''Highpoint'' is a Canadian 1982

action comedy Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of actio ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Peter Carter and starring

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in ''This Sporting ...

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

and

Beverly D'Angelo Beverly Heather D'Angelo (born November 15, 1951) is an American actress who starred as Ellen Griswold in the ''National Lampoon's Vacation'' films (1983–2015). She has appeared in over 60 films and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for h ...

. The film was shot on location in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, and is perhaps best remembered for its climax atop

CN Tower The CN Tower (french: Tour CN) is a concrete communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built on the former Railway Lands, it was completed in 1976. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway c ...

, in which stuntman

Dar Robinson Dar Allen Robinson (March 26, 1947 – November 21, 1986) was an American stunt performer and actor. Robinson broke 19 world records and set 21 "world's firsts." He invented the decelerator (use of dragline cables rather than airbags for a ...

(doubling for Plummer) makes the 700-foot jump in freefall, protected only by a hidden parachute. The film underwent a lengthy and troubled post-production period. Originally filmed in 1979 as a comedic thriller in the vein of ''

North by Northwest ''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture to ...

'', the film was shelved for two years during which extensive reshoots took place. The film was given a limited release in Europe in 1982. Due to negative critical and audience reception concerning its convoluted plot and poor pacing, the film was heavily re-edited by North American distributor

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...

, removing much of the comedy and replacing

John Addison John Mervyn Addison (16 March 19207 December 1998) was a British composer best known for his film scores. Early life Addison was born in Chobham, Surrey to a father who was a colonel in the Royal Field Artillery, and this influenced the de ...

's original score with one by

Christopher Young Christopher Young (born April 28, 1957) is an American composer and orchestrator of film and television scores. Many of his compositions are for horror and thriller films, including ''Hellraiser'', ''Species'', ''Urban Legend'', ''The Grudge'', ...

. This version was released in theaters in 1984, and provided the basis for future home video releases.

Plot

Lewis Kinney is an accountant who goes to work for a wealthy family, the Hatchers. James Hatcher has embezzled $10 million from the mafia and the CIA, and now they are both seeking him. Kinney falls for James' sister Lise and is pursued by two bumbling henchman, Centino and Falco. He eventually outwits them.

Cast

as Lewis Kinney *

as James Hatcher *

as Lise Hatcher *

Kate Reid Daphne Katherine Reid (4 November 1930 – 27 March 1993) was an English-born Canadian stage, film, and television actress. She played more than one thousand roles, most notably onstage in '' Death of a Salesman'', in the 1980 film ''Atlantic C ...

as Mrs. Hatcher *

Peter Donat Peter Donat (born Pierre Collingwood Donat; January 20, 1928 – September 10, 2018) was a Canadian-American actor. Early life Pierre Collingwood Donat was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Marie (née Bardet) and Philip Ernst ...

as Maronzella *Robin Gammell as Banner *

Saul Rubinek Saul Hersh Rubinek (born July 2, 1948) is a German-born Canadian actor, director, producer, and playwright. He is widely known for his television roles, notably Artie Nielsen on '' Warehouse 13,'' Donny Douglas on ''Frasier'', Lon Cohen on ''A N ...

as Centino *

Maury Chaykin Maury Alan Chaykin (July 27, 1949 – July 27, 2010) was an American–Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, as well as for his work as a character actor in many films and television programs. Personal lif ...

as Falco *

George Buza George Buza is an American-born Canadian actor who is best known for voicing Beast in the '' X-Men Animated Series''. Personal life Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he moved to Toronto, Ontario, as a young man and became a Canadian citizen in 1998. C ...

as Alex

Production

The film was based on a script by Richard Guttman, who was a partner in a Hollywood public relations film. It was originally to star Richard Harris and Katherine Ross. Ross was replaced by Beverly D'Angelo. Filming started 30 July 1979. The movie was financed by Canadian money, raised under tax concessions which led to the Canadian film boom at the time. The movie was reportedly so bad that another $2 million was spent on re-editing.

Proposed Follow Up

Harris and Plummer were to appear in another Canadian film, ''The Burning Book'' but only $3 million of the $7 million budget could be raised.

References

External links

IMDB
1982 films 1980s action comedy films Canadian action comedy films 1980s comedy thriller films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Peter Carter Films scored by John Addison Films scored by Christopher Young New World Pictures films 1982 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s Canadian films {{1980s-Canada-film-stub