Kings and Desperate Men
Encyclopedia
Kings and Desperate Men is a 1981
Canadian
hostage drama film directed, co-written and produced by Alexis Kanner
. The film stars Patrick McGoohan
as radio talk show host John Kingsley, Margaret Trudeau
as his wife Elizabeth, and Alexis Kanner
with Andrea Marcovicci
as terrorists. The story is set within one day during Christmas Eve
. The movie was made on a budget of 1.2 million and was filmed in Montreal.
Film director Kanner later took legal action against the film producers of Die Hard
in the late 1980s, alleging the producers stole the idea for Die Hard from his film Kings and Desperate Men. Kanner lost his case.
, a radio talk show host, his wealthy wife, their mentally challenged son and a federal judge are taken hostage by a group of terrorists. The group demand a new trial on the air for a convicted comrade of theirs whom the group believes was wrongly convicted of manslaughter
. The radio listeners are asked by the terrorists to act as the jury and to telephone in their verdicts to the radio station.
. The movie was issued on VHS
in 1989.
1981 in film
-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
hostage drama film directed, co-written and produced by Alexis Kanner
Alexis Kanner
Alexis Kanner was a French-born Anglo Canadian actor, most notable for appearing in the ground-breaking TV series The Prisoner....
. The film stars Patrick McGoohan
Patrick McGoohan
Patrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
as radio talk show host John Kingsley, Margaret Trudeau
Margaret Trudeau
Margaret Joan Sinclair Trudeau Kemper is the former wife of the late Pierre Trudeau, the 15th Prime Minister of Canada.-Early years and marriage:...
as his wife Elizabeth, and Alexis Kanner
Alexis Kanner
Alexis Kanner was a French-born Anglo Canadian actor, most notable for appearing in the ground-breaking TV series The Prisoner....
with Andrea Marcovicci
Andrea Marcovicci
Andrea Louisa Marcovicci is an American actress and singer.- Biography :Marcovicci was born in Manhattan, New York City, the daughter of Helen , a singer, and Eugen Marcovicci, a physician and internist of Romanian descent. In her teens, she decided that she wanted to be a singer, but instead...
as terrorists. The story is set within one day during Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
. The movie was made on a budget of 1.2 million and was filmed in Montreal.
Film director Kanner later took legal action against the film producers of Die Hard
Die Hard
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
in the late 1980s, alleging the producers stole the idea for Die Hard from his film Kings and Desperate Men. Kanner lost his case.
Plot
On Christmas EveChristmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
, a radio talk show host, his wealthy wife, their mentally challenged son and a federal judge are taken hostage by a group of terrorists. The group demand a new trial on the air for a convicted comrade of theirs whom the group believes was wrongly convicted of manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
. The radio listeners are asked by the terrorists to act as the jury and to telephone in their verdicts to the radio station.
Cast
- Patrick McGoohan as John Kingsley
- Alexis Kanner as Lucas Miller
- Margaret Trudeau as Elizabeth Kingsley
- Budd Knapp as Judge Stephen McManus
- Andrea Marcovicci as Barbara
- Frank Moore as Pete Herrera
- Robin Spry as Harry Gibson
- Jean-Pierre Brown as Christopher Kingsley
- Kate Nash as Mrs.McPhearson
- Neil Vipond as Henry Sutton
- Dave Patrick as Grant Gillespie
- Kevin Fenlon as Laz
- August Schellenberg as Stanley Aldini
- Frederic Smith as Bolton
- Peter MacNeillPeter MacNeillPeter MacNeill is a Canadian film and television actor who has starred in several TV shows and movies.His film credits have included The Hanging Garden , Geraldine's Fortune, Giant Mine, Lives of Girls and Women, The Events Leading Up to My Death, Dog Park, Something Beneath and A...
as George
Release
Kings and Desperate Men was shot on location in Montreal, Canada during December 1977. The film was eventually released in August 1981 in Canada. It was released in the USA in 1983. A UK release occurred in 1984. Kings and Desperate Men was rated PG-13 in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The movie was issued on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in 1989.
External links
- Kings and Desperate Men at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Kings and Desperate Men at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...