Press Release for the movie "Desperate Hours"
(1990)
Production began in October, 1989, on Michael Cimino's film version of Joseph
Hayes' best-selling novel, Broadway play (which starred Paul Newman) and film
(first directed in 1955 by William Wyler and starring Humphrey Bogart and
Fredric March).
Despite the previous stage, screen and literary success of Hayes' American
nightmare, "the story is more relevant today than ever," says Michael Cimino.
statistics such as a government report citing nearly three quarters of a million
felonies committed at gunpoint in 1989 alone, have eroded "that wonderful sense
of invulnerability which, as Americans, we once had," he says. "We realize now
that something like this could happen to any of us at any time."
To Mimi Rogers, who plays Nora Cornell, "what is truly frightening is the
thought of someone invading your home, violating that space. Even in a dangerous
world, it's the one place where you're supposed to be safe from whatever
craziness or violence is happening outside."
Events outside the Cornell home were crucial to Cimino in expanding Hayes' tale
from the confines of the stage. some 50% of the film was shot on location
against a backdrop that ranged from the spectacular San Juan Mountains of
western Colorado to a federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, Utah.
It is there that Mickey Rourke as Bosworth is on trial for brutally beating a
prison guard. As attorney Nancy Breyers, Kelly Lynch points to her client's
"flawless prison record," backed by character references from "well-known
American writers" who have hailed him as a literary find.
"The obvious parallel is Jack Abbott, who produced a considerable body of work
in prison, won the support of Norman Mailer and was embraced by New York's
literary community," says Cimino. "Unfortunately, he betrayed that trust either
in a moment of passion or paranoia or both."
Bosworth never gets that far. He demands to go "pro-per." serving as his own
defense counsel, in a legal maneuver that escalates into a daring jail break.
A staunch believer in research, Cimino arranged a prison meeting between Mickey
Rourke and a convicted murderer. "He was what the cons call a 'jailhouse
lawyer,'" says the actor. "His cell was stacked with boxes of paperwork. He
probably knew more legal technicalities than most attorneys and half the guys on
the bench. But if he killed the people they say he did, as smart as he is, he's
where he belongs."
What did Rourke gain from the experience ?
"Think twice before you do something rash. The rest of your life is a long time
to spend in one room."
Cimino's penchant for research also benefited Kelly Lynch who sat in on several
criminal trials and came to know the lawyers concerned. "At first it seemed
crazy to me, this bright successful woman throwing her life away on a
psychopath." says Lynch. "But I learned a lot about women who fall for dangerous
men."
"One lawyer told me, 'I have everything. I'm 36, I'm good looking, I lecture at
Harvard, I never lost a murder case, and nice guys bore me stiff.' She
gravitated toward men she described as 'exciting' who would never be mistaken
for nice guys. But as every actor knows, the psychopathic personality can be
fascinating."
Anthony Hopkins would agree with Lynch. Having played such roles as Adolph
Hitler, Lindbergh kidnapper Bruno Hauptmann, and the "monstrous" newspaper
publisher of the London stage hit, "Pravda," he recently completed filming the
screen version of Thomas Harris' "Silence of the Lambs" as Hannibal "the
Cannibal" Lecter.
"That was a comparatively easy part to play," says Hopkins. "Tim Cornell of
DESPERATE HOURS wasn't, perhaps because he's a decent man of many
contradictions. He loves his wife and family, but he's having an affair with a
girl half his age. He's full of himself and unsure of himself at the same time.
He's frightened and he's brave."
In responding, as Cornell, to Mickey Rourke's menacing Michael Bosworth, it was
helpful says Hopkins, "that I've met one or two real psychotics -- very scary
fellows -- although it wasn't a pleasant experience at the time. The question
is, how do you deal with a madman? The natural instinct is to lash out
physically, violently, but that can get you killed. Instead, I think, you have
to act calmly, waiting for the chance to strike. That can also get you killed or
at least badly beaten, as Tim Cornell discovers, but the odds are more in your
favor."
Production of DESPERATE HOURS began near Telluride, Colorado, at Trout Lake in
the San Juan range of the Rockies, an area noted for the highest concentration
of 14,000 foot peaks in North America. The lake itself is some two miles above
sea level.
Here, the scene called for Kelly Lynch to walk a winding mountain road
incongruously dressed in a designer suit and stiletto heels. In another scene
Bosworth's brother, Wally (Elias Koteas), and his bewildered pal Albert (David
Morse) gave their getaway car an aquatic burial.
Nature cooperated in filming both scenes. "It was three days after the season's
first snowfall," recalls Cimino. "The peaks were all dusted white but there was
gold in the aspens. The best of autumn, the beginning of winter."
