A Shock to the System (1990)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Jan Egleson

Writers (WGA):

Simon Brett (novel)
Andrew Klavan (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 March 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Killing is easy... Getting away with it is murder.

Plot:

Graham Marshall already celebrates his anxiously awaited promotion in an advertising company, when he learns that Roger Benham...

Plot Keywords:

Advertising | Business | Voice Over Narration | Money | Psychopath

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Graham Marshall
Elizabeth McGovern	...	Stella Anderson
Peter Riegert	...	Robert Benham
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Leslie Marshall
Will Patton	...	Lt. Laker
Jenny Wright	...	Melanie O'Conner
John McMartin	...	George Brewster
Barbara Baxley	...	Lillian
Haviland Morris	...	Tara Liston
Philip Moon	...	Henry Park
Kent Broadhurst	...	Executive #1
Zach Grenier	...	Executive #2
David Schramm	...	Executive #3
Sam Schacht	...	David Jones
Christopher Durang	...	Convention Speaker
Mia Dillon	...	Graham's Secretary
Alice Haining	...	Benham's Secretary
Patience Moore	...	Wanda Maas
Darrell Wilks	...	Joe
Scotty Bloch	...	Secretary #1
Kim Staunton	...	Secretary #2
Alicia Hoge	...	Secretary #3
Mike Cicchetti	...	Beggar #1
Rick Petrucelli	...	Beggar #2
Victor Truro	...	Bum
Rik Colitti	...	Bum #2
Mike Starr	...	Bum #3
Miguel Pérez	...	Transit Cop
John Finn	...	Motorman
Tyrone Jackson	...	Messenger
Marie Sylvia	...	Waitress
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Ulysses (three-card monte game)
Jonathan Freeman	...	Decorator in Bob's Office
Elizabeth Moran	...	Partygoer
Joe Zaloom	...	Hot Dog Vendor
Socorro Santiago	...	Rental Car Attendant / Additional Dialogue
Welker White	...	Kennel Driver
Frank Ferrara	...	Off Duty Cab Driver
Sheila Stainbeck	...	News Anchor Woman
Jim Dratfield	...	Additional Dialogue
Fred Ephraim	...	Additional Dialogue
Garry Goodrow	...	Additional Dialogue
David H. Kramer	...	Additional Dialogue
Angela Pietropinto	...	Additional Dialogue
Craig Sechler	...	Additional Dialogue
Louise Williams	...	Additional Dialogue
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carl Burrows	...	Businessman (uncredited)
Brian Gildea	...	Construction worker (uncredited)
Anibal O. Lleras	...	Homeless (uncredited)
Charlie Sara	...	Commuter at Grand Central Station (uncredited)

Directed by
Jan Egleson

Writing credits (WGA)
Simon Brett		(novel)
Andrew Klavan		(screenplay)

Produced by
Alice Arlen	....	associate producer
Patrick McCormick	....	producer
Leslie Morgan	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Gary Chang

Cinematography by
Paul Goldsmith

Film Editing by
William M. Anderson
Peter C. Frank

Casting by
Mary Colquhoun

Production Design by
Howard Cummings

Art Direction by
Bob Shaw		(as Robert K. Shaw Jr.)

Set Decoration by
Robert J. Franco

Costume Design by
John A. Dunn

Makeup Department
Kathryn Bihr	....	hair stylist: Mr. Caine
Kathryn Bihr	....	makeup artist: Mr. Caine
Victor DeNicola	....	hair designer
Toni Trimble	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Carl Clifford	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Otie Brown	....	dga trainee
Johanna Jensen	....	second assistant director
Amy Sayres	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Will Alovis	....	assistant construction coordinator
Scott Buckwald	....	assistant construction coordinator
Debbie DeVilla	....	painter
John M. Dwyer	....	lead set dresser
Martha Fishkin	....	lead set dresser
Laura Giordano	....	painter
Melvin Lee Green	....	carpenter
Bruce Lee Gross	....	assistant property master (as Bruce Gross)
Martin Henderson	....	assistant props
Tim Hunter	....	painter
Elizabeth Linn	....	lead painter (as Elizabeth L. Linn)
Ulf Lovén	....	carpenter
Timothy Metzger	....	lead set dresser
Rudy Pelikan	....	construction grip
Raymond M. Samitz	....	construction coordinator
Jean Roman Seyfried	....	painter
Jean Roman Seyfried	....	scenic artist
Jonathan Stein	....	set builder
Ron Stone	....	property master
Greg Sullivan	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Louis Bertini	....	sound editor
Elisha Birnbaum	....	foley artist
Kristine Bulakowski	....	assistant adr editor
David Carbonara	....	apprentice sound editor
Louis Cerborino	....	supervising sound editor
Dan Edelstein	....	assistant sound editor
Noreen Evans	....	assistant sound editor
Tom Fleischman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Thomas A. Gulino	....	supervising sound editor
Jane McCulley	....	adr editor
Danny Michael	....	sound mixer
Andrew Schmetterling	....	boom operator
Jeffrey Stein	....	supervising sound editor
Susan M. Wagner	....	assistant sound editor
Mark Wolfson	....	sound recording engineer
Billy Youdelman	....	sound recording engineer

