Heat (1986 film)
Encyclopedia
- See Heat for the 1995 film directed by Michael Mann.
Heat is a 1986
1986 in film
-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
-thriller film about an ex-mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
working as a bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. The film was written by William Goldman
William Goldman
William Goldman is an American novelist, playwright, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.-Early life and education:...
, based on his novel. It was directed by Dick Richards
Dick Richards
Dick Richards is an American film director, producer and writer.After working as a photographer, Richards went on to direct commercials. His career in film began by writing and directing a western, The Culpepper Cattle Co. , and continued with such films as Farewell, My Lovely , March or Die , and...
and Jerry Jameson, and stars Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
, Karen Young
Karen Young (actress)
Karen Young is an American actress.Born in Pequannock Township, New Jersey, Young studied at Rutgers University. After graduation she moved to New York City and became an actress, appearing in such films as 9½ Weeks, Jaws: The Revenge, Daylight, Mercy and Hoffa. Her ex-husband is Tom Noonan...
, and Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol is an American actor. He may be best known in films for his roles of Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II, Stingo in Sophie's Choice, Thomas Renfield in Dracula: Dead and Loving It and David Langley in Bean...
.
Plot summary
A woman in a Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
bar is annoyed by a flirtatious drunk (Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
). Her date, a milquetoast named Osgood, wants to do something about it. The woman, D.D., begs him not to, but when the drunk turns mean, Osgood challenges him to step outside. Much to D.D.'s astonishment, Osgood wins the fight and even gets the tough-looking drunk to apologize. Next morning, it turns out that the drunk is Nick Escalante, known to his friends as Mex, who has been hired to make Osgood look tough in his lady's eyes.
Nick is a former soldier of fortune
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
, lethal with his hands and an expert with weapons, in particular sharp objects. He now acts as a bodyguard for hire but is listed in the Yellow Pages as a "chaperone". Nick's goal is to make enough money to leave Vegas and move to Venice, Italy for good. Soon, he is approached by another meek young man. Cyrus Kinnick (Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol is an American actor. He may be best known in films for his roles of Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II, Stingo in Sophie's Choice, Thomas Renfield in Dracula: Dead and Loving It and David Langley in Bean...
) is wealthy and claims to want someone by his side while he gambles, but that's a ruse. He really wants Nick to teach him how to be tough.
Nick is distracted, meantime, by the savage beating of his friend, Holly (Karen Young
Karen Young (actress)
Karen Young is an American actress.Born in Pequannock Township, New Jersey, Young studied at Rutgers University. After graduation she moved to New York City and became an actress, appearing in such films as 9½ Weeks, Jaws: The Revenge, Daylight, Mercy and Hoffa. Her ex-husband is Tom Noonan...
). As a paid escort, she goes to the hotel suite of Vegas high roller named Daniel "Danny" DeMarco (Neill Barry
Neill Barry
Neill Barry is an American film, television and stage actor, as well as an occasional screenwriter. His films have grossed collectively over $90,000,000....
) who has organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
connections. There, she was sadistically abused by DeMarco, a small man backed by Kinlaw and Tiel, a pair of gigantic thugs.
Holly can't get her revenge over DeMarco without Nick's help. He reluctantly agrees and goes to DeMarco's hotel, dressed like a flamboyant pimp
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
. He uses his friendship with a local crime boss, Baby (Joseph Mascolo
Joseph Mascolo
Joseph Mascolo is an American musician and dramatic actor. During his long career, he has acted in numerous motion pictures and television series. He is best known for playing Stefano DiMera, a role he originated in 1982 on NBC's long running Days of our Lives.-Early life:Mascolo was born and...
) to get access to DeMarco's suite. When he asks DeMarco about Holly's suffering, DeMarco tells him that it was only the beginning of a great game. When Nick asks DeMarco to make financial restitution for Holly's injuries, DeMarco first offers $20,000 restitution, which Nick accepts. But DeMarco puts the money back into his desk and pulls a gun, demanding that Nick flatter him. Nick does so, but DeMarco says that Nick has "failed the test," but he will spare him because he likes him. DeMarco again points his gun at Nick, after which he asks him what is he thinking about, to which Nick answers, "Venice." After Nick's answer, DeMarco orders Nick to be taken out of his suite, apparently to be beaten, or maybe even killed outside. But before DeMarco's henchmen can take any action, Nick proceeds to dispense his own kind of justice, using sharp objects like a medallion and the side of a credit card to defeat DeMarco and his goons.
Later that night, Holly arrives in DeMarco's suite and threatens to slice off DeMarco's manhood. She relents by cutting only the top of his, apparently small, penis. DeMarco becomes even more scared because of his bleeding. He asks if the whole thing is about the money, to which Holly asks, "what money?" Nick tells her about DeMarco's $20,000 in his desk. Holly takes the money and gives it to Nick, after which she tells DeMarco that "it's not about money, it's about love." DeMarco tries to blame Holly's suffering on his henchmen, but the henchmen confront him by telling that DeMarco had planned and done everything by himself.
