Raw Deal
Tags: violence, revenge, humor, murder, cult

Plot synopsis:
Prisoner Joe Sullivan (Dennis O'Keefe), who has "taken the fall" for an unspecified crime, breaks out of jail with the help of his girl, Pat (Claire Trevor), who also serves as a first-person narrator in the story. Neither is aware that the escape has been facilitated by mobster Rick Coyle (Raymond Burr), a sadistic pyromaniac, who has arranged for Joe to be killed in order to avoid paying Joe his share of $50,000 for the crime. When the break-out succeeds, Rick decides that he must have Joe done in some other way.
Pat and Joe kidnap a social worker, Ann (Marsha Hunt), who has been visiting Joe in prison, trying to reform him. This begins a doomed film noir love triangle. A fight with a vicious thug (John Ireland) ends when Ann shoots Joe's attacker in the back. After acting in Joe's defense, Ann realizes she is in love with him. Relenting, he sets her free and prepares to flee the country with Pat. In their hotel room, Pat receives a phone call warning them that Rick has seized Ann and will harm her unless Joe and Pat come out of hiding. Pat lies to Joe that it was a call from the hotel desk clerk since she does not want him to go back to Ann.
After boarding a ship, Joe attempts to convince Pat that they can start a new life in South America together. A guilt-stricken Pat now confesses to Joe that Ann is in danger. Joe races to save Ann from her captor, Rick. Under the cover of a thick fog, Joe manages to get past Rick's thugs and sneaks into Rick's room. A gunfight erupts with Rick and Joe shooting each other and inadvertently starting a fire. Joe and Rick, both wounded, fight hand-to-hand with Joe finally pushing Rick through an upper story window to his death. Mortally wounded, lying in the street, Joe dies in Ann's arms as Pat, under arrest, looks on. Seeing the happiness in Joe's face, Pat comments in voice-over that "This is right for Joe. This is what he wanted."

Review: In his defence his one liners are often pure gold ("You should not drink and bake").The supporting cast (Robert Davi , Kathryn Harrold , Darren McGavin) is pretty good.The rock music is fun and the use of Rolling Stones "Satisfaction" was brilliant.
You've got the classic good guy joins the mobsters gang in order to bring them down - Arnie sports a classic lumberjack shirt in this film as he plays a small town sheriff (check out the car chase at the beginning).
Arnold goes undercover as a hood and joins the mob to find out who's working with them from the FBI and bring him to justice in this action-packed Arnold Schwarznegger vehicle; and just guess who the FBI mole is?A must for Schwarznegger fans with Arnold, for the first time in his movie career, speaking whole sentences and showing some sensitivity in scenes with his love interests in the movie his wife Amy, Balnche Baker, to whom Arnold utters the movie best line " You shouldn't drink and bake at the same time".
There's also Arnolds sexy mob girlfriend Monique, Kathryn Harrold, whom he avoids having any action with and has no idea that Arnold is an undercover lawman as well as a loyal and happily married man.Great action sequences sprinkled all throughout the film with a tremendous and unbelievable shoot-out at the end of the movie to the explosive and thumping music score of "The Kaminski Stomp" which raises the adrenaline level of the theater audience to it's limits..
No, we don't look for quality here, but Schwarzenegger does a credible job of acting and he keeps throwing out these funny lines that keep you in stitches.Nothing original here - failed FBI agent, now small town Sheriff (think Bruce Willis in Hostage or Striking Distance, Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone, or many others who are out in the cold because of their screw-ups or someone's evil deed - called to infiltrate the mob and bring them down.You know Arnie's going to get the job done with muscle and firepower.
A few nice one-liners here and there, but the script is quite weak and there is a lot of unintentional humour and next to no care developing the characters in a film littered with stereotypes (only Kaminski has any kind of development).Action-wise, 'Raw Deal' is hardly amateurish and has some exciting moments but too much of it is too routine and a huge amount of suspension of disbelief is needed.
Arnie was the action movie superstar of the 80's films such as Commando, Predator, Conan The Barbarian and of course the Terminator made him a global mega star.
Even Arnie isn't the presence he was in his other 80's films he must have know how poor this was going to turn out.Poor script, acting, and unforgivably in a movie of this type poor action scenes 4/10.
