Road House
Short description
Dalton is a bouncer with a philosophy degree who takes a job cleaning up a rowdy bar called the Double Deuce in Jasper, Missouri. He is hired to bring order to the troubled establishment, and his methods quickly earn results. His involvement with a local doctor, Elizabeth Clay, puts him at odds with Brad Wesley, a racketeer whose influence extends across the town. Dalton also works alongside Wade Garrett, an experienced fellow bouncer who trained him. The conflict between Dalton and Wesley escalates into a confrontation that decides the town's fate.
The film was directed by Rowdy Herrington and released in 1989. It is the first of the four features he directed, followed in later years by Gladiator, Striking Distance and A Murder of Crows. Patrick Swayze plays Dalton, with Kelly Lynch as Dr. Clay, Sam Elliott as Wade Garrett and Ben Gazzara as Wesley. Joel Silver produced, and the screenplay was written by Hilary Henkin and R. Lance Hill. Made for about 15 million dollars, it earned roughly twice that worldwide, a solid return. On IMDb it holds a 6.7 rating from around 111,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.8 from a much smaller base. A critics' score of 5.5 from 50 reviews places it below both audience figures.
What's left behind the scenes
- Red West's auto parts store and the 'Two Deuces' bar were actually just facades, with only two sides. They were built near the city of Fresno, California, where filming took place. The bar's interior was created inside a recording studio.
- Farmer Emmett's house and barn were specially built for the film at a location called Royal Ranch, near Fresno, on the Kings River. The structures were artificially 'aged' for authenticity.
- The car Dalton drove to the bar was a 1965 Buick Riviera.
- The film's soundtrack and all musical performances were provided by renowned Canadian guitarist and bluesman Jeff Healy. Jeff has been blind since childhood, which gives his playing a uniquely personal style, resulting in technically remarkable and unparalleled performance forms in his compositions.
- The film's soundtrack and all musical numbers were performed by renowned Canadian guitarist and bluesman Jeff Healy. Jeff has been blind since childhood and plays in a manner unique to him.
- Initially, Marshall R. Teague (who played Jimmy) and Patrick Swayze didn't get along, but during the filming of the fight scenes, they both realized they preferred realistic stunts. Teague and Swayze set aside their differences and became such good friends that they even allowed themselves (and each other) to land real blows on their partner. When Teague hit Swayze with a log, he thought it was specially pre-cut prop that would break upon impact. The log turned out to be genuine. By the end of the shooting day, Swayze was covered in bruises and had a couple of broken ribs and a damaged knee.
- Patrick Swayze's popularity caused certain problems during filming. Once, a whole group of middle-aged blondes tried to break into his trailer. During the filming of the fight on the riverbank, a raft with the actor's fans was located on the water near the shore. The actress playing the waitress stared so intently at Swayze that she didn't watch where she was going, tripped, and spilled the contents of the glasses she was carrying on a tray onto another actress.
- In preparation for the role, Kelly Lynch spent a whole month in the hospital's emergency room. She even learned to stitch wounds, which was also required by the script, but at the last moment it was decided to simply staple the edges of the wound together.
- The band Cruzados participated in the filming of the movie, with the lead singer Tito Larriva credited as Humberto Larriva in the credits. Tito Larriva is known to many for his role in 'From Dusk Till Dawn' as the lead singer of Tito & Tarantula.
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