Night of the Juggler

source: Night of the Juggler

Moviecut—Night of the Juggler

A great action/crime drama set in New York. One prominent critic claimed that this movie painted an ugly portrait of NYC and its people. Not really. The movie was made before political correctness existed. It depicts NYC in a realistic way. As a native New Yorker, I can attest to this. Great action, comedy, and view of the South Bronx. I hope a dvd release comes soon.

Night of the Juggler is set in New York City & starts as ex-cop, truck driver & loving father Sean Boyd (James Brolin) arrives home to wish his fifteen year old daughter Kathy (Abby Bluestone) a happy birthday, Sean decides to walk with Kathy to school through the park. Meanwhile the bitter & psychopathic sewer worker Gus Soltic (Cliff Gorman) has been watching a girl named Virginia Clayton (Robyn Finn) the daughter of rich property developer Hampton Richmond Clayton III (Marco St. John) who has used gangs of thugs to drive people of of his neighbourhood in order to buy the land cheaply, Gus plans to kidnap Virginia & hold her to ransom for one million dollars but his plan goes wrong & he ends up kidnapping Kathy Boyd by mistake. Having seen his daughter taken Sean sets out on a mission to find & rescue her, he has to deal with bent cops, pimps, gangs, his ex-wife & Gus himself in a final showdown to the death... This oddly titled late 70's New York set action thriller is apparently also known as New York Killer here in the UK, Countdown in Manhattan in Germany, New York Connection in France & Pursued in Canada & was directed by Robert Butler, under any name Night of the Juggler was based on the novel by William P. McGivern & is a pretty decent film that probably doesn't deserve to be as obscure as it currently is. The plot is pretty good, the script doesn't waste much time in getting going & once Kathy is kidnapped the pace is pretty relentless as we get car chases, fights, a brawl at a peep show, hostile gangs, pimps, dirty cops & a variety of oddball character's from *'s to homeless drunks & surprisingly helpful taxi cab driver's. I wouldn't say any of Night of the Juggler is breathtaking & I wouldn't describe it as a lost masterpiece (it's neither lost nor a masterpiece so why would I?!) but for what it is I liked it enough. The New York setting really helps, in fact the city & it's inhabitants & locations are as much the star as any of the character's, I suppose it's a touch predictable & maybe a little bit too long at 100 minutes but I had a decent time watching it. The character's are alright & serve their purpose & the script has a reasonable go at tackling some themes like racism, poverty, corruption & the basic concept of community or the lack of it. From the skyscrapers of the city to Central park to the graffiti covered trains & tube stations to the porno district with pimps, hookers & peep shows to the dark underground sewer system to housing estates that look like someone dropped a nuclear bomb on it Night of the Juggler spans just about most of New York & it's gritty, sleazy late 70's early 80's cesspool feel & look. If nothing else Night of the Juggler is a bit of a nostalgia trip as the New York seen here is very different to the New York of today. The action scenes are pretty good, from an impressive car chase to a shoot-out in the middle of New York to fights & the final somewhat forgettable climax inside the sewer system. There's some nudity & a fair bit of violence but nothing gory or sadistic. Filmed on location in New York you could not make Night of the Juggler now, apart from the landscape of New York looking completely different just think how much it would cost to stage the car chases & shoot-outs in filming permits alone. There's very little information about Night of the Juggler out there, as far as I am aware at this point it has never even been released on DVD. The acting is pretty good as various actor's bring the odd assortment of New York character's to life. Richard S. Castellano from The Godfather (1972) looks like he is one fry-up away from a heart attack. Night of the Juggler is a decent action thriller with some seriously sleazy overtones, it has a decent story & good action scenes while the Big Rotten Apple as it was back then provides some stark settings. I liked it & despite the awful title I would recommend it, I didn't love it but I liked it.

This was an excellent action/adventure flick that somewhat unfairly depicted NY City. But, it was the late 70's, the city was broke, and in reality, in near chaos at the fringes (like the south Bronx as shown in the movie--that was REAL). Exciting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat action takes over, along with first glimpses of some actors who would be staples on TV (Dan Hedaya & Cliff Gorman). My favorite in the movie was Richie Castellano as Tonelli. He turned out to be the comic relief in the film, and I think it was among the last things he did before he passed. James Brolin did little if no feature film work before this, but it is arguably his best. It far surpassed anything he did for TV. Look for this movie as a used VHS tape wherever you can. You won't be disappointed.

Here's another overlong time-waster that a good friend raved about. Something we all need to remember about hostage dramas- WE, THE AUDIENCE, are being held hostage too. Waiting, waiting, waiting...for something to happen. BORING!!! Critics rave about Al Pacino's performance in 'Dog Day Afternoon', but same thing- waiting, waiting, waiting... Was this movie held up for release? I ask because what was James Castellano doing in this picture 9 years after The Godfather? Wasn't his time past by then? Strange, sleep-inducing film.

