Tightrope (1984)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Richard Tuggle

Writer:

Richard Tuggle (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 August 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A cop on the edge...

Plot:

Wes Block is a detective who's put on the case of a serial killer. His victims are young and pretty women...

Plot Keywords:

Killer | Victim | Rape | Detective | Murder

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Capt. Wes Block
Geneviève Bujold	...	Beryl Thibodeaux
Dan Hedaya	...	Det. Molinari
Alison Eastwood	...	Amanda Block
Jenny Beck	...	Penny Block (as Jennifer Beck)
Marco St. John	...	Leander Rolfe
Rebecca Perle	...	Becky Jacklin
Regina Richardson	...	Sarita
Randi Brooks	...	Jamie Cory
Jamie Rose	...	Melanie Silber
Margaret Howell	...	Judy Harper
Rebecca Clemons	...	Girl with Whip
Janet MacLachlan	...	Dr. Yarlofsky
Graham Paul	...	Luther
Bill Holliday	...	Police Chief

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Australia:M | Canada:18+ (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 | South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1984) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Malpaso Company, The

Trivia:

This is the first Clint Eastwood film with a score composed by Lennie Niehaus. Although Niehaus had orchestrated Jerry Fielding's Escape from Alcatraz (1979) a few years earlier, this was the first of 14 movies Niehaus has so far scored for Eastwood.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Obviously fake lightning flashes twice near the end of the movie.

Quotes:

Wes Block: Twenty-eight years ago I borrowed 40 dollars from my father, packed up an old, beat up suitcase, took a bus and came here. I was seventeen at the time. While I walked through the French Quarter, I looked out over the Mississippi and swore I'd never leave.
Beryl Thibodeaux: Ever come close?
Wes Block: Only once. When I looked down and saw that the suitcase was missing.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso (1993) (TV)

One Of Eastwood's Darker Films

Here is a very, very tense thriller about a New Orleans cop (Clint Eastwood) finding a serial killer.....and vice-versa.

This is a very dark (literally) film with a big film-noir look and feel. Neo-noir, I guess, is what they call post-1950 gritty crime films like these.

Eastwood's character in "Tightrope" is a complex one. On one hand, he's a wonderfully loving father of two sweet girls (one played by his actual daughter, and played well), and yet he is a weak man when it comes to prostitutes. But, whatever side he shows - light or dark - he's interesting, as always. So is the female star of this movie, Genevieve Bujold, a woman with a very intriguing face and just a trace of her French accent. Dan Heyada contributes strongly in a low- key performance.

Yes, this film is a bit too much on the seedy side for my normal tastes, definitely sordid, but very well done. It's a story that grabs you early and locks you in all the way.