New World. Director Andrew Lane; Producer Andrew Lane, Wayne Crawford, William Fay; Screenplay Wayne Crawford, Andrew Lane; Camera Bryan Loftus; Editor Fred Stafford, Michael Ripps; Music Mark Snow; Art Director Norm Baron
Wayne Crawford
Dennis Christopher
Karen Kopins
John Hurt
Leon Ames
Donna Pescow
Jake Speed is fun - a deliberately mindless adventure that keeps tongue firmly in cheek.
A family is worried about their daughter's disappearance in Paris. Pop wanders in, saying they ought to hire Jake Speed, a hero of paperback thrillers to find her. Pop gets sent to bed because he's obviously senile.
But daughter number two gets a note to meet Jake Speed at a seedy bar. She goes, meets Speed and his sidekick author Remo.
After a hilarious false start once in Africa (where the daughter has been sent to), the trio crashes the den of the international white slavers lorded over by a malicious and deliciously evil John Hurt.
Speed is well played by a heavy-lidded and laconic Wayne Crawford who talks as an old-fashioned paperback hero would - in cliches.
(Color) Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1986. Running time: 100 MIN.
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