Winter Kills (1979)

Director:

William Richert

Writers:

Richard Condon (book)
William Richert (writer)

Release Date:

11 May 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They are the power. Protected by violence and ruled by corruption. [Video]

Plot:

19 years after President Timothy Keegan was assassinated, his brother Nick discovers a dying man claiming to have been the gunman...

Plot Keywords:

Bare Breasts | Conspiracy | Black Comedy | Directorial Debut | Oil

Cast

Jeff Bridges	...	Nick Kegan
John Huston	...	Pa Kegan
Anthony Perkins	...	John Cerruti
Eli Wallach	...	Joe Diamond
Sterling Hayden	...	Z.K. Dawson
Dorothy Malone	...	Emma Kegan
Tomas Milian	...	Frank Mayo
Belinda Bauer	...	Yvette Malone
Ralph Meeker	...	Gameboy Baker
Toshirô Mifune	...	Keith
Richard Boone	...	Keifitz
David Spielberg	...	Miles Garner
Brad Dexter	...	Captain Heller One
Michael Thoma	...	Ray Doty
Ed Madsen	...	Captain Heller Two
Irving Selbst	...	Irving Mentor
Chris Soldo	...	Jeffreys
Robert Courtleigh	...	First Mate of T.K.
Peter Brandon	...	Doctor
Joe Spinell	...	Arthur Fletcher
Ira S. Rosenstein	...	Orderly on T.K.
Kyle Morris	...	John Kullers
Phil Lito	...	Police Driver
Barbara Richert	...	Woman Cyclist
Patrice Bough	...	Secretary #1
Eloise Hardt	...	Secretary #2
Kim O'Brien	...	First Blond Girl
Candice Rialson	...	Second Blonde Girl
Bill P. Wilson	...	Admiral
Loyd Catlett	...	Z.K. Dawson Guard
Michael Bond	...	Flight Engineer
Helen Fagan	...	Stewardess
Peter Kilman	...	Pilot
Gianni Russo	...	Co-Pilot
Lisette Álvarez	...	Cuban Singer (as Lissette)
Robert F. Boyle	...	Desk Clerk
Sydney Lanier	...	Raymond-The Butler
Helen Curry	...	Black Maid
Jesse Veliz	...	Cuban Man in Havana
Robert Wolcott	...	Shoeshine Boy
Robert Moresco	...	Intern
Agneta Eckemyr	...	Nurse One
Tisa Farrow	...	Nurse Two
Billie Allen	...	Receptionist
Joe Ragno	...	Doorman
Loutz Gage	...	Butler
Camilla Sparv	...	Beautiful Woman #1
Andrea Claudio	...	Beautiful Woman #2
Erin Gray	...	Beautiful Woman #3
Susan Walden	...	Beautiful Woman #4
Rebecca Grimes	...	Beautiful Woman #5
Jennifer Keith	...	Beautiful Woman #6
Amanda Jones	...	Beautiful Woman #7
Berry Berenson	...	Morgue Attendant
Tim Culbertson	...	Security Guard
Regis Mull	...	Cop with Keifetz
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter Koshel	...	Cop-Casino Latino
Derrick Lynn-Thomas	...	Maitre d'
Gladys Hill	...	Rosemary, Pa's secretary (uncredited)
Jake Strider Hughes	...	Child on Cycle (uncredited)
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Lola Comante (uncredited)
John Warner	...	President Tim Kegan (uncredited)

Directed by
William Richert

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Condon		book
William Richert		writer

Produced by
Daniel H. Blatt	....	producer
Fred C. Caruso	....	producer
Leonard J. Goldberg	....	executive producer
John H. Starke	....	associate producer
Robert Sterling	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Maurice Jarre

Cinematography by
Vilmos Zsigmond

Film Editing by
David Bretherton

Casting by
Ross Brown
Hank McCann

Production Design by
Robert F. Boyle		(as Robert Boyle)

