Let's Get Harry
Encyclopedia
Let's Get Harry is a 1986 action film directed by Stuart Rosenberg
. It stars Michael Schoeffling
, Thomas F. Wilson
, Glenn Frey
, Rick Rossovich
, Gary Busey
, Mark Harmon
and Robert Duvall
. The film is notable because Rosenberg chose to credit himself officially as Alan Smithee
.
. Harry is there to help open a new water pipeline for his company and gets caught up in the action when a diplomat who is on hand for the pipe's unveiling is kidnapped. Word reaches back to Harry's brother Corey (Schoeffling) and his friends Bob (Wilson), cocaine addict Spence (Frey) and Kurt (Rossovich), who were all awaiting his return home to Illinois. The men, who all work together at the same factory, learn that Harry was kidnapped by a drug lord named Carlos Ochobar. Corey and Bob travel to Washington only to learn that the U.S. Government is not going to mount any rescue attempt for Harry. We learn that the men (and everyone in the town) hold Harry in high regard. Kurt reminds his friends that they all owe Harry something, so he says their only choice is to rescue him themselves. Despite some resistance and skepticism from Kurt and Spence, all the men eventually agree to go. Before heading to Colombia, they enlist the financial help of a local car salesman named Jack (Busey), who insists on going along, and the military expertise of a decorated no-nonsense mercenary named Norman Shrike (Duvall).
Once in Colombia, they encounter resistance from the start, both from local officials and from the U.S. Government. They eventually land in jail after being set up by one of Shrike's contacts who was supposedly going to supply them with weapons. They are handed over to the U.S. in order to be put on a plane back home. They escape the plane at the last minute, but Kurt decides he has had enough and he stays behind. They continue on without him and eventually Shrike is killed in a firefight while saving one of the men's life. The group ventures on with the help of a local woman and they eventually find Ochobar's hideout. In the ensuing shootout with Ochobar's men, Jack is killed. The group is able to save Harry and then escape, destroying Ochobar's camp in the process.
, Schoeffling was two years removed from Sixteen Candles
, Wilson had just done Back to the Future
, Rossovich was starring in Top Gun
and Frey was famous for being a member of the Eagles and his recent solo work such as the smash hit "You Belong to the City
". Both Duvall and Busey were well-established at the time and screen legend Ben Johnson
also appeared in the film, playing Mr. Burck. Despite its impressive cast, Let's Get Harry is a film that is remembered for little except Rosenberg's decision to remove his name from the credits. This is due to significant reediting and additional shooting that occurred after principal production concluded. In the director's cut
of the film, Mark Harmon doesn't make an appearance of any kind until the final rescue sequence. Prior to planned release, Harmon's public popularity grew dramatically due to his work on "St. Elsewhere" and being voted "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine and the producers wanted to make Harmon more at the center of the story over Rosenberg's objection. The shooting of additional footage featuring Harmon's abduction and being held as a hostage brought about the "Alan Smithee" dissignation.
In general the film is viewed as poorly-written and executed. Many of the scenes are rather unrealistic, most notably the final assault on Ochobar's camp. The men, none of whom have had any training, are able to kill dozens of Ochobar's men and destroy his camp with improvised bombs.
Let's Get Harry was one of a number of 1980s films that centered on civilians partaking in hostage rescues without the help of the U.S. Government. Other similar films that were released around the same time were Uncommon Valor
, Rambo: First Blood Part II
, Iron Eagle
, and The Rescue
.
Let's Get Harry is currently only available on VHS
and has not been released on DVD
.
Stuart Rosenberg
Stuart Rosenberg was an American film and television director whose notable works included the movies Cool Hand Luke , Voyage of the Damned , The Amityville Horror , and The Pope of Greenwich Village .-Early life and career:Born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Rosenberg studied Irish...
. It stars Michael Schoeffling
Michael Schoeffling
Michael Schoeffling is an American former actor, and male model, best known for playing Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles, Kuch in Vision Quest, and Joe in Mermaids.-Early life & education:...
, Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson
Thomas F. Wilson is an American actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist and stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future trilogy and Coach Ben Fredricks on NBC's Freaks and Geeks.-Early life:Thomas Francis Wilson, Jr. was...
