Striking Distance
Encyclopedia
Striking Distance is a 1993
thriller starring Bruce Willis
, Sarah Jessica Parker
, Dennis Farina
, and Tom Sizemore
as Pittsburgh Police
officers pursuing a serial killer
. It was directed by Rowdy Herrington
and written by Herrington and Marty Kaplan
. The film was shot on location throughout Pittsburgh; its early title was Three Rivers.
), a Pittsburgh Police
homicide detective
, has just broken the Blue Code of Silence by informing on
his partner and cousin, Sergeant Jimmy Detillo (Robert Pastorelli
), for using excessive force
on a suspect. He drives out to the policeman's ball with his father, Captain Vince Hardy (John Mahoney
). However, the ball is postponed after a police scan goes out indicating that a serial killer nicknamed the Polish Hill strangler has been spotted on the 31st Street Bridge
.
After a police chase and subsequent wreck, Tom regains consciousness, learning that his father has been shot dead, and that the killer got away. Police round up the usual suspects and make an arrest in the Polish Hill murders based on the testimony of Chick Chicanis.
Rather than go to prison, Jimmy climbs to the top of the 31st Street Bridge, and jumps off the bridge, his body is never found.
Two years later,1993 Tom is working for the Pittsburgh PD River Rescue when he is called to the scene of a body dump - the victim turns out to be a stewardess, Cheryl Putnam, whom Tom had previously been involved with. Shortly thereafter he is assigned a new partner, Jo Christman (Sarah Jessica Parker
). It is revealed by District Attorney Frank Morris (Andre Braugher
) that Tom had been demoted to river rescue after he went on the news and publicly stated his belief that the Polish Hill Strangler was a member of the police force. Danny Detillo (Tom Sizemore
) has stepped down from the force, and has become an alcoholic. He just recently returned from California
and has forgiven Tom for his role in Jimmy's death.
At a local hospital, a nurse is abducted. Later that night Tom receives a phone call at his home similar to the ones left by the Polish Hill Strangler two years earlier, and then hears a woman scream before she is shot and the phone goes dead. The next day, Tom and Jo are alerted to a body found floating the river. The victim is Paula Puglisi, an old flame of Tom's, who had worked at the same hospital as Cheryl Putnam. Tom is then sure that the Polish Hill Strangler is still out there. However, Sergeant Eddie Eiler (Brion James
) goes on the news stating that the murder was committed by a copycat. Tom is met with strong opposition by his uncle Nick (Dennis Farina
), now a Captain, when he states that he received a phone call from the killer. Tom then goes to the precinct, and steals Chick Chicanis' deposition file in order to conduct an unauthorized investigation. While on river patrol, he tracks down Chicanis, and tries to get him to talk at gunpoint, but is stopped by Christman. When back at the boat, they get a call over the radio; a body, the body of Paula Puglisi, another woman that Tom once dated, has been found.
Tom and Jo go to the policeman's ball where a nasty brawl occurs between Tom and the officers in attendance. The couple leave the ball together and return to the docks. Finally alone together in Tom's boathouse, the two partners succumb to their mutual attraction and make love. Outside the boat, an unseen stranger silently observes the vulnerable and exposed lovers straining against each other in their bedroom.
The following morning Jo stumbles upon Tom's investigation notes and photos of the two victims. Tom returns and shows her a newspaper article stating that another woman, Connie, yet another of Tom's old acquaintances, has been killed. Later Eiler informs Nick that he suspects Tom of the murders, but Nick refuses to let Eiler bring Tom in. He states that Tom has been under scrutiny by Internal Affairs
. During a court hearing to have Tom removed from the force, it is revealed that Jo Christman is really Emily Harper of the Pennsylvania State Police
, and has been monitoring Tom to find evidence of misconduct. Harper lies on the witness stand
about Tom's confrontation with Chicanis, and he goes unpunished.
Later that night, Emily is kidnapped. Just after arriving home, Tom calculates the distances of the body dumps to be in close proximity to his Uncle Nick's old cabin. He then suspects that Danny Detillo is the killer, seeking revenge for Jimmy. He is disturbed by his cat, trailing blood. Following the blood trail he finds his bed room trashed with blood and a firearm on the bed. Looking outside he finds another body, a police dispatcher he works with, he heads off to the cabin. Shortly after he arrives, Danny shows up and Tom demands he cooperate. Just then, someone shows up behind Tom and knocks him out.
Tom awakens and finds himself, Danny, and Emily handcuffed to chairs, with the news broadcast of Jimmy's brutality case playing on a TV. The killer reveals himself as none other than Jimmy Detillo, who had survived the fall into the river two years earlier. Jimmy is about to kill Emily when Nick suddenly walks in and stops him. Nick tells him to turn himself in. Jimmy is defiant and commands Tom to ask Nick how his father really died.
