Endangered Species (1982 film)

Endangered Species is a 1982 science fiction film starring Robert Urich, JoBeth Williams, Peter Coyote and Hoyt Axton, that was directed and co-written by Alan Rudolph.[1]

Endangered Species
Directed byAlan Rudolph
Produced byCarolyn Pfeiffer
Written byAlan Rudolph
John Binder
Judson Klinger
Richard Clayton Woods
StarringRobert Urich
JoBeth Williams
Paul Dooley
Hoyt Axton
Peter Coyote
Marin Kanter
Gailard Sartain
Dan Hedaya
Harry Carey, Jr.
John Considine
Music byGary Wright
CinematographyPaul Lohmann
Edited byTom Walls
Production
company
Distributed byMGM/UA Entertainment Co
Release date
September 10, 1982
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,474,249

Plot

Thriller about a burnt out New York ex-cop Reuben Castle (Robert Urich) and a female sheriff (Jo Beth Williams) who begin to fall in love while investigating a string of mysterious cattle mutilations in a small Colorado town. Castle is a retired alcoholic police lieutenant out visiting the town with his tomboy daughter. At first he tries to stay out of the case but finds himself involved after the mysterious death of his friend Joe Hiatt. Hiatt was the editor of the local paper whose theories about black helicopters have aroused the ire of cattle baron Ben Morgan. Morgan seems to know much more about the cattle killings than he is telling, and may know why the organs of the dead cattle are being harvested. Castle is trying miserably to stay sober, and he finds himself back in danger and in love, as he and the sheriff work together to get to the bottom of the mystery, encountering incredible danger and resistance from the frightened locals. Morgan, who is turning the locals against Castle, also seems to have links to organizations which are not local, although these are denied.

Cast

Reception

The New York Times found the idea of the movie ripped from then current headlines of cattle mutilations, and praises the efforts of the cast and editor to make the material of the movie realistic, but that the movie overall was "dumb."[2] TV Guide was kinder to the movie, giving in three out of five stars. They also found the cast to be excellent, and blamed the movie's failure on poor distribution by MGM. The especially recommended the movies for fans of director Alan Rudolph, and praised effect of low-flying helicopters snatching cows from their pastures at night. Creature Feature also liked the movie, giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars. finding the movie thrilling and enthralling.[3]

References
  1. Brereton, Pat (2005). Hollywood Utopia: Ecology in Contemporary American Cinema. Intellect Books. p. 165. ISBN 1841501174.
  2. Vincent Canby - Topical suspense, Endangered SpeciesSci-Fi, The New York Times, Nov. 5, 1982
  3. Stanley, J. (2000) Creature Feature 3rd Edition


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