Moving to Salt Lake City, the production utilized not only the Federal
Courthouse but a state prison, the newly renovated City and County Building, a
television station, an equestrian center, a newspaper office and two high
schools. At Brigham Young University in Provo, an empty football stadium frames
a crucial confrontation between Kelly Lynch and Lindsay Crouse as the shrewdly
sympathetic FBI agent who uses Lynch's character to lead her to Bosworth.
Salt Lake's fashionable Arlington Drive area provided a stately Georgian mansion
that matched the exterior of the home in the script. But when the action moved
indoors, the company moved to the Ventura Entertainment Center in Orem, Utah,
where a unique exercise in set design was underway.
Instead of breakaway walls and false ceilings, the interior of the house was
fully constructed, room by room, within the studio.
Mickey Rourke recalls his first visit to the set on a Sunday afternoon. "The
moment I walked in, I felt trapped. I thought, 'My God,' I'm going to have to
spend ten weeks in this place!'"
That was precisely the reaction Cimino was hoping for. "There is a point in
every film when the characters and circumstances take over," he says. "By the
third week of being confined in that house, the hostage situation was becoming
more and more real. The atmosphere was tense, claustrophobic. Everyone was
affected by it, even the crew."
Mimi Rogers agreed not only to work in the same clothes every day for several
weeks, but to sleep in them at night. "Of course, it was oppressive," she
recalls with a shudder. "But that was the point. Michael had given us a great
deal to read about actual hostage crises, and anything that helped us evoke that
experience was valid."
"Nora Cornell's first response to the intruders is shock," she continues. "A
kind of blinding adrenal rush. But after a while, transference begins to take
place. It's like the hypnotic relationship between a snake and its prey. As long
as your captors aren't hurting or killing you, they're your lifeline to
survival. Anyone who threatens them -- the neighbor, the police or, in this
instance, a husband who suddenly wants to be a hero -- is the enemy."
A series of case histories, taken from a Swedish hostage ordeal, provide
valuable insights. "What happened became known as the Stockholm Syndrome," says
Rogers. "One woman married a terrorist, another joined their cause and several
refused to testify against their captors."
As the tension grows, the actors responded in character. "Mickey Rourke totally
assumes a role," says Rogers. "If he's playing a psychopath, you're working with
a psychopath. It's exhilarating and exciting, but it can also be dangerous."
Anthony Hopkins describes Rourke as an "intuitive actor, a trait I admire, and
at times an alarming one. At first, his character gave my character a lot of
physical abuse. When he hits, he hits for real, so my character started fighting
back -- for real. That's pretty lively stuff, except that when you're involved
in violent scenes, you have to watch for things like conformity. Movies aren't
shot in sequence and you can't play the scene in which you first meet Bosworth,
with the black eye you got when he beat you up afterward."
Among the attractions of DESPERATE HOURS, says Mickey Rourke, was a reunion with
his "Year of the Dragon" director Cimino. "Michael is such a perfectionist. He's
one of the few directors able to elevate beyond what an actor's capable of
doing."
The opportunity to appear for the first time with Anthony Hopkins was another
draw for the actor. "I learned a lot watching Tony in action," notes Rourke. "I
mean, here's a guy who's been one of the great actors for years and he's still
got the enthusiasm of a kid. He keeps trying to sustain a higher and higher
level."
More surprising to Rourke was Hopkin's physicality. "You can't tell from looking
at him, but try moving him. The guy's strong, he's built like a fire hydrant."
The mutual respect between the actors encouraged Cimino to "push them over the
edge." he says, "sometimes past the boundaries of the scene. You always hope to
reach a point where the emotion is so real, you can't be sure whether or not
anyone is acting. It's rare, but it happened once or twice on the picture."
Hopkins recalls the moment vividly. "My character was beginning to get to me. I
was tired of the way he was being pushed around. We were in the hallway of the
house, rehearsing, and Mickey was jabbing me in the jaw with his gun, just doing
his job. But I lost control."
Cimino heard Hopkin's volcanic Welsh voice erupting. "I've had it!" and turned
to see the actor glowering at Rourke. "None of us knew what would happen next.
Tony was so threatening that Mickey was literally terrified which is not
something you see every day."
"As Tony stormed off the set, I told the cameraman, 'keep rolling.' And sure
enough, he came back a moment later striding angrily toward Mickey who was
standing by a stairway, holding the gun, where he was supposed to be. This time,
they were working from the script."
"And that's the take you'll see in the picture," concludes Cimino.
DESPERATE HOURS., Magill's Survey of Cinema, 15 June 1995,
review
Abstract:
In this remake of the 1955 classic film, a suburban family is held hostage and
terrorized by a psychotic prison escapee (Mickey Rourke) and his two
accomplices. Loosely based on a factual incident, this story served as star
vehicle for Paul Newman on the stage and Humphrey Bogart on film.