A flashback reveals that Nick arrived on the scene immediately after the crash, and was the first to confront the killer; he was horrified to find Jimmy, but let him escape. As Jimmy fled, Vince pried himself out of the wreckage of Tom's car and took aim at the fleeing killer, unaware that it is Jimmy. Nick tried to stop him and, in the ensuing struggle, killed Vince.
After this revelation, Nick tries to kill Jimmy, but he is wearing a ballistic vest and returns fire, killing Nick. In a fit of rage, Danny charges at Jimmy, giving Tom a chance to free himself. The police begin closing in, so Jimmy flees on a motorboat, with Tom in pursuit. The two eventually get into a scuffle in which Tom kills Jimmy, by tasering him in is his mouth. While he is getting freed of his handcuffs, Eiler steps in and helps remove the cuffs, and also apologizes in the process, prompting Tom to take his best shot. After a second of reluctance, Tom punches Eiler in the face.
The movie ends with Tom (reinstated as a detective) visiting his father's grave with Emily and their daughter Sarah.
1993 in film
The year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and The Firm. -Events:...
thriller starring Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
, Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
, Dennis Farina
Dennis Farina
Dennis Farina is an American actor of film and television and former Chicago police officer. He is a character actor, often typecast as a mobster or police officer. His most known film roles are those of mobster Jimmy Serrano in the comedy Midnight Run and Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty...
, and Tom Sizemore
Tom Sizemore
Thomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore, Jr. is an American film and television actor and producer. He is known for his roles in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Strange Days, Pearl Harbor, Heat and Black Hawk Down....
as Pittsburgh Police
Pittsburgh Police
The Pittsburgh Police, or officially the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, is the largest law enforcement agency in Western Pennsylvania and the third largest in Pennsylvania...
officers pursuing a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
. It was directed by Rowdy Herrington
Rowdy Herrington
Rowdy L. Herrington is a Hollywood director and writer currently residing in Malibu, California. He is married and has no children.-Filmography:-Education:...
and written by Herrington and Marty Kaplan
Marty Kaplan
Marty Kaplan is the Norman Lear Professor of Entertainment, Media and Society at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism and the founding director of the Norman Lear Center for the study of the impact of entertainment on society...
. The film was shot on location throughout Pittsburgh; its early title was Three Rivers.
Plot
In 1991, Sergeant Tom Hardy (Bruce WillisBruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
), a Pittsburgh Police
Pittsburgh Police
The Pittsburgh Police, or officially the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, is the largest law enforcement agency in Western Pennsylvania and the third largest in Pennsylvania...
homicide detective
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
, has just broken the Blue Code of Silence by informing on
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
his partner and cousin, Sergeant Jimmy Detillo (Robert Pastorelli
Robert Pastorelli
Robert Joseph Pastorelli was an American actor. He had many roles on TV, in movies, and on the stage, including the seven years he played the portly painter Eldin Bernecky on the television series Murphy Brown. His last role was as an oddball hit man in Be Cool, reuniting him with Michael star...
), for using excessive force
Excessive Force
Excessive Force is a musical side project started in 1991 by Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM and Buzz McCoy of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult.-History:...
on a suspect. He drives out to the policeman's ball with his father, Captain Vince Hardy (John Mahoney
John Mahoney
John Mahoney is a British born American actor, known for playing Martin "Marty" Crane, the retired police officer, father of Kelsey Grammer's Dr...
). However, the ball is postponed after a police scan goes out indicating that a serial killer nicknamed the Polish Hill strangler has been spotted on the 31st Street Bridge
31st Street Bridge
The 31st Street Bridge, is an arch bridge that carries vehicular traffic across the Allegheny River between the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Troy Hill and the Strip District. The bridge passes over, but does not serve, Herrs Island, which is connected to the mainland by the 30th Street Bridge...
.
After a police chase and subsequent wreck, Tom regains consciousness, learning that his father has been shot dead, and that the killer got away. Police round up the usual suspects and make an arrest in the Polish Hill murders based on the testimony of Chick Chicanis.
Rather than go to prison, Jimmy climbs to the top of the 31st Street Bridge, and jumps off the bridge, his body is never found.
Two years later,1993 Tom is working for the Pittsburgh PD River Rescue when he is called to the scene of a body dump - the victim turns out to be a stewardess, Cheryl Putnam, whom Tom had previously been involved with. Shortly thereafter he is assigned a new partner, Jo Christman (Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
). It is revealed by District Attorney Frank Morris (Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Searles in the film Glory, as the fiery detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998 and again in the 2000 made-for-TV film Homicide: Life on the Street, and as Owen Thoreau Jr...
