ACTION U.S.A. is a long lost, action-packed chase movie. The 1989 film toplines drive-in movie legends CAMERON MITCHELL, WILLIAM SMITH and ROSS HAGEN with then newcomer GREGORY SCOTT CUMMINS (BOSCH, IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA) It was briefly released in 1989 at the tail end of the straight-to-video boom, but hasn’t been seen since. VARIETY’s contemporary review noted the outrageous, spectacular and dangerous stunt work in those pre-C.G.I. days and called it “…an above-average chase picture… an excellent example of the type of escapist fun that packed drive-in theaters as recently as a decade ago… chase format involves topnotch stunts, with cars frequently flying through the air and luxury cars demolished. “ (Variety – Reviewed June 17, 1989)
synopsis
After her boyfriend is murdered by the gangsters whose diamonds he stole, a girl is protected by two FBI agents who plan to keep her from sharing the same fate.
BILLY RAY steals a cache of priceless diamonds from FRANKIE and unleashes the crime boss’s fury. When Billy is killed, girlfriend CARMEN and the diamonds are chased by mobsters, hitmen and a rogue Federal Agent. G-Men OSBORN and MCKINNON try to rescue Carmen through a series of explosive car chases, gun fights and Texas bar brawls with a fiery showdown on a bridge at the state line.
There was always a part of BILLY RAY (Rod Shaft) that CARMEN (Barri Murphy) never knew. He never talked about his work or his past but that never seemed to matter. He was vital, exciting, wild – and a great lover. He’s just about to prove to her how great when two vicious THUGS burst in, knocking Carmen out and kidnapping Billy.
When she wakes up, Carmen desperately takes off in pursuit of her lover. Billy is able to make his escape by plummeting out of a speeding helicopter into a river, and he and Carmen are reunited to become fugitives on the run.
But not for long… after a fiery car crash, the lovers are captured by the thugs who take them to a secluded forest. They brutally murder Billy and are about to do the same to Carmen when FBI Agents CLAY OSBORN (Gregory Scott Cummins) and EARL MCKINNON (William Hubbard Knight) arrive just in time to stop the execution. The hoods take off in a hail of bullets.
Now Osborn and McKinnon face a daunting task: to deliver Carmen safely across the state line into protective custody before “The Boss” can get to her. “The Boss” is the head of the Mafia arm, FRANKIE NAVARRO (Cameron Mitchell). Unknown to Carmen, her dead boyfriend Billy had stolen a priceless cache of diamonds from Frankie. And Frankie is convinced that Billy told Carmen where they are. He wants them back… along with Carmen. And somebody else in the mix… corrupt FBI boss CONOVER (William Smith) joins the chase. He wants the diamonds for himself.
When his two thugs are killed, Frankie decides it’s time to bring in his Top Gun, DRAGO (Ross Hagen), a hitman feared from Chicago to Las Vegas. Drago and his team follows our heroes through car chases and gun battles halfway across the state of Texas, leaving a trail of fireballs and hunks of twisted metal where vehicles and buildings used to be.
And along the way, Carmen and Osborn become more to each other they they could have imagined.
The final showdown on a lonely country bridge straddling the state line with Conover and Drago reveals to Osborn and Carmen what they fear the most – and presents them with their deadliest challenge.