, Glenn Frey
Glenn Frey
Glenn Lewis Frey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Frey formed the Eagles after he met drummer Don Henley in 1970 and the two eventually joined Linda Ronstadt's backup band for her summer tour. The Eagles formed in 1971 and...
, Rick Rossovich
Rick Rossovich
Rick Rossovich is an American actor.Rossovich was born Frederic Enrico Rossovich in Palo Alto, California. His brother, Tim Rossovich, is a former professional football player and also an actor.-Career:...
, Gary Busey
Gary Busey
William Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...
, Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon is an American actor who has been starring in American television programs and films since the mid-1970s, after a career as a collegiate football player with the UCLA Bruins. Since 2003, Harmon has starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the CBS series NCIS.-Early life:Harmon was born Thomas...
and Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
. The film is notable because Rosenberg chose to credit himself officially as Alan Smithee
Alan Smithee
Alan Smithee was an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project, coined in 1968. Until its use was formally discontinued in 2000, it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild of America when a director dissatisfied with the final product proved to...
.
Plot
The film opens with an American engineer named Harry Burck (Harmon) being kidnapped by rebels in ColombiaColombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. Harry is there to help open a new water pipeline for his company and gets caught up in the action when a diplomat who is on hand for the pipe's unveiling is kidnapped. Word reaches back to Harry's brother Corey (Schoeffling) and his friends Bob (Wilson), cocaine addict Spence (Frey) and Kurt (Rossovich), who were all awaiting his return home to Illinois. The men, who all work together at the same factory, learn that Harry was kidnapped by a drug lord named Carlos Ochobar. Corey and Bob travel to Washington only to learn that the U.S. Government is not going to mount any rescue attempt for Harry. We learn that the men (and everyone in the town) hold Harry in high regard. Kurt reminds his friends that they all owe Harry something, so he says their only choice is to rescue him themselves. Despite some resistance and skepticism from Kurt and Spence, all the men eventually agree to go. Before heading to Colombia, they enlist the financial help of a local car salesman named Jack (Busey), who insists on going along, and the military expertise of a decorated no-nonsense mercenary named Norman Shrike (Duvall).
Once in Colombia, they encounter resistance from the start, both from local officials and from the U.S. Government. They eventually land in jail after being set up by one of Shrike's contacts who was supposedly going to supply them with weapons. They are handed over to the U.S. in order to be put on a plane back home. They escape the plane at the last minute, but Kurt decides he has had enough and he stays behind. They continue on without him and eventually Shrike is killed in a firefight while saving one of the men's life. The group ventures on with the help of a local woman and they eventually find Ochobar's hideout. In the ensuing shootout with Ochobar's men, Jack is killed. The group is able to save Harry and then escape, destroying Ochobar's camp in the process.
Legacy
Almost all of the ensemble cast was famous at the time of the film, and it is rare that a film with so many known actors is so forgotten. At the time of the film's release in 1986, Harmon was fresh off of St. ElsewhereSt. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
, Schoeffling was two years removed from Sixteen Candles
Sixteen Candles
Sixteen Candles is a 1984 American film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling and Anthony Michael Hall. It was written and directed by John Hughes.- Plot :...
, Wilson had just done Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
, Rossovich was starring in Top Gun
Top Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
and Frey was famous for being a member of the Eagles and his recent solo work such as the smash hit "You Belong to the City
You Belong to the City
"You Belong to the City" is a rock song written by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin, and recorded by Frey during his solo career. It was written specifically for the television show Miami Vice in 1985. The song nearly reached the top of the charts, peaking at #2 on the U.S...
". Both Duvall and Busey were well-established at the time and screen legend Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson (actor)
Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
also appeared in the film, playing Mr. Burck. Despite its impressive cast, Let's Get Harry is a film that is remembered for little except Rosenberg's decision to remove his name from the credits. This is due to significant reediting and additional shooting that occurred after principal production concluded. In the director's cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
of the film, Mark Harmon doesn't make an appearance of any kind until the final rescue sequence. Prior to planned release, Harmon's public popularity grew dramatically due to his work on "St. Elsewhere" and being voted "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine and the producers wanted to make Harmon more at the center of the story over Rosenberg's objection. The shooting of additional footage featuring Harmon's abduction and being held as a hostage brought about the "Alan Smithee" dissignation.
