The Owl is a 1991

1991 in film

The year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...

 action genre

Action genre

The word action has more than one meaning in fiction. Action is one of the fiction-writing modes authors use to present fiction. The term is also used to describe an exiting event or circumstance.-Action as a fiction-writing mode:...

 television movie

Television movie

A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...

. The film was directed by an "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...

", and it was inspired by the 1984 novel of the same name written by Bob Forward

Bob Forward

Robert D. Forward , commonly known as Bob Forward, is an American writer, director and producer. Forward is the production director and president of his independent company, Detonation Films. Forward has been the writer of many animated television series, as well as a film, The Owl, based on his...

, who also wrote the screenplay. The film starred Adrian Paul

Adrian Paul

Adrian Paul Hewett , better known as Adrian Paul, is an actor best known for his role on the television series Highlander: The Series as Duncan MacLeod. In 1997, he founded The Peace Fund charitable organization.-Early life:...

, Patricia Charbonneau

Patricia Charbonneau

Patricia Charbonneau is an American actress, probably best known for playing the part of Cay Rivvers in Desert Hearts, her first film role.Charbonneau was born in Valley Stream, New York on Long Island...

, Brian Thompson

Brian Thompson (actor)

Brian Thompson is an American actor. His distinctive square-jaw profile, powerful voice, and imposing stature has led him to be typecast as a villain in many action films and TV series, and a some comedies: Joe Dirt, The Three Amigos, Weird Science, Key West, and Life Stinks.-Career:Thompson has...

 and Erika Flores

Erika Flores

Erika Flores is an American actress and former child actress, known for her role as the first Colleen Cooper in the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman TV series. Erika left the role in 1995 on account of a salary dispute as well as personal reasons in the middle of the third season...

.

The film was only released in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, on November 18, 1998, because no United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 television network

Television network

A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...

wanted the film.

Plot

Alex L'Hiboux, a ruthless mercenary-cum-vigilante, is known as 'the Owl' because he never sleeps. His insomnia comes from a combination of a medical disorder and recurring nightmares of the murder of his wife and daughter. Alex is approached by Lisa, a young girl whose father is missing. She awakens painful memories of his own child, but after some persuasion from a policewoman friend, he agrees to help her.