Release Date
1 July 1989 (video premiere)
Production Companies
Stewart & Berger
Filming Location
Waco, Texas, USA
director & producers
John Stewart
Director
Alan Stewart
Executive Producer
Susan Stewart
Executive Producer
CAST
Barri Murphy
Gregory Scott Cummins
William Smith
Cameron Mitchell
Directed by | John Stewart |
Assistant Producer | Mark Baird |
Executive Producer | Wolfram Berger |
Associate Producer | Ross Hagen |
Executive Producer | Gunter Simon |
Executive Producer | Günter Simon |
Producer | Alan Stewart |
Executive Producer | John Stewart |
Producer | Susan K. Stewart |
Additional Material | James Desmarais |
Screenplay & Story | David Reskin |
Story | John Stewart |
Music | Del Casher |
Cinematography | Thomas L. Callaway |
Film Editing | Gabrielle Gilbert Reeves |
Casting | Barbara Brinkley |
Art Direction | John Perdicci |
Second Assistant Director | Paul Martin |
First Assistant Director | Jeff Shiffman |
Property Master | Damon Crump |
Assistant Prop Master | C. Mike Davis |
Property Master | Timothy S. Wiles |
Sound | Kirk Cameron |
Sound Engineer | Wayne Karr |
Assistant Camera | Waide R. Allen |
First Assistant Camera | Rick Lamb |
Assistant Editor | Andrew S. Eisen |
Gregory Scott Cummins | Osborn |
William Hubbard Knight | McKinnon |
Barri Murphy | Carmen |
William Smith | Conover |
Cameron Mitchell | Frankie Navarro |
Ross Hagen | Drago |
Hoke Howell | Hitch |
Gary Beal | Garrick |
Malcolm King | Perez |
Rod Shaft | Billy Ray |
David Sanders | Lucky |
Jim Eiglehart | Helicopter pilot |
Brennon Hatley | Sheriff Pritchard |
Matthew Scott Carlton | Conover’s aide |
Chaelie Pack | Rich man |
Velvett Klepper | Young lady |
Don Robb | Attendant |
Alan Stewart | Jake |
Gerald Stewart | Baxter |
Wolfram Berger | Dieter |
D. Allan Morris | Traffic cop |
Herman Crews | Coach |
Don Williams | Wrecker driver |
Susan Lewis | Ticket agent |
Warren Dwyer | Other attendant |
Claire Polan | FBI secretary (as Claire Hagen) |
Dorothy Harrison | Bar cashier |
Jerry Moore | Bartender |
David Lee Bell | Drinking cowboy |
Kevin McKim | Redneck #1 |
Robert Knott | Redneck #2 |
Alissa David | Girl in men’s room |
David Payne | Man in men’s room |
Brian Burns | Cherokee Rose |
Gene Kelly | Cherokee Rose |
Tony Winkelmann | Cherokee Rose |
Bill Kruger | Cherokee Rose |
Mary Kruger | Cherokee Rose |
John Swanner | Cherokee Rose |
Wayne Trimble | Frankie’s man |
Larry Holmes | Frankie’s man |
Dale Babb | Bodyguard |
Clint Jaynes | Bodyguard |
Lisa Prater | Frankie’s girl |
Krista Miller | Girl in hot tub (as Kristalynn Miller) |
Sheri Waldenmaier | Pool party guest |
Tonya Nemmen | Pool party guest |
Cindy Ellison | Pool party guest |
Cindy Dill | Pool party guest |
Laura Robinson | Pool party guest |
Patrick Ledoux | Pool party guest |
Scotty Lyons | Pool party guest |
Wayne Woods | Pool party guest |
Henry Carter | Migrant worker |
Stanley Gutierrez | Migrant worker |
John Stewart | Guy from Boston |
Castylle | Nurse |
Jill Prather | Girl by car |
Kirk Slaughter | FBI agent |
Scott Miller | FBI agent |
Jonathan Lambert | Truck driver |
Gary Williams | Guy by truck |
Martha Miller | Country girl |
Donna Weaver | Texas Two-Step Dancer |
Mike Ammons | Stunts |
Gary Beal | Stunts |
‘The Crash’ Conrad | Stunts |
Kelly Craine | Stunts |
Kim Crow | Stunts |
Damon Crump | Stunts |
Bill Erickson | Stunts |
Bob Ivy | Stunts |
David Sanders | Stunts |
Toni Sawyer | Stunts |
Rod Shaft | Stunts |
Gunter Simon | Stunts |
Melinda Walker | Stunts |
Norm Watkins | Stunts |
Tim Wiles | Stunts |
Gary Wilkes | Stunts |