Art Direction by
Robert F. Boyle
Norman Newberry

Set Decoration by
Arthur Seth Parker

Costume Design by
Robert De Mora

Makeup Department
Del Acevedo	....	makeup artist
Kathryn Blondell	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Ira Loonstein	....	production manager
Bill Venegas	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jim Danforth	....	second unit director
Peter R. Scoppa	....	first assistant director
Bill Scott	....	second assistant director
Chris Soldo	....	assistant director

Art Department
Sam Gordon	....	property master
Joseph Hurley	....	production illustrator
Clay Johnston	....	construction foreman
William Maldonado	....	construction coordinator (as Bill Maldonado)
Ted Mossman	....	assistant property master
Ray Villalobos Sr.	....	painter foreman (as Ray Villalobos)
S. Bruce Wineinger	....	construction foreman
S. Bruce Wineinger	....	propmaker foreman
Harold Michelson	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Norval D. Crutcher	....	sound effects editor
Teresa Eckton	....	sound effects editor
Robert Glass	....	sound re-recording mixer
Charles Grenzbach	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Bud Grenzback)
Morley Harris	....	boom operator
Robert Knudson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Christopher Newman	....	production sound mixer

Special Effects by
Jim Danforth	....	effects consultant
Augie Lohman	....	special effects
Richard Ratliff	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
John Bailey	....	additional photographer
John Bailey	....	camera operator
Arthur J. Boyle	....	best boy
Michael Genne	....	first assistant camera (as Mike Genne)
Brian Hamill	....	still photographer
Wilson S. Hong	....	title design photographer
John C. Kirk	....	electrician
Rick Martens	....	gaffer
Robert Moore	....	key grip (as Bob Moore)
Fred Muncey	....	electrician (as Fred R. Muncey)
Tim Ryan	....	dolly grip
Jack Shannon	....	still photographer
Johnny Walker	....	second assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Betty DeStefano	....	wardrobe assistant
Mina Mittelman	....	costumer (as Mina Mittelman Short)
Vicki Sánchez	....	costumer
Don Vargas	....	costumer (as Donald Vargas)

Editorial Department
Suzanne Fenn	....	assistant editor
José Antonio Torres	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jeff Carson	....	music editor
Gary Ulmer	....	music scoring mixer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Gene Clinesmith	....	transportation captain
Arthur F. 'Mickey' McAteer	....	transportation captain (as Mickey McAteer)

Other crew
Selma Brown	....	auditor
Mark Hurwitz	....	location manager
Shari Leibowitz	....	production secretary
Danny Marzolo	....	second best boy (as Dan Marzolo)
Cathy Nonas	....	assistant to director
Don Record	....	title designer
Robert Rodney	....	publicist
Hannah Scheel	....	script supervisor (as Hannah G. Scheel)
Ron Weber	....	craft service

Production Companies

• Winter Gold Productions

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

97 min | Netherlands:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Death Valley National Park, California, USA

Company:

Winter Gold Productions

Quotes:

Pa Kegan: I'm all that's standing between you and darkest night, son. The other side of me, there's Chaos.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Who Killed 'Winter Kills'? (2003) (V)

Very dry and very, very funny

Nineteen years after JFK was killed (by whom?) and five years after Watergate, this one puts the whole conspiracy theory industry in its place. One of the funniest films I have seen for a very long time - anyone who still thinks that Americans don't do irony (always a stupid claim but one which is made time and again) should see this. But it's bone-dry and very subtle, and I can understand how many people were puzzled and bemused by this when it was first released and that it did not do well commercially. Performances are universally excellent, tho' Jeff Bridge as the starry-eyed son trying to discover who killed his half-brother, the US president, and John Hustion as the paterfamilias and caricature mega capitalist are treat. The plot is nonsensical, but then that is the whole point of a film which sends up conspiracy films something rotten and then some. Buy the video, because this really does bear watching again and again.