''High Risk'' is a 1981 American/British/Mexican adventure/

heist film The heist film or caper film is a subgenre of crime film focused on the planning, execution, and aftermath of a significant robbery. One of the early defining heist films was '' The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950), which ''Film Genre 2000'' wrote "alm ...

directed by

Stewart Raffill Stewart Raffill is a British writer and director. Biography Raffill was born in England and grew up near Stratford before immigrating to the US and working in the motion picture industry. His writing and directing work in film and TV spans ...

and stars

James Brolin James Brolin (, born Craig Kenneth Bruderlin; July 18, 1940) is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin. He ...

Lindsay Wagner Lindsay Jean Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American film and television actress, model, author, singer, and acting coach. Wagner is best known for her leading role in the American science-fiction television series '' The Bionic Woman'' (197 ...

Cleavon Little Cleavon Jake Little (June 1, 1939 – October 22, 1992) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He began his career in the late 1960s on the stage. In 1970, he starred in the Broadway production of '' Purlie'', for which he earned both ...

, James Coburn,

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

and

Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...

Plot

During a period of sluggish economy and high unemployment, four friends—Stone (

), Tony (

Chick Vennera Francis Vincent Vennera (March 27, 1947 – July 7, 2021) was an American actor, known for his role as Joe Mondragon, in Robert Redford's ''The Milagro Beanfield War'', among other movies. He also often served as a voice double for Joe Pesci. ...

), Dan (

Bruce Davison Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor and director. Davison is well known for his starring role as Willard Stiles in the cult horror film '' Willard'' (1971) and his Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning perfor ...

) and Rockney (

)—gather for a fishing trip. The weekend getaway is a cover: they are really planning to fly to Colombia to rob a drug lord. They meet with Clint (

), who supplies them with weapons and target practice. It becomes clear that with the exception of Stone, the men have no relevant training and are not taking the heist seriously. The men are flown to a jungle. Their target is Serrano ( James Coburn), a sadistic drug lord who lives in a large

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

. The group observes Serrano, his staff and various visitors from a hidden vantage point. They discuss whether they would have the courage to actually kill someone, and what they will do with their share of the cash once they return home. They infiltrate the villa, capture Serrano and his lover, and force Serrano to reveal the combination to his safe. They escape from the villa with five million dollars in cash. They travel on foot through the jungle, eventually finding horses to buy. Believing that they have been successful, the men camp for the night and celebrate. They are unaware that they are being observed by a rebel tracker. When they wake the next day, Serrano’s men and the local military are approaching them in

all-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...

s and on horseback. They flee, but Tony and Rockney are captured by Serrano. Stone and Dan have to continue on foot and only escape their pursuers by leaping from a very high rope bridge. Serrano has Rockney beaten to force Tony to reveal the location of money. Knowing that Stone has his share of the cash and that they face better odds of escape in the open, Tony agrees to show them where the money is "hidden". Serrano has them taken to a prison. They meet Olivia (

), the prisoner in the neighboring cell, who claims she was falsely arrested. Tony bribes a passing child to pull out the barred window of their cell with a tow truck. The child demands their clothes in payment also, and they are pursued virtually naked through the town. They lose their pursuers in a bordello. Dressed in women's clothes, Tony and Rockney make their way to a bus station and reunite with Olivia. They travel together to the rendezvous point. Dan and Stone are captured by a local rebel leader, General Mariano (

), who wants the stolen money for himself. They escape, then turn and track the rebels until nightfall. They are forced to kill several of the rebels before they retrieve the cash. The rebels pursue them to the rendezvous point, where they expect to be airlifted to safety. Dan is wounded by Mariano’s tracker. In the ensuing firefight, Tony is shot trying to protect Stone. Believing Tony is dead, the others continue to the airstrip without him. Serrano’s mercenaries have arrived ahead of them, and a three-way gun battle ensues. Serrano's men subdue the rebels. The retrieval plane arrives and provides covering fire, scattering Serrano’s men. The plane lands, the team boards hurriedly, and they make their escape. They are celebrating their success when the engine stalls.

Cast

as Stone *

as Mariano *

as Olivia * James Coburn as Serrano *

as Clint *

as Tony *

as Dan *

as Rockney

Production

Raffill says he got the idea to make the film when hired to make a documentary where he had to interview people in Spanish prisons who were imprisoned for smuggling hashish out of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. Raffill says he later found out the people who financed him were drug dealers who wanted to find out how to smuggle hashish out of North Africa. Although the film was set in Colombia it was shot in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. "Stewart wrote a very spare script and we took it from there," said Lindsay Wagner later. "All of us worked on our characters to bring out the humor of human beings in real situations. All of the characters are rich, especially Bruce Davison, who does a wonderful job. And Anthony Quinn deserves an Academy nomination, but I don't suppose he'll get it." Wagner also recalled that "One of our locations was in a tiny village near the border of

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

. It's near some very famous ruins, and about as remote as you can get. On the day I arrived, I stepped out of the car and people started shouting, 'Mujer Bionica'. I couldn't imagine how they could recognize me. Then I looked around and saw television antennas on all the houses. I hadn't noticed them before."Lindsay loves move to film Thomas, Bob. The Globe and Mail 15 June 1981: P.20.

Release

When the film was released, the distributor went broke and as a result the movie was not widely seen. However it got Raffill the job making ''

The Ice Pirates ''The Ice Pirates'' is a 1984 American comic science fiction film directed by Stewart Raffill, who co-wrote the screenplay with '' Krull'' writer Stanford Sherman. The film stars Robert Urich, Mary Crosby and Michael D. Roberts; other notable ...

''. The ''Los Angeles Times'' said it was "a far cut above the usual action adventure film." The ''Chicago Tribune'' called it "a pleasant surprise". Janet Maslin of the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

was surprised and found the film unusual but said it works well, and praises the clever casting.

Soundtrack

* A Rolling Stones soundalike group - " (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" ( Jagger/Richards)

References

External links

* {{Stewart Raffill 1981 films 1980s adventure films 1980s crime action films 1980s heist films American crime action films British crime action films American action adventure films British action adventure films American heist films British heist films Films directed by Stewart Raffill Films scored by Mark Snow Films set in Colombia Films set in South America Mexican crime films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films 1980s British films Mexican action adventure films 1980s Mexican films