In general the film is viewed as poorly-written and executed. Many of the scenes are rather unrealistic, most notably the final assault on Ochobar's camp. The men, none of whom have had any training, are able to kill dozens of Ochobar's men and destroy his camp with improvised bombs.
Let's Get Harry was one of a number of 1980s films that centered on civilians partaking in hostage rescues without the help of the U.S. Government. Other similar films that were released around the same time were Uncommon Valor
Uncommon Valor
Uncommon Valor is a 1983 action/war film written by Joe Gayton and directed by Ted Kotcheff, about a Marine officer who puts together a team to try to rescue his son, who he believes is among those still held in Laos after the Vietnam War...
, Rambo: First Blood Part II
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Rambo: First Blood Part II is a 1985 action film. A sequel to 1982's First Blood, it is the second installment in the Rambo series starring Sylvester Stallone, who reprises his role as Vietnam veteran John Rambo...
, Iron Eagle
Iron Eagle
Iron Eagle is a 1986 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Jason Gedrick and Louis Gossett, Jr. While it received mixed reviews, the film earned US$24,159,872 at the U.S. box office. Iron Eagle was followed by three sequels: Iron Eagle II, Aces: Iron Eagle III and Iron Eagle on the...
, and The Rescue
The Rescue (1988 film)
The Rescue is a 1988 adventure film about a group of teenagers who infiltrate a North Korean prison to rescue their Navy SEAL fathers. It was written by Michael J. Henderson, Jim Thomas, and John Thomas, produced by Laura Ziskin, and directed by Ferdinand Fairfax...
.
Let's Get Harry is currently only available on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and has not been released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Cast
- Fidel Abrego ... Hood #1
- Jere BurnsJere BurnsJerald 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:...
... Washington aide - Gary BuseyGary BuseyWilliam Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...
... Jack - Cecile Callan ... Theresa
- Terry CamilleriTerry CamilleriTerry Camilleri is an Australian actor.Camilleri was born in Malta and made his feature film debut in Peter Weir's 1974 film The Cars That Ate Paris. Terry appreaed in the 1983 hit sequel film Superman III. He portrayed the Emperor Napoleon I in the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure...
... Mercenary - Elpidia CarrilloElpidia CarrilloElpidia Carrillo is a Mexican actress who has appeared in various acclaimed Latin-American films and television shows, in addition to some Hollywood films. She is also credited as Elpedia Carrillo on some of her films....
... Veronica - Matt ClarkMatt Clark (actor)Matt Clark is an American actor and director with credits in both film and television. Clark has played diverse character roles in Westerns, comedies, and dramas....
... Walt Clayton - Rodolfo De Alexandre ... Pablo
- Robert DuvallRobert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
... Norman Shrike - Javier Estrada ... Dwarf
- Glenn FreyGlenn FreyGlenn Lewis Frey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Frey formed the Eagles after he met drummer Don Henley in 1970 and the two eventually joined Linda Ronstadt's backup band for her summer tour. The Eagles formed in 1971 and...
... Spence - Salvador Godínez ... Boat man
- Bruce GrayBruce GrayBruce Gray is a Puerto Rican-born Canadian actor.-Early years:Gray was born Robert Bruce Gray in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Canadian parents...
... Ambassador Douglas - Jerry HardinJerry HardinJerry Hardin is an American actor who has made many television and film appearances. He played illegitimate heir, Wild Bill Westchester, in the failed 1982 television series Filthy Rich. One of his most recognizable roles was that of the character Deep Throat in the series The X-Files...
... Dean Reilly - Mark HarmonMark HarmonMark Harmon is an American actor who has been starring in American television programs and films since the mid-1970s, after a career as a collegiate football player with the UCLA Bruins. Since 2003, Harmon has starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the CBS series NCIS.-Early life:Harmon was born Thomas...
... Harry Burck Jr. - David HessDavid HessDavid Alexander Hess was an American actor, singer, and songwriter.-Music career:In 1956, Hess recorded the original version of the Otis Blackwell composition "All Shook Up" under the stage name David Hill...
... Mercenary