Special Effects by
Wilfred Caban	....	special effects
Steven Kirshoff	....	special effects
Denis Zack	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Randall Balsmeyer	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Frank Ferrara	....	stunt coordinator
John Hayden	....	stunts
Gino Lucci	....	stunts
Michael Russo	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Stuart Allen	....	crane technician: Louma crane
Lynn Breschel	....	best boy electric
Jonathan Burkhart	....	assistant camera
Ken Ferris	....	additional photographer
Ken Ferris	....	camera operator
Bob Gambardella	....	lighting technician
Haddon Hufford	....	dolly grip
Larry McConkey	....	Steadicam operator
Michael C. Perry	....	best boy electric
Chris Skutch	....	third grip
Michael Slovis	....	gaffer
Susan Starr	....	first assistant camera
John Thomas	....	best boy electric
David S. Tuttman	....	second assistant camera
Paul Wachter	....	best boy grip
Lynne Warberg	....	still photographer
Tony Whitman	....	key grip
Joan Zierler	....	additional first assistant camera

Casting Department
Virginia Addison	....	casting assistant
Ted Hook	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lisa R. Frucht	....	wardrobe assistant
Kathleen Gerlach	....	assistant costume designer
Kathy Kiatta	....	wardrobe production assistant (as Kathleen Kiata)
Susie Money	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Andrew Doerfer	....	assistant editor
Andrew Hafitz	....	apprentice editor
Nell Kelly	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Sharon Boyle	....	music supervisor
Suki Buchman	....	music editor
Gary Goetzman	....	music supervisor
Marshall Persinger	....	music assistant
Sandy K. Tanaka	....	music coordinator

Transportation Department
Tom O'Donnell	....	transportation coordinator
Louis Volpe	....	transportation co-coordinator (as Louis 'Sonny' Volpe)

Other crew
Joan Altman	....	post-production auditor
Carlyn Bochicchio	....	assistant production office coordinator
Eva Z. Cabrera	....	script supervisor
Jay Cannold	....	production assistant
Walter Cohen	....	location assistant (as Walter J. Cohen)
Annemarie Costello	....	production associate
David DeClerque	....	location manager
David Feldman	....	production assistant
Raymond L. Forsythe	....	unit publicist
Jan Foster	....	location coordinator
John Michael Haas	....	production assistant
Dylan Hopkins	....	production assistant
Elisabeth Jereski	....	production assistant (as Liz Jeresky)
Alexander Lasky	....	production assistant
Lexy Lovell	....	production assistant
Michael McCormick	....	production auditor
Frank McKenna	....	craft service
Larry Meistrich	....	production assistant
Michelle Morrissey	....	production office coordinator (as Michelle Weinberg)
Barbara Pflughaupt	....	unit publicist
Michael Schenk	....	production assistant
Russell Swanson	....	production assistant
Alexander Wardwell	....	production assistant
Bart Wenrich	....	location assistant
Lewis D. Wheeler	....	assistant: Mr. Egleson

Production Companies

• Brigand Films

Distributors

• Corsair Pictures (1990) (USA) (theatrical)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (video)
• Medusa Pictures (1991) (UK) (all media)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Video Ltd. (1991) (UK) (VHS)
• Taipan Vídeo (1990) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Balsmeyer and Everett  title design
• Entourage Studios  music recorded at
• General Camera Corporation  location lighting and grip equipment
• Joy Todd Casting  extras casting
• N.D. Film Services  negative cutting
• Sound One Corporation  post-production facilities

Runtime:

91 min | UK:85 min | Canada:89 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14 (Ontario) | Iceland:12 (re-rating) | Iceland:L | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Essex Fells, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Brigand Films

Goofs:

Continuity: A detective questions Michael Caine's secretary and writes down his telephone number on a piece of notepad paper for her. Later, when she decides to call him, she has his business card.

Quotes:

Lieutenant Laker: He was your superior, wasn't he?
Graham Marshall: No, he was my boss.

Movie Connections:

Version of Le couperet (2005)

Crime DOES Pay if You Kill Horrible People!!!

Who says Michael Caine is a so-so actor? He plays the perfect combination of a truly nice guy ground down by his shrewish wife, his slimy peer-then-boss, and corporate life, in general. Movies like this give us corporate slaves a little relief from the utter amoral depravity of the 'civilized' world we inhabit in these rabbit warrens, otherwise known as 'Cubical Hell'.

This man makes you completely sympathize with every one of his murders, all nicely planned to look like accidents. In fact, I am amazed that some lawyer hasn't pulled the 'Shock to the System' defense. Certainly, it has as much attraction for the frustrated as the films usually blamed. It's just more subtle, more high-brow and takes a little more finesse.

The detective is wonderfully nosy, but how he can walk up to Caine in the middle of New York City is quite amazing to me. A little too much dramatic license, too much coincidence to be believable but you tend to forget your logical approach to life.

Reality is easily suspended as Caine gets in his licks for all the humuliations we nice people have suffered in the corporate world, where the rapacious are rewarded by CEO salaries. The laughs are fast and furious, all delivered in that great understated British fashion.

Mr. Downtrodden gets his licks in and when the new boss talks about his Cessna, you've already fixed the engine. There are traces of 'The Ruling Class' in here, as Mr. Nice Guy becomes king of the mountain by firing everyone 'who is not a contributor', thus ingratiating himself with Mr. Cessna. McGovern gives her Basset hound, soulful looks all through the film, and you feel her conflict about turning this wonderful guy in. She is promoted out and away, and all is well, which is usual for corporate shenanigans. They just usually don't involve murder.

Buy it and love it. Forget the professional reviewers for once on this. It's not meant to be 'Hamlet'.