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.
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.