor
• Geoff Brewer as Brock
• Richard E. Butler as Wink
• Christopher Carroll as the priest
• Robert A. Ferretti as Vincent Carelli
• John F. Goff as the prosecutor
• John Greene
  John Greene
  John Greene may refer to:* John Greene , early settler and co-founder of Warwick, Rhode Island* John Greene, Jr. Deputy Governor of Rhode Island...
  
   as Burke
• Margaret Gwenver
  Margaret Gwenver
  Margaret Gwenver was an American stage and television actress.Born as Margaret Guenveur on October 10, 1926 in Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, US, she was best-known for her role as Dr. Sedgwick on the long-running daytime soap opera, Guiding Light...
  
   as the judge
• Lisa M. Hansen
  Lisa M. Hansen
  Lisa M. Hansen is an American film producer, production manager, actor, director, writer, and craft service person. She has worked in various genres, including thriller, action, drama, and science fiction...
  
   as the shoe store clerk
• Dennis Junt as the reporter
• Lauri Landry as Connie Wayne
• Scott Lincoln as Paulie
• Jason Lustig as Gravenstein’s Assistant
• Vic Manni
  Vic Manni
  Victor Manni was hired by film producer Don Simpson as a bodyguard in the 1980s after he was threatened by the Mafia. Simpson helped Manni start an acting career, usually playing tough characters. Manni has appeared in such movies as Trapped in Paradise, Ali and Beverly Hills Cop...
  
   as George
• Felice Orlandi as Joey DeSalvo
• Frank Pesce as Quigley
• Pearl Shear as Mrs. Gulliver
• John Paul Vetturini as Frank Jr.