Bullet Points: L.A. Bounty (1989)
After the sad news broke late last week that Wings Hauser had passed away, I did the same thing I am sure many action fanatics did… paid tribute to the one of a kind actor by diving into his extensive filmography.
I opted to use the somber occasion to finally check out a Wings Hauser movie that had been on my watchlist for quite some time,1989’s L.A. Bounty…
- Goodnight Sweetheart: Los Angeles mayoral candidate, Mike Rhodes, and his former supermodel wife, Kelly Rhodes (Lenore Kasdorf, Missing in Action) are heading home after a successful campaign fund raising event. Things begin to get amorous between the couple in the backseat of the limousine, so it is no surprise when they make their way to the bedroom as soon as they get home… unfortunately for them they aren’t the only ones in their bedroom. Their night of passion is interrupted when 5 masked men kick in the door… Kelly attempts to come to her husband’s aid as he is dragged out of bed, but in an instant she is running for her life and dodging bullets! Kelly manages to hide in a closet and before the two masked men tasked with taking her out can accomplish their goal, the bounty hunting Ruger (Sybil Danning, Hercules) shows up and blows them away and then is gone before the police show up.
- Art School Confidential: We are then introduced to Tim Cavanaugh (Wings Hauser, No Safe Haven) in his make shift art studio, hidden inside of the Gothic Imports warehouse. The eccentric Cavanaugh has a nude model posing for him, when their session is interrupted by a van that pulls in… the very van carrying the kidnapped Mike Rhodes. Cavanaugh is uneasy that two of the men that he sent to retrieve didn’t make it back, and more uneasy that Ruger is back on his trail.. Back at stately Rhodes Manor, two detectives, Lt. Chandler and Sgt. Perry, are questioning Kelly. They make plans for her to go to her husband’s campaign headquarters to see if they can find any clues on potential kidnappers.
- Dangerous: The next day Sgt. Perry picks up Kelly and Ruger tails them… but she’s not the only one. Cavanaugh has dispatched his many Jack and two other goons to eliminate the Kelly Rhodes problem. And the terrible trio catches up with Perry and Kelly inside one of the world’s most dangerous locations… a parking garage! Perry is immediately shot dead, Kelly grabs the steering wheel but it’s too late and the car smashes into a wall. Just then… Ruger comes crashing through the parking garage gate and unleashing some more vigilante justice! Ruger flings open the passenger door of her truck and tells Kelly to get in, before giving chase to Jack who is driving up to the roof of the parking garage, while one of Jack’s cohorts is in the bed of Ruger’s truck and ends up having one of the best deaths in the entire movie! She has Jack deliver a message to Cavanaugh.. she wants to meet him at 6am the next day.
- The Best Laid Plans: We find out via flashback that Cavanaugh killed someone important in Ruger’s life, so her interest in tracking him down is more personal than professional. Not surprisingly, Cavanaugh does not show up for the scheduled meeting with Ruger, but she was more than ready for the minions he sent in his stead… After receiving a ransom tape with a battered and beaten Mike Rhodes sharing the $500,000 demands of his captors, Lt. Chandler returns to the Rhodes home and waits with Kelly for further instructions. While they are waiting we et some of Ruger’s backstory. Ruger was a cop with the LAPD, who did things her own way and after her partner was killed, she left the police force to become a bounty hunter. With that bit of exposition out of the way, the call comes in, Kelly is given instructions on where to take the ransom money and Chandler and that plan goes to total shit… the S.W.A.T. team Chandler had mobilized is blown up, Chandler himself is shot and Kelly (and the duffle bag filled with cash) are snatched up.
- The Ruger Way: After her meeting with Cavanaugh did not happen earlier, Ruger took a different approach to her “Where’s Cavanaugh?” problem. Disguising herself as a cop, she makes her way into a police precinct and taps into the computer system to look up some of Cavanaugh’s known accomplices. Which leads her to the Gothic Imports warehouse and that means we are going to get the Ruger vs. Cavanaugh battle that has been teased almost from the very start! And to say the finale of L.A. Bounty exceeded my expectations would be a major understatement!
Add L.A. Bounty to the list of movies where Wings Hauser delivered an unforgettable performance. Hauser’s Cavanaugh was as over the top as he was demented and the whole artist angle allowed him to display both of those characteristics, while murdering people! And with the Cavanaugh character doing the heavy lifting, Sybil Danning just got to be the mostly silent badass with some superior firepower delivering vigilante justice!
L.A. Bounty is a movie that I should have watched decades ago, and one I am sure I will be watching for decades to come! I am also sure you’ll want to read these Bonus Bullet Points…
- Directed By: L.A. Bounty was directed by Worth Keeter, who also directed such movies as Trapper County War, Scorpio One, and Memorial Day.
- Familiar Faces: Two of Cavanaugh’s minions were two familiar faces… First up is Martin, played by Bob Minor (Action Jackson and Commando), one of the 5 masked men who invaded the Rhodes home and who was also part of the big warehouse finale… Then there was Willis, played by Branscombe Richmond (The Taking of Beverly Hills and Hard to Kill), who got his in the parking garage.
- Bastard Count: There were two “bastards” in L.A. Bounty.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see Sybil Danning shoot a guy’s hand off, then L.A. Bounty is the movie for you!
