''The Guardian'' is a 1984 American

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 David Greene and written by

Richard Levinson Richard Leighton Levinson (August 7, 1934 – March 12, 1987) was an American screenwriter and Television producer, producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link. Life and career Levinson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. H ...

and

William Link William Theodore Link (December 15, 1933 – December 27, 2020) was an American film and television screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson. Biography Early life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ...

. The film stars

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, He had his stage debut at the age of 17, in a school production of '' You Can't Take It with You.'' Shortly after he successfully ...

, Arthur Hill, Tandy Cronyn, Simon Reynolds and Tom Harvey. The film premiered on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

on October 20, 1984.

Plot

The inhabitants of a New York City apartment building are plagued by burglaries and murder, and they have finally had enough. So they employ ex-military man John Mack (Louis Gossett Jr.) to protect their building as a security guard. Mack's techniques are precise and intense, and soon his overbearing and power-mad nature begins to chafe resident Charles Hyatt (Martin Sheen). Hyatt seeks Mack's removal, but will he have to forfeit his own safety in his quest for freedom? The ending illustrates how Charles Hyatt comes to terms with the necessity of having a tough, no-nonsense security guard in order to protect the residents in their part of town (albeit reluctantly).

Cast

as Charlie Hyatt *

as John Mack * Arthur Hill as Dr. Phil Julian *Tandy Cronyn as Lynn Hyatt *Simon Reynolds as Robbie Hyatt *Tom Harvey as Mr. Wicker *

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 Rudy Simbro *

Anthony Sherwood Anthony Sherwood is a Canadian actor, producer, director and writer. Biography Sherwood was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sherwood's grandmother, Alice Kane (née Alice White), was a musician and music teacher, his mother was an amateur singer ...

as Mr. Chambers *

Taborah Johnson Taborah Johnson, also known as Tabby Johnson, is a Canadian singer and actress. She is the sister of actor Clark Johnson and rock and jazz singer Molly Johnson. She began her career in the Toronto production of ''Hair'' as a teenager. She was su ...

as Mrs. Chambers *

Dinah Christie Dinah Barbara Christie (born 1942) is a Canadian actress and singer. Christie was born in London, England. One of the five children of actors Robert and Margot Christie, she came to Canada at the age of two with her parents and grew up in Toront ...

as Claire Julian *

Kate Lynch Kate Lynch (born June 29, 1959) is a Canadian film, television and stage actress, drama teacher, theatre director and playwright. Biography In 1980 she won the Genie Award for Best Actress for '' Meatballs''. She was notably adept at improvisatio ...

as Fran *Bathsheba Garnett as Mrs. Jacobs *

Hadley Kay Hadley Kay (born ) is a Canadian film, stage, television and voice actor, best known for his appearances in ''The Care Bears Movie'', '' Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation'' and ''Popples''. Career At age six, he made his film debut opposite ...

as Jason *

Wendy Crewson Wendy Jane Crewson (born May 9, 1956) is a Canadian actress and producer. She began her career appearing on Canadian television, before her breakthrough role in 1991 dramatic film '' The Doctor''. Crewson has appeared in many Hollywood films, inc ...

as Marlee Kramer * Sean McCann as Lt. Yaeger *

Harvey Atkin Elliot Harvey Atkin (18 December 1942 – 18 July 2017) was a Canadian actor best known for his roles as Morty Melnick in '' Meatballs'', Sergeant Ronald Coleman in ''Cagney & Lacey'', and for voicing King Koopa in ''The Super Mario Bros. Super S ...

as Mr. Wallace *Robert Reece as Beret *Al Bernardo as Mr. Andriola *Sharon Dyer as Mrs. Andriola *Alex Leslie as Lorraine *Marcia Diamond as Mrs. Wallace *John Dee as Fletch *John LeFleur as Stuart *

Ross Petty Ross Petty (born August 29, 1946) is a Canadian actor and theatre producer. He is best known for his eponymous production company, which staged what were promoted as "family musical" theatre productions in the British pantomime tradition in Toront ...

as McCarthey

References

External links

* 1984 television films 1984 films 1980s English-language films 1984 thriller films HBO Films films Films directed by David Greene Films scored by Robert O. Ragland American thriller television films Canadian thriller television films 1980s American films 1980s Canadian films {{US-tv-thriller-film-stub