Against the Law (1997 film)
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''Against the Law'' is a 1997 American action
crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
directed by
Jim Wynorski Jim Wynorski (born August 14, 1950) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Wynorski has been making B-movies and exploitation movies since the early 1980s, and has directed over 150 feature films. His earliest films were releas ...
and starring Nick Mancuso, Nancy Allen and
Richard Grieco Richard John Grieco Jr. (born March 23, 1965) is an American actor and former fashion model. He played Detective Dennis Booker in the popular Fox series ''21 Jump Street'' (1988–89) and its spin-off ''Booker'' (1989–90). He has also starre ...
.


Plot

In California, a homeless and mentally ill man, Rex, comes to believe he is a
gunfighter Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...
from the American Old West, and heads for Los Angeles. While travelling, he begins a murder spree, and his victims include police officers. He becomes fixated on Los Angeles police officer John Shepard, who is in the news after killing a drug dealer in a shootout, and news anchor Maggie Hewitt, who broke the story. He terrorizes Hewitt before arriving in Los Angeles, where he challenges Shepard to a Western-style showdown at high noon.


Cast

* Nancy Allen as Maggie Hewitt *
Richard Grieco Richard John Grieco Jr. (born March 23, 1965) is an American actor and former fashion model. He played Detective Dennis Booker in the popular Fox series ''21 Jump Street'' (1988–89) and its spin-off ''Booker'' (1989–90). He has also starre ...
as Rex * Nick Mancuso as Det. John Shepard *
Steven Ford Steven Meigs Ford (born May 19, 1956) is an American actor, and son of former U.S. President Gerald Ford and former First Lady Betty Ford. Early life Ford is the third child and youngest son of former President Gerald Ford and former First Lad ...
as Lt. Bill Carpenter *
Thomas Mikal Ford Thomas Mikal Ford (September 5, 1964 – October 12, 2016) was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for his role as Thomas "Tommy" Strawn on the FOX sitcom ''Martin'', which originally aired from 1992 until 1997. He also had a recur ...
as Det. Siegel *
Gary Sandy Gary Lee Sandy (born December 25, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for playing program director Andy Travis on the television sitcom ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' (1978-1982). Early life and education Sandy was born in Dayton, Ohio, the s ...
as Chief Leitner *
Leslie Bega Leslie Rae Bega (born April 17, 1967) is an American former actress. Early life and education Bega was born in Los Angeles to a Sephardi Jewish father and Russian Jewish mother. Her paternal grandparents came to the United States from Spain. ...
as Lucia * James Stephens as Det. Ben Hamada * Herb Mitchell as Carl Stensgard *
Heather Thomas Heather Anne Thomas (born September 8, 1957) is an American actress, author, and political activist, who co-starred as Jody Banks on the TV series ''The Fall Guy.'' Early life Thomas was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Gladdy Lou Ryder, a s ...
as Felicity *
Jaime Pressly Jaime Elizabeth Pressly (born July 30, 1977) is an American actress, fashion designer, and model. Best known for her role as Joy Turner on the NBC sitcom '' My Name Is Earl'', she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in ...
as Sally *B.K. Byron as Lars Reder *Tim Colceri as Officer I.Q. *
Randy Crowder Randolph Channing Crowder Sr. (born July 30, 1952) is a former American football defensive lineman in the NFL. He played three seasons with the Miami Dolphins and three with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He attended Penn State University, where he wa ...
as Lt. Fuller *Billy Gallo as DJ *Randy Hall as Security Guard *Frank Lloyd as Officer Caultman


Production

The film was written by Steve Mitchell with Bob Sheridan. Mitchell hoped to direct and wrote it with
John Terlesky John Todd Terlesky (born May 30, 1961) is an American actor, film director, television director and screenwriter. As an actor, he is best known for playing Deathstalker in the 1987 film '' Deathstalker II'', and Mike in ''Chopping Mall'' (1986) ...
in mind for the lead.
Jim Wynorski Jim Wynorski (born August 14, 1950) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Wynorski has been making B-movies and exploitation movies since the early 1980s, and has directed over 150 feature films. His earliest films were releas ...
bought the script for Sunset Films, a company he was operating with Andrew Stevens for
Cinetel Films CineTel Films Inc. is an independent film production company and distributor based in West Hollywood, California. History The company was founded in Chicago in 1980 as Chicago Teleproductions and later moved the company's headquarters to Los ...
. Mitchell said he thought the film "ultimately turned out to be one of Jim’s best movies, but there are a lot of things I’m not happy with. The casting was a lot of it."


References


External links

* * American crime action films Films shot in Los Angeles 1997 films 1990s crime action films 1990s exploitation films Films directed by Jim Wynorski Films scored by Kevin Kiner Films about journalists 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-action-film-stub