Bullet Points: Deadly Bet
1992’s Deadly Bet is a PM Entertainment movie that I have been meaning to revisit and review for quite some time. However due to the vastness of the PM Entertainment library I kept finding myself watching PM movies that I had missed out on back in the day… movies like East L.A. Warriors, The Underground and Terminal Countdown kept getting the nod over Deadly Bet… that stops now!
- Sin City: Deadly Bet takes place in Las Vegas and the sights and sounds of Sin City fill are the backdrop for the opening credits. We are introduced to our two main characters, Angelo (Jeff Wincott, Last Man Standing) and Isabella (Charlene Tilton, Dallas) as they take in a show starring their favorite crooner Frank (Jerry Tiffe, Sword of Honor) at Arizona Charlie’s casino. Frank is Isabella’s brother and Angelo’s best friend… so it is no surprise that he is somebody that the couple wanted to see before they left Vegas to start a new life in Colorado. There’s one more person Angelo needs to see before Vegas is in the rear view.
- Press Your Luck: That person is Rico (Steven Vincent Leigh, To Be the Best)… a kickboxer and kickboxing promoter that Angelo owed $1000. Rico tempts Angelo (who we will soon learn is a degenerate gambler) with a 2 to 1 bet on the next fight at Rico’s kickboxing club. But instead of just putting up the $1000 he owed Angelo in the first place, he convinces Isabella to put all of their money on his fighter of choice, Fletch (Gary Daniels, Riot). And Fletch wins, with some helpful advice from Angelo. Rico is all kinds of pissed and beats the crap out of Al (Fletch’s opponent) and then once again preys on Angelo’s degenerate gambling ways, challenging him to a fight right then and there. Instead of just betting the $15,000 he won on the line, Angelo ups the ante to $20,000. And in a move I only thought possible Angelo puts up Isabella as collateral in the event that he loses. Foolish Angelo, who had already had a few drinks and had not been in the ring in weeks, steps in the ring and WHAMMY! He can not last the stipulated 10 minutes with Rico. Then DOUBLE WHAMMY, Isabella gets in the ring and smacks him for putting her up as collateral!
- Rock Bottom: Angelo follows this horrible night up with more gambling, more fighting and more drinking. He ends up in debt with his bookie, Greek (Michael DeLano, Ring of Fire II: Blood and Steel) and when Angelo can’t pay Greek, Greek forces Angelo to collect for him along with his enforcer Johnny (Mike Toney, Final Impact). Meanwhile, Isabella is being treated like a queen by Rico. Eventually Angelo hits rock bottom and turns his life around, he leaves a note for Isabella with Frank and he goes back to his original plan of moving to Colorado (hoping Isabella will decide to follow), but Greek ain’t gonna go for that.
- The Main Event: Greek is not going to let Angelo just leave town while owing him thousands of dollars, however he is willing to cut a deal with Angelo and enter Angelo into a $500,000 kickboxing tournament that Rico is hosting… a tournament that Greek believes the now cleaned up and motivated can win. The tournament went exactly as you might expect, coming down to Angelo and Rico in the finals. I won’t spoil who wins, but you probably already know. I do have one question, the tournament had radio coverage and I can’t help but wonder if kickboxing radio coverage was ever really a thing?!? If there are any kickboxing enthusiasts and aficionados out there reading this, please let me know in the comments.
Jeff Wincott was the perfect leading man for Deadly Bet, a movie that was heavier on story than it was on action. Deadly Bet is a movie that played to Wincott’s strengths as an actor first and a martial artist second and did not include a lot of the PM Entertainment staples like crazy car chases or gratuitous sex scenes. Deadly Bet made up for the lack of sizzle, with plenty of USDA prime steak in the form of a redemption story expertly played out by Wincott.
This review is about to play itself out with some Bonus Bullet Points…
- Montage Alert: When I say the montage of Jeff Wincott’s Angelo getting his shit together is Scene of the Week worthy, that isn’t hyperbole. Jeff Wincott Gets His Sh*t Together was in fact our Scene of the Week way back on September 4, 2016.
- Directed by: Deadly Bet was directed by Richard W. Munchkin, who also directed other PM films, like Ring of Fire and Out for Blood. In addition to his work with PM Entertainment, Munchkin also directed my all-time favorite Michael Worth movie, Fists of Iron.
- Familiar Faces Galore: There were so many familiar faces in Deadly Bet, hopefully I don’t miss any… There was Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini who played Charlie, an associate of Greek. In addition to knowing Mancini from his professional boxing career, I also remember seeing him in Aces: Iron Eagle III… Sherrie Rose played Isabella’s friend Doris. I recognized Sherrie from her work in The King of the Kickboxers and Maximum Force… Art Camacho played the leader of a group of thugs looking to mug Angelo. I always associate Camacho with his work in front of the camera in Firepower and behind the camera in Recoil…. Then there was Gerald Okamura (Big Trouble in Little China), Leo Lee (Bounty Tracker) and Ian Jacklin (Death Match) as some of the numerous fighters featured in the movie.