) that Tom had been demoted to river rescue after he went on the news and publicly stated his belief that the Polish Hill Strangler was a member of the police force. Danny Detillo (Tom Sizemore
Tom Sizemore
Thomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore, Jr. is an American film and television actor and producer. He is known for his roles in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Strange Days, Pearl Harbor, Heat and Black Hawk Down....
) has stepped down from the force, and has become an alcoholic. He just recently returned from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and has forgiven Tom for his role in Jimmy's death.
At a local hospital, a nurse is abducted. Later that night Tom receives a phone call at his home similar to the ones left by the Polish Hill Strangler two years earlier, and then hears a woman scream before she is shot and the phone goes dead. The next day, Tom and Jo are alerted to a body found floating the river. The victim is Paula Puglisi, an old flame of Tom's, who had worked at the same hospital as Cheryl Putnam. Tom is then sure that the Polish Hill Strangler is still out there. However, Sergeant Eddie Eiler (Brion James
Brion James
Brion Howard James was an American character actor. Known for playing the character of Leon Kowalski in the movie Blade Runner, James portrayed a variety of colorful roles in well-known films such as 48 Hrs., Another 48 Hours, Tango & Cash, Silverado, Red Heat, The Player and The Fifth Element...
) goes on the news stating that the murder was committed by a copycat. Tom is met with strong opposition by his uncle Nick (Dennis Farina
Dennis Farina
Dennis Farina is an American actor of film and television and former Chicago police officer. He is a character actor, often typecast as a mobster or police officer. His most known film roles are those of mobster Jimmy Serrano in the comedy Midnight Run and Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty...
), now a Captain, when he states that he received a phone call from the killer. Tom then goes to the precinct, and steals Chick Chicanis' deposition file in order to conduct an unauthorized investigation. While on river patrol, he tracks down Chicanis, and tries to get him to talk at gunpoint, but is stopped by Christman. When back at the boat, they get a call over the radio; a body, the body of Paula Puglisi, another woman that Tom once dated, has been found.
Tom and Jo go to the policeman's ball where a nasty brawl occurs between Tom and the officers in attendance. The couple leave the ball together and return to the docks. Finally alone together in Tom's boathouse, the two partners succumb to their mutual attraction and make love. Outside the boat, an unseen stranger silently observes the vulnerable and exposed lovers straining against each other in their bedroom.
The following morning Jo stumbles upon Tom's investigation notes and photos of the two victims. Tom returns and shows her a newspaper article stating that another woman, Connie, yet another of Tom's old acquaintances, has been killed. Later Eiler informs Nick that he suspects Tom of the murders, but Nick refuses to let Eiler bring Tom in. He states that Tom has been under scrutiny by Internal Affairs
Internal affairs (law enforcement)
The internal affairs division of a law enforcement agency investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force...
. During a court hearing to have Tom removed from the force, it is revealed that Jo Christman is really Emily Harper of the Pennsylvania State Police
Pennsylvania State Police
The Pennsylvania State Police is the state police force of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. It was founded in 1905 by order of Governor Samuel Pennypacker, in response to the private police forces used by mine and mill owners to stop worker strikes and the inability or...
, and has been monitoring Tom to find evidence of misconduct. Harper lies on the witness stand
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
about Tom's confrontation with Chicanis, and he goes unpunished.
Later that night, Emily is kidnapped. Just after arriving home, Tom calculates the distances of the body dumps to be in close proximity to his Uncle Nick's old cabin. He then suspects that Danny Detillo is the killer, seeking revenge for Jimmy. He is disturbed by his cat, trailing blood. Following the blood trail he finds his bed room trashed with blood and a firearm on the bed. Looking outside he finds another body, a police dispatcher he works with, he heads off to the cabin. Shortly after he arrives, Danny shows up and Tom demands he cooperate. Just then, someone shows up behind Tom and knocks him out.
Tom awakens and finds himself, Danny, and Emily handcuffed to chairs, with the news broadcast of Jimmy's brutality case playing on a TV. The killer reveals himself as none other than Jimmy Detillo, who had survived the fall into the river two years earlier. Jimmy is about to kill Emily when Nick suddenly walks in and stops him. Nick tells him to turn himself in. Jimmy is defiant and commands Tom to ask Nick how his father really died.
A flashback reveals that Nick arrived on the scene immediately after the crash, and was the first to confront the killer; he was horrified to find Jimmy, but let him escape. As Jimmy fled, Vince pried himself out of the wreckage of Tom's car and took aim at the fleeing killer, unaware that it is Jimmy. Nick tried to stop him and, in the ensuing struggle, killed Vince.
