''The Taking of Beverly Hills'' is a 1991 American

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring

Ken Wahl Ken Wahl (born October 31, 1957) is a retired American film and television actor, popular in the 1980s and 1990s, best known for the CBS television crime drama '' Wiseguy''. Early life and career Wahl, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, Note: ...

Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names. He became prominent when playing role ...

Harley Jane Kozak Harley Jane Kozak (born January 28, 1957) is an American actress and author. She made her film debut in the slasher film ''The House on Sorority Row'' (1982), and had a recurring role as Mary Duvall on the soap opera '' Santa Barbara'' between 1 ...

and

Robert Davi Robert John Davi (born 1953) is an American actor, singer and filmmaker. Over the course of his acting career, Davi has performed in more than 130 films. Among his most known roles are opera-singing heavy Jake Fratelli in ''The Goonies'' (1985), ...

. In the film, football hero Boomer Hayes (Wahl) battles a group of ex-cops, who are using a chemical spill as a front to rob several homes and bank vaults in Beverly Hills. The film also features

Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997). Anders ...

in her first film part in an uncredited role playing a cheerleader.

Plot

One night in Beverly Hills, California, a truck carrying

hazardous materials Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllab ...

crashes, releasing a deadly chemical. The citizens of Beverly Hills are sent to quarantine in a hotel in Century City, while the police and the EPA agents stay behind to keep an eye on the valuables and clean up the town. However, the spill is a cleverly executed hoax masterminded by the head of L.A.'s football team, Robert "Bat" Masterson. The police officers and

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

agents are bitter ex-cops eager for a piece of what the citizens have hoarded from them. Within the 70 minutes that it will take for the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

to arrive, they plot to loot every home and business in the city. However, one man has been forgotten in the rush to get everyone out. Aging football player David "Boomer" Hayes was in his hot tub, expecting to get lucky, when his lady friend, Laura Sage went to see what was going on and was taken in the rush to evacuate everyone. The officers thought that "Boomer" was her dog, but checked anyway. After taking care of one of the cops sent to kill him, Boomer is trapped in the hot tub by an officer, but before he can shoot him, he's shot from behind. Ed Kelvin, a cop in on the whole thing but disgusted by the ruthless murder of the Mayor (he was told there would be no killing), fills in Boomer on the whole situation, and Boomer decides to help bring in the real police, who are locked in the station's

hazmat suit A hazmat suit (hazardous materials suit) is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body garment worn as protection against hazardous materials. Such suits are often combined with self-contained breathing ...

room. Donning his jersey, injecting cortizone for his bum knee, and enlisting Kelvin's help, Boomer will spend the next 70 minutes attempting to stop the robbery and bring Masterson to justice, while evading ex-cops and the hired thug Benitez, who has commandeered a SWAT tank and is gunning for Boomer and Kelvin.

Cast

as David "Boomer" Hayes *

as Officer Ed Kelvin *

as Laura Sage *

as Robert "Bat" Masterson *

Lee Ving Lee James Jude Capallero (born April 10, 1950), also known as Lee Ving, is an American guitarist, singer and actor. Ving is the frontman of the Los Angeles-based hardcore punk band Fear. As an actor, Ving played topless club owner Johnny C. ...

as Varney *

Branscombe Richmond Branscombe Richmond is an American character actor and stuntman. He is known for his starring role of Bobby Sixkiller on the American syndicated drama series, ''Renegade'' (1992–1997), and for his starring roles on the television series, ''Haw ...

as Benitez * Lyman Ward as Chief Healy *

George Wyner George Wyner (born October 20, 1945) is an American film and television actor. Wyner graduated from Syracuse University in 1968 as a drama major and was an in-demand character actor by the early 1970s. Wyner has made guest appearances in over 1 ...

as the Mayor of Beverly Hills * William Prince as Mitchell Sage * Michael Bowen as L.A. Cop at Roadblock * Tony Ganios as EPA Man *

Michael Alldredge Dennis Michael Alldredge (April 13, 1941 – December 19, 1997) was an American film and television actor. He played Frank Foley in the short-lived drama television series '' Almost Grown''. He also played Bill Graham in the miniseries '' V ...

as Dispatch Sergeant * Raymond Singer as Mr. Tobeason *

as Cheerleader (uncredited)

Release

The film was picked up for theatrical distribution by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, which slotted the film for May 1991 before pulling it from the schedule. It was eventually given a limited release in the fall of 1991, grossing $939,277 at the box office on a budget of $19 million. Despite Wahl's presence, and due to rather lackluster advertising, the film bombed on this initial release, but later found an audience when the film was released on VHS.

Computer game

A computer game was developed by Off The Wall Productions and released by

Capstone Software Capstone Software was a subsidiary of IntraCorp, a Miami-based computer and video game company. Founded in 1984, Capstone created first-person games such as '' Corridor 7: Alien Invasion'', '' William Shatner's TekWar'' and '' Witchaven'', and is ...

in 1991 to coincide with the film's theatrical release. The game was an action/adventure hybrid where you could play as both Boomer Hayes and Laura Sage (strangely, Ed was left out) to solve puzzles and defeat bad guys in order to stop the looting of the city.

References

External links

* *
The Taking of Beverly Hills multimedia at MGM.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taking Of Beverly Hills, The 1991 films 1991 action thriller films American action thriller films Columbia Pictures films 1990s English-language films Films directed by Sidney J. Furie 1990s American films