L'arme totale

Here we have a fun little film which is easy to like, in which Sybil Danning has not only the starring role, but also is credited with story and co-producer.

When mayoral candidate Mike Rhodes (Robert Hanley) is kidnapped by drug runner Cavanaugh (Hauser) and his team of goons, this raises the ire of one of the toughest dudes around...ex-cop and now bounty hunter Ruger (Danning)! It seems the psychopathic Cavanaugh murdered her partner when she was on the beat. Cavanaugh slipped away and she has been on his trail. Now it's time to get revenge. But Cavanaugh wants to get to her first or she'll blow the whole mayoral kidnap plan, especially since Ruger has teamed up with Rhodes' wife Kelly (Lenore Kasdorf). So now it's an all-out war between Cavanaugh and his goons and Ruger. Is she woman enough to take on all the evildoers? And what is the final twist in the tale? In this movie, Danning and Wings are great opposites. Wings Hauser hams it up to the max (in a good way) and chews the scenery to pieces as the flamboyant artist Cavanaugh. It's truly "Wings gone wild" as he laughs, screams, skips (!) and spouts philosophy while wearing his clip-on earring. His lair is a supposed import/export business called "Gothic Imports". In the climax we see it has to be one of the largest warehouses ever.

Danning is quiet and curt as the no-nonsense bounty tracker. She says very little and when other characters say things to her, all we see is a silent, closed-mouth reaction shot. It's all in the name of fun. Just check out her many great entrances in the film. She usually appears silhouetted in a doorway surrounded by smoke as a mighty guitar riff blares on the soundtrack. She probably had a blast as the beer-swilling, leather jacket wearing, trailer-dwelling, shotgun toting "macho" hero. She basically blows giant holes in all the goons with a massive gun. She is funny and engaging as Ruger.

The movie really delivers the goods to the fans and moves along at a brisk pace. There is a standout scene which is an homage to Westerns, watch out for it. Directed by familiar name (at least to this site) Worth Keeter, don't hesitate to check out L.A. Bounty if you can.

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My review was written in May 1989 after a Cannes Film Festival Market screening.

Sybil Danning executes something of a self-parody in the lame action vehicle "L. A. Bounty", a minor title for video usage.

Also co-producing and providing the weak storyline, Danning portrays a macha bounty hunter patterned after Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name, including his trademark mannerisms and cheroots. There the resemblance ends.

She's after nemesis Wings Hauser, a wigged-out artist and drug kingpin with a price on his head. Hauser has mayoral candidate Robert Hanley kidnapped and Danning is one step ahead of the police in trying to free him and put away Hauser for good.

Director Worth Keeter includes a lot of filler in this uninvolving opus. Hauser is allowed to ham it up preposterously while Danning, unflatteringly photographed, merely looks sullen.

Best technical credit is the often rousing musical score by Howard Leese and Sterling, which fails to disguise how listless the action scenes are.

Absolutely mindless action, no character development, and not so splendid acting, permeate "L.A. Bounty". The only reason to see this is Wings Hauser in another demented bad guy role, and Sybil Danning as sort of a "Man With No Name"/ "Dirty Harry" clone. Explosions and shootouts prevail, with renegade ex cop Danning often appearing out of nowhere, seeking revenge on those responsible for killing her partner. Although she is portrayed as a bounty hunter, no money ever exchanges hands. The whole thing just sort of rolls along on the thin thread of a story. It is something about a supposed kidnapping of a mayoral candidate, but makes little sense. For Wings and Sybil admirers only, others beware. - MERK

B movie sexpot Sybil Danning also gets story author and producer credit on this routine but competently handled little picture. She casts herself as Ruger, a strong / silent type who never talks much but is capable of effortlessly taking out the trash. Ruger is a tough ex-cop turned bounty hunter who gets involved when a mayoral candidate (episodic TV veteran Robert Hanley) is kidnapped. The mastermind is a jovial psychotic who is unsurprisingly played to the hilt by ever-reliable Wings Hauser.

Ruger is definitely a change of pace for Danning; the movie never even really tries to sexualize her character (if the viewer wants sex appeal, that's what actress Max Wasa ("House of Manson") and other female bit players are for). Danning manages to give one of her better - or at least more interesting - performances, and it's worth noting that she speaks a grand total of about 31 words in the story. But it's the villainy of the smiling Wings that is the main attraction. The movie is uninspired, for the most part, but certainly watchable; one of the best sequences happens at the end when Wings is throwing every distraction at Sybil that he can.

Worth Keeter ("Illicit Behavior") directs capably, and "L. A. Bounty" does have some pretty good action sequences. The cast of familiar faces also includes Lenore Kasdorf ("Missing in Action"), Henry Darrow ('The High Chaparral'), Blackie Dammett ("National Lampoon's Class Reunion"), Branscombe Richmond ("Hard to Kill"), Frank Doubleday ("Escape from New York"), Bob Minor ("Forced Vengeance"), and Robert "Count Yorga" Quarry.

Howard Leese of the band Heart is one of those credited with the score; the cinematography is by the legendary, prolific indie D. P. Gary Graver.

Excellent stunts, nasty violence, a high body count, and a solid pace add up to a fairly good time for B movie lovers.

Seven out of 10.

In the 1980s Sybil Danning gained a small cult following playing tough women, whether wearing sandals and carrying a sword, in uniform with a gun, or flying spaceships in some sci-fi future. Here she stars as Ruger, an ex-cop turned bounty hunter, out to avenge her partner, killed by crime-lord Cavanaugh (Wings Hauser). Heard the story before? Yes, and you've seen this film before too, at least a dozen times. There are no surprises here and no attempt at anything original. That's the downside.

On the other hand, it's pretty well made. The plot is slight but hangs together, sets, dialog and direction are OK, and some of the acting is surprisingly good. Hauser has made a lot of films and it's easy to see why. As a demented Chris Walken style bad guy, he's both nasty and charismatic. The various cops and heavies and the main female victim do fine in support, and then there's Danning. She wrote and produced this film, and rarely can a star have created a role for her/himself with so little dialog. Even when spoken to, she simply doesn't reply. She broods silently, stalks about with a big gun in her hand, and, when she fires it, rarely misses. Not the world's greatest actor, Danning knows her strengths and brings this off better than most tough-guy actors could. But if this character does anything else at all (eat maybe? sleep? make love?) we never find out about it.

Female action heroes are common enough nowadays (though not so much back in the 80s) but in movies like Kill Bill and The Long Kiss Goodnight, they're always given some point of vulnerability. Here there is none. Ruger is a hard and competent winner, which is great – it's just a shame she was given no other life or personality at all.

There's no particular reason to go looking for this film, but if you like tough women or mindless action entertainment, you should enjoy it. It's fun and much better than the low rating suggests.