''Hit List'' is a 1989 action–thriller movie directed by

William Lustig William "Bill" Lustig (born February 1, 1955, in The Bronx, New York) is an American film director and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre. He is the nephew of former middleweight champion Jake LaMotta. Film career As ...

. The tagline for the movie was: ''"They attacked the wrong woman... They kidnapped the wrong child... And they made the wrong man their target."'' The film was produced by Cinetel Films and was distributed in US theaters by New Line Cinema and in Canadian theaters by Cineplex Odeon Films and on VHS format by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, but has been out of print for some time. As of December 26, 2009,

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

has not announced any plans to release a DVD of the movie.

Plot

Gangster boss Vic Luca (Rip Torn) is scheduled to appear in court and so hires a hit man/shoe salesman Chris Caleek (Lance Henriksen) to kill the witnesses. He has a mole in the police force who tells him names and locations of the witnesses. Unfortunately, during the last hit, the professional killer enters the wrong house. When owner Jack Collins comes home, he finds his pregnant wife unconscious in the kitchen, his friend dead in the living room and his son kidnapped. Wanting Luca to believe he has the real witness' son, the authorities take Collins into custody. But Collins manages to escape and takes things into his own hands.

Cast

Jan-Michael Vincent Jan-Michael Vincent (July 15, 1944 – February 10, 2019) was an American actor known for portraying helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke in the TV series ''Airwolf'' (1984–1987) and the protagonist, Matt Johnson, in the 1978 film ''Big W ...

as Jack Collins *

Leo Rossi Leo Rossi (born June 26, 1946) is an American actor, writer and producer. A character actor with over 100 credits to his name, he is known for his role as foul-mouthed EMT Vincent "Budd" Scarlotti in the 1981 horror film '' Halloween II'', a ...

as Frank DeSalvo *

Lance Henriksen Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his works in various science fiction, action and horror films, such as that of Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise, and Frank Black in Fox television series ''Millennium ...

as Chris Caleek * Charles Napier as Tom Mitchum *

Rip Torn Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned more than 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his part as Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' ...

as Vic Luca *

Harold Sylvester Harold Sylvester (born February 10, 1949) is an American film and television actor. Early life and education Sylvester was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is a graduate of New Orleans' St. Augustine High School and Tulane University. Turnin ...

as Brian Armstrong *

Jere Burns Jere Eugene Burns II (; born October 15, 1954) is an American actor who has appeared in theatre productions and on television. He played the roles of ladies' man Kirk Morris on the television series '' Dear John'', DIA psychiatrist Anson Fullert ...

as Jared Riley * Junior Richard as Kenny Collins * Harreit Hall as Sandy Collins *

Ken Lerner Kenneth Lerner (born May 27, 1948) is an American television, stage and film actor. He played Principal Flutie in the first episodes of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Personal life Lerner was born in Brooklyn, New York, of ...

as Gravenstein *

Jack Andreozzi Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name ...

as Abe Fasio *

Nick Barbaro Nick Barbaro (born Nicolo Rafael Barbaro; 1952) is co-creator of the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival and co-founder of ''The Austin Chronicle''. Barbaro's contributions have helped define the Austin, Texas music community. He co-owns the South ...

as Mario *

Lou Bonacki Lou may refer to: __NOTOC__ Personal name * Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Lou (German singer) *Lou (French singer) * Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China * Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most common ...

as Johnson *

Barry Brener Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 1950 ...

as the doctor *

Geoff Brewer Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the ...

as Brock * Richard E. Butler as Wink *

Christopher Carroll Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

as the priest *

Robert A. Ferretti The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

as Vincent Carelli * John F. Goff as the prosecutor *John Greene as Burke * Margaret Gwenver as the judge *

Lisa M. Hansen Lisa M. Hansen is an American film producer, production manager, former actress, writer, and craft service person. She has worked in various genres, including Thriller (genre), thriller, Action film, action, Drama film, drama, and science ficti ...

as the shoe store clerk * Dennis Junt as the reporter * Lauri Landry as Connie Wayne * Scott Lincoln as Paulie * Jason Lustig as Gravenstein’s Assistant *Vic Manni as George *

Felice Orlandi Felice Orlandi (18 September 1925 – 21 May 2003) was an Italian-born American actor, known for roles in films such as ''The Pusher (film), The Pusher'' (1960), ''Bullitt'' (1968), ''Catch-22 (film), Catch-22'' (1970) and ''The Driver'' (1978). ...

as Joey DeSalvo *

Frank Pesce Frank Pesce (December 8, 1946 – February 6, 2022) was an American film and television actor. Early life Born in New York City, Pesce was the son of two working-class Italian-American parents. Career Pesce started his film career as an e ...

as Quigley * Pearl Shear as Mrs. Gulliver *

John Paul Vetturini John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

as Frank Jr. In a 2019 interview, director William Lustig said Jan-Michael Vincent was drinking during the shoot, even though the actor was hired because he told them he had just finished rehab:

"When we met him to do Hit List he had been in a recovery program and he was telling us that his drinking days were finished. And he looked great. At the time he was young enough that when he stopped drinking he immediately looked good again. He came in, he looked good, he assured us he wasn’t drinking, so we hired him. Literally the very first day of shooting I smelled alcohol on his breath.But I have to say, for the most part he was a functioning alcoholic."

References

External links

* * * {{William Lustig 1989 films 1980s action thriller films 1980s crime action films Films directed by William Lustig American action thriller films American crime action films CineTel Films films 1989 drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films