Jake Speed
Encyclopedia
Jake Speed is a 1986
action
/comedy
film directed by Andrew Lane
, produced by Lane, Wayne Crawford
, and William Fay
, written by Lane and Crawford, and starring Crawford in the title role.
), since she convinced her to go see the world. However, Margaret's grandfather (Leon Ames
) has an idea: call for Jake Speed (Wayne Crawford
) to go and rescue her. However, there is one problem: Jake Speed is a character in a series of 40's-style pulp fiction novels.
However, Jake Speed does exist, as Margaret finds out when he leaves a note for her to meet him and his sidekick, Desmond Floyd (Dennis Christopher
), in a tough Paris bar. The novels, as Margaret finds out, are based on Jake and Des's real life adventures, and they work for nothing, seeing action and excitement (and another novel) as their reward.
Jake reveals that Maureen was kidnapped by white slavers, and is being held in an African country. Jake, Des, and Margaret fly to the nation, which is in the middle of a civil war, in order to rescue her. Many twists and turns later, we find out that Jake's archenemy, the evil, perverted, murderous Englishman Sid (John Hurt
), is behind the ring, and soon, Margaret becomes a part of it. Jake and Des must now rescue both Maureen and Margaret, stop Sid, and help the girls get out in one piece, while dealing with warring factions, pits of lions, and machine gun-firing helicopters.
1986 in film
-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
/comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film directed by Andrew Lane
Andrew Lane (producer)
Andrew Lane is an American film producer, perhaps best known for his 1983 comedy Valley Girl, which starred Nicolas Cage, which he co-produced with Wayne Crawford. The two were responsible for producing several other films including Night of the Comet, Servants of Twilight, Mortal Passions, and...
, produced by Lane, Wayne Crawford
Wayne Crawford
Wayne Crawford is an American film and television actor, and film producer, screenwriter, and director. Crawford has appeared in nearly thirty films, produced 15, written 9, and directed 7....
, and William Fay
William Fay
William George Fay was an actor and theatre producer who was one of the co-founders of the Abbey Theatre....
, written by Lane and Crawford, and starring Crawford in the title role.
Plot
In Paris, a girl by the name of Maureen Winston (Becca C. Ashley) is abducted by two evil-looking men. While her family prays for her safe return, Maureen's father heaps guilt on her sister Margaret (Karen KopinsKaren Kopins
Karen Kopins Shaw is an American actress and former model. Her acting career is mostly under her maiden name.-Early life:Kopins was Miss Connecticut 1977, having entered the pageant as Miss Ridgefield...
), since she convinced her to go see the world. However, Margaret's grandfather (Leon Ames
Leon Ames (actor)
Leon Ames was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis , as Judy Garland's father, and in Little Women ....
) has an idea: call for Jake Speed (Wayne Crawford
Wayne Crawford
Wayne Crawford is an American film and television actor, and film producer, screenwriter, and director. Crawford has appeared in nearly thirty films, produced 15, written 9, and directed 7....
) to go and rescue her. However, there is one problem: Jake Speed is a character in a series of 40's-style pulp fiction novels.
However, Jake Speed does exist, as Margaret finds out when he leaves a note for her to meet him and his sidekick, Desmond Floyd (Dennis Christopher
Dennis Christopher
Dennis Christopher is an American actor. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is known for playing Dave Stoller in Breaking Away and tragic film buff psychopath Eric Binford in Fade to Black....
), in a tough Paris bar. The novels, as Margaret finds out, are based on Jake and Des's real life adventures, and they work for nothing, seeing action and excitement (and another novel) as their reward.
Jake reveals that Maureen was kidnapped by white slavers, and is being held in an African country. Jake, Des, and Margaret fly to the nation, which is in the middle of a civil war, in order to rescue her. Many twists and turns later, we find out that Jake's archenemy, the evil, perverted, murderous Englishman Sid (John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
), is behind the ring, and soon, Margaret becomes a part of it. Jake and Des must now rescue both Maureen and Margaret, stop Sid, and help the girls get out in one piece, while dealing with warring factions, pits of lions, and machine gun-firing helicopters.
Merchandise
- A soundtrackSoundtrackA soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of composer Mark Snow's music was released on LP recordLP recordThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
only by Varèse SarabandeVarèse SarabandeVarèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
in 1986. It was reissued on compact disc by Buysoundtrax in 2009 in a limited edition pressing of 1000 copies.
- A novelizationNovelizationA novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
, written under the pseudonym Reno Melon, Jake and Des' writing nom de plume, was published on June 1, 1986 by Gold Eagle/Harlequin (ISBN 0-373-62102-7).