There is no question that this film is dated, New York is much nicer than before. But the chase scene involving ex-cop Sean Boyd (James Brolin) vs psychotic Gus Soltic (Cliff Gorman), who kidnapped his daughter Kathy out of error (He thought she was rich), vs corrupt cop Sgt. Otis Barnes (Dan Hedeya), makes the film work. Barnes is without question the worst of the worst, he not only wanted to get Boyd for testifying against him, but wanted to let Soltic get away with his daughter. Spoilers: I liked it when this guy got torn apart in the zoo. Maria (Julie Carmen) really works well as the love interest. He meets her on the (6) train, and she helps him navigate around through the South Bronx, and at the zoo, she also stands up to gang bangers who complain about Boyd being with "Our Women." The best character is Lt. Torelli (Richard Castellano), who starts out very suspicious of Boyd, then starts to take his side, and along with Maria become the only allies that Boyd has. I liked the film a lot, but the dating requires a deduction of 2 stars. 8/10.

***SPOILERS*** Crazed and possibly insane New York City sewer worker Gus "The Mole" Soltic, Cliff Gorman, seeks revenge against the city's top real estate mogul, not Donald J. Trump, who destroyed his family's home and neighborhood in the now-1980-bombed out South Bronx by having the area block busted with welfare and unemployed minorities who turned it into the crime infested slum that it became. In an attempt to kidnap the slumlord's 15 year old daughter he kidnaps the wrong girl who turns out to be the daughter of an ex-policeman Sean Boyd, James Brolin,little Kathy played by Abby Bluestone. It's Boyd who's also on the outs with his former fellow cop Sgt. Otis Barnes, Dan Hadaya, who refuses to help him. It's Sgt. Barnes who's job it's to find and rescue little Kathy but instead is out for revenge against Boyd who's accusation of him screwing around behind his wife's back had him transferred out of his police precinct. So it's now left out to Boyd to go out on own in trying to get little Kathy back from Soltic who demands a $1,000,000.00 ransom or as he tells him he'll send her back to him in bits & pieces! With Soltic not knowing that he kidnapped the wrong girl there's no why that Sean an unemployed and part time truck driver can come up with the cash. This leads to a number of wild car and on foot chase scenes all across the city of New York with Boyd ending up almost a cripple by getting hit by cars and trucks and fighting off a violent South Bronx street gang. ***SPOILERS*** The final showdown that's place-where else-in the sewers of New York City that the dwelling Soltic knows like the back of his greasy hand. By then despite Boyd getting the $1,000,000.00 ransom, from the city treasury, that Soltic demanded he falls madly in love with his 15 year old hostage Kathy who in fact want's nothing at all to do with him. Gritty and well photographed in the burned out South Bronx and sleazy Manhattan Time Square District makes you forget what a totally ridicules movie it really is. It's Cliff Gorman who really takes the cake as well as acting honors in at first his explanation of why he's become so unhinged over what happened to him in being burned out of his family apartment house by the roving street gangs that were introduced into the neighborhood by the greedy and block busting real estate moguls. But his kidnapping and holding hostage of the totally innocent Kathy who had-that he later found out- nothing at all to do with his problems that lost him any sympathy he first had with the audience. P.S Check out 23 year old porno actress Sharon Mitchell as Suzie who works in a Times Square peep show who gives Boyd an important clue to whom his daughters kidnapper's identity really is.