Summary:
Writer Joseph Hayes has seen his novel DESPERATE HOURS rise Lazarus- like over
the decades since it was first published in 1954. The basic story, inspired by
actual events, was about three escaped convicts who enter and terrorize an
Indiana family household. Hayes turned it into a popular stage play early in
1955. The production was directed by screen and television actor/producer Robert
Montgomery and starred Paul Newman, Karl Malden, and George Grizzard, all of
whom were on the threshold of their acting careers. Hayes also adapted the story
to the screen and, later the same year, director William Wyler turned it into a
strong, well-acted film, entitled THE DESPERATE HOURS, starring Humphrey Bogart
as the convicts' leader and Fredric March in the role of the resourceful father.
The casting of both roles was excellent. March was one of Hollywood's finest
actors and Bogart by then was well on his way to becoming a legendary great of
the American screen. Some years later, an ABC television motion picture was also
made with George Segal, Arthur Hill, Yvette Mimieux, and Ralph Waite in the key
roles.
Hayes is back once more as screenwriter in another remake of his crime thriller.
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, the new film is directed by Michael Cimino and
stars Mickey Rourke in the Bogart role of the killer and Anthony Hopkins as
March's adversarial character. The basic plot remains intact: Three criminals on
the run invade a private home and hold a family of four hostage. Cimino opens up
the film considerably and offers many exterior shots, including some striking
views of Colorado scenery. He also substitutes suburban Salt Lake City for the
original Indianapolis setting.
In the current remake, the gang leader is now called Michael Bosworth (Rourke)
and the film opens with him sitting behind bars awaiting trial for murder. He is
able to escape from jail with a gun that was smuggled to him by his
lawyer/girlfriend Nancy Breyers (Kelly Lynch). He flees with two waiting
comrades (Elias Koteas, David Morse), one of them his brother. The three
fugitives find a house in an upper middle-class neighborhood that is for sale
and enter it. They take a mother, Nora Cornell (Mimi Rogers), and her son, Zack
(Danny Gerard), hostage. Nora is estranged from her husband Tim (Hopkins), an
admitted philanderer, and is seeking a divorce. Soon, Tim and their daughter,
May (Shawnee Smith), drop by and both become victims as well. The deadly
cat-and-mouse game between hostages and criminals has begun.
The killers promise the terrorized and frightened family that their stay will be
a short one and that no one will be hurt. It appears that the criminals are
waiting for lawyer Breyers to be released from police custody so that all four
can flee to Mexico. The violence begins to escalate as the four captives attempt
to escape or contact the police. An unsuspecting real-estate agent arrives
unexpectedly and is brutally killed by Michael simply for convenience.
Eventually, one of the fugitives leaves the house, is spotted by the police, and
is killed when he refuses to surrender. In the meantime, the police, driven by
FBI agent Chandler (Lindsay Crouse), are hot on the trail of Nancy as she slowly
leads them to Michael and his brother. In fact, Chandler forces Nancy to
cooperate with the law in order to capture her boyfriend and she does so
reluctantly.
During their stay in captivity, Tim, a Vietnam War hero who is undergoing a
midlife crisis, begins to assert himself and slowly gains the upper hand over
his captors. He leads both men into traps which spell their dooms. Somehow, Tim
is able to sabotage the killers' guns. When his brother is shot, Michael
foolishly attempts to escape the besieged house by blasting his way past the
waiting police and is gunned down. The film ends on a triumphant note, with Tim
overcoming his malaise, reasserting his masculine dignity, and stepping back
into his role as devoted husband and loving father.
DESPERATE HOURS is a sturdy enough film which contains much violence, but it
does not compare to the original. In fact, it is one of director Cimino's lesser
efforts. He paces the film poorly, pulls strange performances from some members
of his cast, and succumbs to melodramatic mannerisms for the last thirty
minutes. He has created a bigger and brighter motion picture, but not
necessarily a better one. DESPERATE HOURS is Cimino's first film since the
poorly received THE SICILIAN (1987), and he once again demonstrates a
floundering talent that cannot match the success or the brilliance of THE DEER
HUNTER (1978). Both Cimino and once-acclaimed producer De Laurentiis, who also
collaborated on the failed YEAR OF THE DRAGON (1985), have attempted to bounce
back from the downward slide of their respective careers by tackling a former
melodramatic hit, but they fall short. Although numerous changes were made in
updating the story, little of the new material works.
First, there is the reworking of the basic theme. The original film, despite
certain outdated scenes, held to timeless classic issues about the strength of
the family and the division of the social classes, as well as how everyone--both
criminals and hostages--was a victim. Hayes perfectly captured the paranoia of
the 1950's, with the three thugs reducing an innocent family to helplessness
until the clever father gained the upper hand. Cimino eschews the psychological
element, portrays blood and brutality instead, and fails to exploit the inherent
wellspring of thematic strength in the story line. The end result is merely
another hostage situation without insight. Character names have been changed for
no apparent reason. Bogart's character, Glenn Griffin, becomes Michael Bosworth;
March's Dan Hilliard turns into Tim Cornell, and Sheriff Jesse Bard changes to
FBI agent Chandler.