After this, Nick and Holly leave DeMarco's hotel. Nick has a car prepared for Holly to get out of Las Vegas, but Nick stays. Before they depart, Nick gives Holly the $20,000 which they took from DeMarco. He refuses Holly's suggestion to take half the money. After Holly leaves with the car, she gives $10,000 to a man and asks him to give the money to Nick and leaves.
Taking a liking to his new client, Nick agrees to give Kinnick a few pointers on how to defend himself. With the money Holly gave him, meanwhile, Nick begins to play blackjack in a casino where his friend Cassie is a dealer. Kinnick comes to realize what Cassie already knows, that the reason Nick has had so much difficulty leaving Vegas is because he is a compulsive gambler.
After he wins enough money to go to Venice as planned, Nick talks himself into believing that it wouldn't be enough to last him for the rest of his life and he needs more. He returns to the casino and proceeds to lose it all.
DeMarco goes to Baby, asking him to kill Nick, claiming that Nick killed his friends with their own guns. Baby organizes a meeting in his home with him as a mediator. By knowing that they will find his fingerprints on the guns from when he disarmed DeMarco's friends, Nick tells Baby that some part of DeMarco's story is true. Instead of telling the truth to Baby, Nick asks two questions, why would he need a gun, to which DeMarco says that it is a stupid question, but Baby answers that Nick never uses firearms, but always sharp objects and fighting skills, and that is a perfect alibi for Nick. Nick's second question is how he knows that DeMarco has a small penis, to which he answers that he knows because his friend (Holly) cut its top in front of Nick. With this question, Nick wants to prove that DeMarco abused Holly, to which Baby says that DeMarco will have to show them his penis in order to prove if Nick is right or not. DeMarco refuses, after which Baby concludes that it was not Nick who killed DeMarco's friends, but someone who looks like him, after which Nick is freed from DeMarco's charges.
DeMarco and his men are waiting to ambush Nick at his office. Nick manages to fight them off with a brave intervention by Kinnick, who steps in the path of a bullet. Nick manages to kill DeMarco's henchmen and the same night goes to DeMarco's suite. DeMarco arrives still scared of what might happen since he failed to kill Nick and tried to kill Kinnick. Nick has turned the power off in DeMarco's suite and talks to DeMarco from the darkness, asks him if he wants to know how he is going to die, tells him that what happened to Kinlaw and Tiel is nothing compared to what awaits him. DeMarco tries to locate and kill Nick. By climbing the stairs inside the suite, he gets closer to Nick's voice, but still fails to locate Nick. Nick tells DeMarco that he has only one bullet left in his gun and that if he misses, he will tear his small and beautiful face out. Powerless, DeMarco kills himself with his own gun instead of leaving Nick to finish him.
As his new friend Kinnick recovers in the hospital, Nick is seen on a gondola in Venice, beginning a new life.
Cast
- Burt ReynoldsBurt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
as Nick "Mex" Escalante - Karen YoungKaren Young (actress)Karen Young is an American actress.Born in Pequannock Township, New Jersey, Young studied at Rutgers University. After graduation she moved to New York City and became an actress, appearing in such films as 9½ Weeks, Jaws: The Revenge, Daylight, Mercy and Hoffa. Her ex-husband is Tom Noonan...
as Holly - Peter McNichol as Kinnick
- Howard HessemanHoward HessemanHoward Hesseman is an American actor best known for playing disc jockey Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati and schoolteacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class.-Early life:...
as Pinchus - Neill Barry as DeMarco
- Joe Mascolo as Baby
- Diana ScarwidDiana ScarwidDiana Scarwid is an American actress. Scarwid has done work in film, television and theater.-Personal life:Scarwid was born in Savannah, Georgia, and left Georgia at the age of 17, heading to New York to become an actress. She graduated from Pace University and The American Academy of Dramatic...
as Cassie - Deborah RushDeborah RushDeborah Rush is an American actress.Rush has worked in television, film and on Broadway. In 1984, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for Michael Frayn's comedy Noises Off. She also acted in Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot...
as D.D. - Wendell BurtonWendell BurtonWendell Burton is an American television executive and former motion picture actor and television actor, best known for his co-starring role with Liza Minnelli in the 1969 movie The Sterile Cuckoo....
as Osgood - Joe KleckoJoe KleckoJoseph Edward Klecko is a former American football player as a defensive lineman best remembered for his days as a member of the New York Jets' famed "New York Sack Exchange."-Temple University Owls:...
as Kinlaw - Pete KochPete KochPeter Alan Koch is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League and an American actor.-Football:...
as Tiel