It's quite funny, really… I live in Brussels; the city recently referred to as a "hellhole" by the newly elected (at the time I'm writing this) US President Donald Trump. Judging by this grim & gritty early eighties movie, however, the only genuine hellhole in the world is New York … and that's where Trump lives! No, seriously, apart from being a fast-paced and darkly entertaining action/thriller, "Night of the Juggler" is primarily an anti-tourist campaign for the city of New York! Nothing you see here will ever make you want to go city-tripping in the Big Apple! We're talking pauperized ghettos, Puerto Rican gang-wars, filthy rancid sex clubs and maniacal, shotgun-wielding and corrupt policemen. Add to this a cast full of unlikable characters, brutal violence, raw editing & camera-work, perverted undertones and genuine adult actresses, and you seemingly have the perfect recipe of a typical '70s exploitation cocktail. But the odd thing is that "Night of the Juggler" isn't just some sleazy and Z-grade drive-in flick, but an actually well- budgeted production from the distinguished Columbia Pictures studios! The teen daughter of ex-cop turned truck driver Sean Boyd gets kidnapped in broad daylight and in the middle of a crowded Central Park, but nobody reacts or even seems to care. Yes, THAT is the New York City as illustrated in "Night of the Juggler". The kidnapper is a racist pervert named Gus Soltic, but he mistook Boyd's daughter for the daughter of a wealthy real estate contractor that he wants to extort and blame for the downfall of his childhood neighborhood. Whilst Soltic never properly realizes that he took the wrong girl, her father literally races – on foot and by car – through the city. He searches for clues and witnesses, but he also flees for the police because many of his former colleagues hate his guts. "Night of the Juggler" is a film full of flaws, imbecilities and shortcomings. For example, and like several other reviewers already righteously pointed out, the relationship between the teenage girl and her kidnapper is bizarre and implausible. She doesn't fight back or scream hysterically! She doesn't grab one of the numerous opportunities to escape or call for help! In fact, she doesn't resist at all. Her father doesn't make his own life any easier, neither, since he never properly makes the effort of explaining to the police or potential witnesses what has happened to his daughter. The dialogues are often underdeveloped and the film is overall too long. Particularly the whole climax is too tedious and fairly useless, because it takes place in the sewers and half of the footage is too dark to follow. And yet, I really liked the hefty atmosphere as well as many other things; like the wild taxi ride at the beginning and the gloriously insane character played by Dan Hedaya. He plays a cop who used to be very corrupt and got degraded due to Boyd's testimony, when he sees Boyd popping up in his precinct again he literally goes bonkers! Lead actors James Brolin, Cliff Gorman and Richard Castellano give away more than adequate performances, but they honestly can't match the psychopathic facial expressions linked to Hedaya's acting! Steady direction also, by Robert Butler, who's mainly known for his Disney live-action classics "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" and "The Barefoot Executive". Rather than Disney guff, "Night of the Juggler" more fits into the category with other vile NYC thrillers like "Maniac", "Ms. 45" and "The Exterminator".

A great yet undeservedly obscure entry in the New York as Urban Wasteland cinema genre of the 70's and 80's. Put this one in there along with "Fort Apache: The Bronx," "Taxi Driver," the "Death Wish" series, "Escape From New York," Roberta Findlay's "Tenement," and "The Warriors." Recognizing that from the perspective of 2010, our collective image of New York City is no longer like this, after over two decades of sprucing the place up, you young'uns who don't have any memory of that period can get a good snapshot of the rampant fear and paranoia of those days in this film. It gives that same added emotional frisson you would get watching a fictional World War II movie that was made during the War itself, realizing how seriously both the filmmakers and the audiences at that time would have looked upon this fictional presentation as a representation of reality, knowing that lives were still on the line and the whole crappy situation was very much in full effect. The film's intentions are made clear as within five minutes into the movie, we get terrorism, a woman trying to kill maurading rats with a broom handle, and a hot dog vendor telling the hero, Jim Brolin, "Did you know that 10,000 people left New York last month?" The Psycho of the Hour, the "Juggler" of the title, a racist and a scumbag, kidnaps a little girl and holds her for ransom. Her father is a rich real-estate developer, who Psycho Pants blames for destroying his South Bronx neighborhood by "letting the N*****s and the S****s move in" and destroy all the buildings. Or, so he thinks. But dummy has kidnapped the wrong girl: she's really the daughter of James Brolin, an ex-cop with an anger management problem and a total lack of fear. Now in order to track down the Psycho, Brolin is unleashed on an apocalyptic Manhattan landscape, where he careens around like a pinball in a pinball machine (contemporary reference there), crashing trucks, stealing police cars, getting in fights with peep show booth bouncers and Puerto Rican gang members, and beating the tar out of all of them. Brolin also gets hold of a psycho cop on his tail, played with eye-bulging glee by Dan "Noon O Clock Shadow" Hedaya, and pushes Hedaya into a pen of vicious, snarling attack dogs, who then proceed to bite him a new one! Yowch! Meanwhile, character actor great Richard S. Castellano is the lead cop on the case(s), who doesn't have contact with Brolin's character, but is sort of watching him from afar. It's all building up to the final conflict between Brolin and the psychotic kidnapper in an underground bunker full of steam pipes. Yeah, just like every other movie ever made (Terminator 2, Commando, Robocop...I could go on, but I won't). This is REALLY sleazy and action-packed for a major studio release and I loved it! Plus you get to see some great footage of Manhattan in its grimy prime and the devastated South Bronx landscape. Sure, the plot is over-the-top and ridiculous; Brolin attacks almost everyone he comes into contact with, including his ex-wife, and he's supposed to be the Good Guy; his daughter is not the most appealing character; and the Police are all portrayed as barely competent idiots. I didn't care. I still enjoyed this movie immensely. That title does bite the big one, though. UPDATE: It is my understanding that the rights holder for this movie, who is a small production company, not a major studio, is not interested in releasing this on DVD of Blu-Ray anytime soon. So your only chance at seeing this is digging up an old VHS release and hitting up Goodwill for a working VHS machine.