More importantly, the characters are also less well defined in the remake.
Bogie's Glenn was a tough individual who wore the same prison uniform throughout
the film, whereas Rourke's character drives an imported car, dresses in Ivy
League tweeds, and wears a tuxedo to dinner. The only thing that Michael and
Glenn have in common is a line that they both deliver to the hostage mother,
"You scream and your kids are going to come home and find you in a pool of
blood." A similar transformation has occurred from March's character of a
resourceful father who slowly and skillfully defeats his armed captors through
guile to Hopkins' Tim, who outmuscles his opponents. The hostage children are
similarly changed over the years. The 1955 portrayal of Ralphie is a tough
little boy who wants to protect his family's honor and instead hurts himself by
climbing down a tree from the second floor. The new son, named Zack, is a
pitiful whiner and hides behind his mother's skirt, although he finally does
make the tree descent. A bigger change, perhaps, is with the original daughter
Cindy, who was wholesome and sweet in the original, and becomes the foulmouthed
May, who wears leather jackets and necks in her boyfriend's truck in the remake.
The biggest metamorphosis takes place in the gender and temperament of cautious
Sheriff Bard, who becomes the reckless female agent Chandler. Finally, there is
the element of sex, which was missing notably from the first film but is
supercharged in this one. Michael and the very sexy Nancy have a definite erotic
passion for each other. It is his determination to wait for her, instead of
escaping immediately, that dooms the fugitives. No mention is ever made about
how their strange relationship developed and why she would help her client
escape or endure his brutalizing and boorish behavior.
Cimino's limitations as a director are fairly obvious in this film. His handling
of the acting, for example, results in wildly uneven performances. Rourke breaks
no new ground with Bogart's old role, demonstrates once again his usual
swaggering manner, and offers up his customary tics that pass for acting.
Hopkins offers yet another variation of his muddled, middle-aged male-in-crisis
interpretation that does not even come close to March's performance. Perhaps the
worst embarrassment is Lindsay Crouse, normally a fine actress but badly miscast
as agent Chandler, who employs a phony Southern accent. Only Shawnee Smith as
the tough-talking May is able to pump life into her role.
Director Cimino also changes the focus of the film, conceiving it on a large
scale with picturesque outdoor scenery and a large house and completely negating
the claustrophobic quality of the original. In his interpretation, a whole army
of fugitives could be hidden in the Cornell household. The editing is also
choppy throughout, with jump cuts that call attention to themselves and make
evident the lack of matching footage. The musical score sounds inappropriate,
sounding as if the composer were arranging for a television travelogue. What is
effective, however, is the cinematography, which handsomely captures Colorado's
natural beauty and the elegant interior production design of the Cornell home.
(Reviewed by Terry Theodore.)
Country of Origin: USA
Release Date: 1990
Production Line:
Dino De Laurentiis and Michael Cimino for Dino De Laurentiis Communications;
released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists
Director: Michael Cimino
Cinematographer: Doug Milsome
Film Editor: Peter Hunt
Additional Credits:
Production design - Victoria Paul
Art direction - Patricia Klawonn
Set design - Tom Lindblom
Set decoration - Crispian Sallis
Music - David Mansfield
Costume design - Charles De Caro
Sound - Keith A. Wester
Stunt coordination - Billy Burton - Mike Runyard
MPAA Rating: R
Run Time: 105 minutes
Cast:
Michael Bosworth - Mickey Rourke
Tim Cornell - Anthony Hopkins
Nora Cornell - Mimi Rogers
Chandler - Lindsay Crouse
Nancy Breyers - Kelly Lynch
Wally Bosworth - Elias Koteas
Albert - David Morse
May Cornell - Shawnee Smith
Zack Cornell - Danny Gerard
Ed Tallent - Gerry Bamman
Kyle - Matt McGrath
Review Sources:
The Hollywood Reporter. October 15, 1990, p. 6.
Los Angeles Times. October 5, 1990, p. F6.
The New York Times. October 5, 1990, p. B6.
Variety. October 4, 1990, p. 2.
Named persons in Production Credits:
Dino De Laurentiis
Michael Cimino
Studios named in Production Credits:
Dino De Laurentiis Communications
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists
Screenplay (Author):
Lawrence Konner
Mark Rosenthal
Joseph Hayes
Color
Crime, Drama, Suspense/Thriller
Notes:
This is a remake of William Wyler's 1955 film starring Humphrey Bogart and
Fredric March.
