''Stunts'', also released as ''The Deadly Game'', is a 1977 American film
drama thriller
Thriller may refer to:
* Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television
** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre
Comics
* ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sp ...
directed by
Mark L. Lester and starring
Robert Forster. it was the first film produced by
New Line Cinema.
Premise
The film opens on an unseen figure tampering with a helicopter harness. The next morning, stuntman Greg Wilson wakes up in bed next to a blonde woman. He rides his motorcycle to the set, late for a shoot. In the stunt, he is the passenger in a
skiing car. He climbs out the window and grabs onto the skid of a helicopter, which climbs to a great height. During the ascent, Greg tries to attach his harness, but finds that the hook will not close. He loses his grip and falls to his death.
His brother Glen arrives on the set with reporter B.J. Parswell in tow. She is there to write about the dangers of stunt work. The producer of the film, Alvin Blake, introduces Glen to his wife Judy and asks him to join the production. He reluctantly agrees. Greg is then given a stuntman's funeral, in which one of his colleagues drives his motorcycle off a cliff. Judy later comes onto Glen, revealing that she was sleeping with Greg and wants to see if his brother is as much fun in bed. Glen turns her down.
Meanwhile Glen joins the film's stunt team. They are a close-knit group that promise each other they would pull the plug on each other if they are ever left in a vegetative state.
Patti & Chuck Johnson are married members of the team, and they are beginning to think about having a baby. After Patti tells Chuck that she has stopped taking birth control, he loses his nerve on a 6-story fall he is supposed to take off a roof. Chuck asks Glen to switch places with him, and he takes Greg's place on the stunt team that is climbing up the building during the scene. As Glen is on the roof, shooting at the climbers during the scene, Chuck's harness fails, and he plummets to the ground. Hospitalized in a vegetative state, a tearful Glen pulls the plug on Chuck.
Realizing the tampered harness was meant for him, Glen promises B.J. that he will get revenge. In a stunt where he is supposed to emerge from a burning building while completely on fire, stuntman Paul is inside the building lighting it on fire for the shot. As he tries to exit, an unseen figure traps him inside, leading to his death.
On the day that Glen is to recreate the helicopter stunt that killed Greg, B.J. discovers that Blake is responsible for the murders. He is jealous of his wife's infidelity. She rushes to the set to stop the stunt, but it is already in progress. Blake flees in his convertible. He has loosened the skid on the helicopter, and it is starting to fall off as Greg hangs from it. B.J. tells him over the radio that Blake is the murderer. Glen directs the helicopter to hover over Blake's car. He jumps into it, just as the helicopter skid finally breaks free. Glen wrestles with Blake and jumps free of the car, just before it crashes and bursts into flames, killing Blake.
Cast
*
Robert Forster as Glen Wilson
*
Fiona Lewis
Fiona Lewis (born 28 September 1946) is a British actress and writer from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.Profile
, bfi.org.uk; acc ...
as B.J. Parswell
*
Ray Sharkey
Raymond Sharkey Jr. (November 14, 1952 – June 11, 1993) was an American stage, film and television actor. His most notable film role was Vincent Vacarri in the 1980 film '' The Idolmaker'', for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best A ...
as Paul Salerno
*
Joanna Cassidy
Joanna Cassidy (born Joanna Virginia Caskey, August 2, 1945 Brady, James"In Step With: Joanna Cassidy" ''Miami Herald'', November 25, 1990. Accessed March 14, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Born: Aug.2, 1944, in Camden, N.J.") is an American actress. ...
as Patti Johnson
*
Bruce Glover
Bruce Herbert Glover (born May 2, 1932) is an American character actor best known for his portrayal of the assassin Mr. Wint in the James Bond film '' Diamonds Are Forever''. He is the father of actor Crispin Glover.
Life and career
Glover was ...
as Chuck Johnson
*
Richard Lynch
Richard Lynch (February 12, 1940 – June 19, 2012) was an American actor best known for portraying villains in films and television.
His film credits included ''The Sword and the Sorcerer'', '' Invasion USA'', ''The Seven-Ups'', ''Scarecr ...
as Pete Lustig
*
Darrell Fetty
Darrell Fetty is an American actor, screenwriter, and producer. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on the History miniseries '' Hatfields & McCoys'' which has received a total of 16 nominations. He resides in Los Angeles, Californi ...
as Dave Allison
*
James Luisi
James A. Luisi (November 2, 1928 – June 7, 2002) was an American professional basketball player and actor. Luisi is perhaps best known for his role as Lt. Doug Chapman, the apoplectic foil to detective Jim Rockford, in a total of 23 episo ...
as Alvin Blake
*
Candice Rialson
Candice Ann Rialson (December 18, 1951 – March 31, 2006), also known as Candy Rialson, was an American actress known for her starring role in ''Hollywood Boulevard'' (1976). According to one obituary, "although never reluctant to take her c ...
as Judy Blake
*
Malachi Throne
Malachi Throne (December 1, 1928 – March 13, 2013) was an American actor, noted for his guest-starring roles on ''Star Trek'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'', ''Lost in Space'', ''Batman'', ''Land ...
as Earl O'Brien
Production
''Stunts'' was
Bob Shaye's first movie for
New Line Cinema and was also the company's first full-length feature film production; for the previous 10 years they had existed solely as a distribution company. "They were distributing ''
Truck Stop Women'' to college campuses and they already had a script, so I was hired to direct it," said the director Mark Lester. "We hired Robert Forster because he had done ''
Medium Cool
''Medium Cool'' is a 1969 American drama film written and directed by Haskell Wexler and starring Robert Forster, Verna Bloom, Peter Bonerz, Marianna Hill and Harold Blankenship. It takes place in Chicago in the summer of 1968. It was notable f ...
''.
Don Stroud
Donald Lee Stroud (born September 1, 1943) is an American actor, musician, and surfer. Stroud has appeared in over 100 films and 200 television shows.
Early years
Stroud was the son of vaudeville actor Clarence Stroud (of "The Stroud Twins" team ...
was supposed to star in it but he got into a motorcycle accident the night before shooting."
''Stunts'' was filmed in San Luis Obispo, California.
Candice Rialson
Candice Ann Rialson (December 18, 1951 – March 31, 2006), also known as Candy Rialson, was an American actress known for her starring role in ''Hollywood Boulevard'' (1976). According to one obituary, "although never reluctant to take her c ...
makes one of her final appearances.
References
External links
*
*
{{Mark L. Lester
1977 films
1970s mystery films
American mystery films
Films about stunt performers
Films directed by Mark L. Lester
Films produced by William N. Panzer
Films scored by Michael Kamen
New Line Cinema films
1970s English-language films
1970s American films