After this revelation, Nick tries to kill Jimmy, but he is wearing a ballistic vest and returns fire, killing Nick. In a fit of rage, Danny charges at Jimmy, giving Tom a chance to free himself. The police begin closing in, so Jimmy flees on a motorboat, with Tom in pursuit. The two eventually get into a scuffle in which Tom kills Jimmy, by tasering him in is his mouth. While he is getting freed of his handcuffs, Eiler steps in and helps remove the cuffs, and also apologizes in the process, prompting Tom to take his best shot. After a second of reluctance, Tom punches Eiler in the face.
The movie ends with Tom (reinstated as a detective) visiting his father's grave with Emily and their daughter Sarah.
Cast
- Bruce WillisBruce WillisWalter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
- Sergeant Tom Hardy - Sarah Jessica ParkerSarah Jessica ParkerSarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
- Jo Christman/Emily Harper - Dennis FarinaDennis FarinaDennis Farina is an American actor of film and television and former Chicago police officer. He is a character actor, often typecast as a mobster or police officer. His most known film roles are those of mobster Jimmy Serrano in the comedy Midnight Run and Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty...
- Captain Nick Detillo - Tom SizemoreTom SizemoreThomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore, Jr. is an American film and television actor and producer. He is known for his roles in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Strange Days, Pearl Harbor, Heat and Black Hawk Down....
- Danny Detillo - Brion JamesBrion JamesBrion Howard James was an American character actor. Known for playing the character of Leon Kowalski in the movie Blade Runner, James portrayed a variety of colorful roles in well-known films such as 48 Hrs., Another 48 Hours, Tango & Cash, Silverado, Red Heat, The Player and The Fifth Element...
- Sergeant Eddie Eiler - Robert PastorelliRobert PastorelliRobert Joseph Pastorelli was an American actor. He had many roles on TV, in movies, and on the stage, including the seven years he played the portly painter Eldin Bernecky on the television series Murphy Brown. His last role was as an oddball hit man in Be Cool, reuniting him with Michael star...
- Jimmy Detillo - Timothy BusfieldTimothy BusfieldTimothy "Timmy B" Busfield is an American actor and director best known for his role as Eliot Weston on the television series Thirtysomething and his recurring role as Danny Concannon on the television series The West Wing...
- Tony Sacco - John MahoneyJohn MahoneyJohn Mahoney is a British born American actor, known for playing Martin "Marty" Crane, the retired police officer, father of Kelsey Grammer's Dr...
- Captain Vince Hardy - Andre BraugherAndre BraugherAndre Braugher is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Searles in the film Glory, as the fiery detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998 and again in the 2000 made-for-TV film Homicide: Life on the Street, and as Owen Thoreau Jr...
- District Attorney Frank Morris - Tom AtkinsTom Atkins (actor)Tom Atkins is an American television and film actor. He is primarily known for his work in the horror film genre, having worked with writers and directors such as John Carpenter, Stephen King, and George A. Romero...
- Sergeant Fred Hardy - Jodi LongJodi LongJodi Long is an American actress.She was raised in Queens, New York. Her parents are Kimiye , a showgirl performer of Japanese American descent, and Lawrence K...
- Kim Lee - Roscoe OrmanRoscoe OrmanRoscoe Hunter Orman is an American actor who plays Gordon Robinson on the television program Sesame Street. Orman joined the show in 1973, taking over as the third actor to play Gordon on the show...
- Sid, Eddie Eiler's Partner - Robert Gould - Douglas Kesser
- Gareth WilliamsGareth Williams (actor)Gareth Williams is an American actor. He is probably best known from his role as Mike Potter, a recurring character on the television drama Dawson's Creek....
- Chick Chicanis - Billy HartungBilly HartungBilly Hartung, also known as Bill Hartung and William Hartung, is an American actor and dancer with credits ranging from Broadway to film....
- Boat Preppie
Filming locations
- Pittsburgh City Hall
- Point State ParkPoint State ParkPoint State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River....
, Pittsburgh - Allegheny County CourthouseAllegheny County CourthouseAllegheny County Courthouse is a government building of Allegheny County located in the county seat, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.- Early structures:...
, Pittsburgh - Mount Washington neighborhoodMount Washington (Pittsburgh)Mount Washington is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's south city area. It has a zip code of 15211 and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by both the council members for District 3 and District 2 .It is known for its steep hill overlooking the Pittsburgh skyline, which was...
, Pittsburgh - Neville Island, Pennsylvania
- Monongahela, PennsylvaniaMonongahela, PennsylvaniaMonongahela, colloquially called "Mon City," is a Third Class City in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area, located approximately south of the city proper. The population was 4,761 at the 2000 census...
- Natrona, PennsylvaniaNatrona, PennsylvaniaNatrona is an unincorporated community in Harrison Township, Allegheny County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located in Western Pennsylvania within the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, approximately northeast of Downtown Pittsburgh...