"Raw Deal" is perhaps one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's least known movies, a film that he made after the success of "The Terminator", marking his transition from B-movie actor to A lister.
Raw Deal is not one of his best by any means but it's not bad and if you're a fan of the eighties action genre like I am or even just Schwarzenegger himself than you need to see this one.
If you are watching an Arnold movie expecting to see a brilliantly acted well crafted bit of film you should be hurt worse than the villains in his movies, but if you want to knock back a few and enjoy some death with bad one liners...there is one man who used to be there for you.
If not, go try out some other Arnie movies like Commando or Total RecallI would compare Raw Deal to Red Heat or Running Man6/10.
A gripping 80's action thriller with Arnold's best acting performance as well as some of his best 'one man army' moves outside of Commando.Schwarzenegger plays a cop fired from the FBI for beating a suspect who is now stationed in sleep town with a failing marriage.
It's kind of understandable; when you compare it to the affore-mentioned classics, it does seem a little subdued.Yes, Arnie breaks a lot of bad-guys' bones along the way, as he goes from smalltown Sheriff to undercover gang syndicate member, but it never seems to have the required action that fans were synonymous with during this stage of his career.
After a few minutes, I realized we'd rented it several years ago, probably 10 years ago, but I must have been preoccupied or tired then, because I just recognized it piecemeal this time.Several of the others here have described in detail the characters, plot, etc., and I agree it's one of Arnie's films with superior acting all around, and also does seem a bit lower-budgeted than his others in this genre.**Possible spoiler (although hard to "spoil" one of Arnie's)>**Humorous one-liners abound, but the real "pure Arnold" hi-jinks towards the end are among his best (of course he's whacked the hell of multiple attackers a few times earlier).In the climax, he drives a convertible in the gravel pit hideout, money-counting property of the Chicago don, over very rough terrain (it IS a gravel pit) steering with one hand and picking off about a dozen marksmen, situated high and low, steadily aiming weapons at him with both hands.
This Arnie action flick which isn't badly acted by our man of brawn, sees him back in action, at the request of an old cop friend, FBI chief (Darren McGavin), whose son was killed by the Chicago mafia, while working undercover.
Davi kind of smells something fishy about this new guy from the word, "Go", where it's great to see Arnie and him square off in particular scenes, and Davi's got the classic, ugly skinned, unattractive, villainous look, that's made him shine in so many other films, whether either playing good or bad.
The premise of this familiar actioner had some potential, with Arnold Schwarzenegger getting to act like a "bad guy" at least for a while, but unfortunately the theme is "explored" in just ONE scene, where he admits that he likes his new lifestyle as the right hand of a mob boss.
It might not be great, or good really, but man is it entertaining.The plot of this film revolves around ex-FBI or super cop Arnie, who is now a small town sheriff after using excessive force on a ne'er do weller.
All of this combined with the actual cops trying to find out who he is, his boss wanting revenge after the mafia kills his kid, and just a whole ton of property damage, makes Raw Deal a pointless, choppy, yet beyond fun action film to watch.Explosions, stupid quips that are pretty funny, car chases, bullets flying everywhere, and bad acting by a lead are the hallmarks of a good "bad" action movie.
There were not enough action scenes in the film, which is very odd for an R-rated Arnie flick.I also remember watching the movie a second time as a teen, and I STILL found it boring.
He even has a mandatory arming up scene in there (I really think he filmed just one of these for time-effectiveness and posted it in on the last day of shooting for all his shoot 'em ups).I'd love to be able to say this a run of the mill all out action effort give it 6/10, lament about its lack of originality, point out its near cut and paste qualities and leave it at that, but damn, this is one confusing film.One of strangest opening sequences I can recall sees Arnie chasing what appears to be a cop on a motorbike before setting him alight.
By this time I could almost hear the Simpsons McBane character explain why women always leave the toilet seat up or remark that he indeed does wear loafers!Unfortunately the film can't even be relied on for classic one liners; the closest we get is after Arnie's wife throws a cake against the wall to which he replies "NEVER DRINK AND BAKE..."Go watch Total Recall, or Predator again instead!.
"Raw Deal" doesn't know how to have much fun at all - the good parts come late in the film, and even then we're laughing more than smiling - a sign of stupidity versus amusement.I must confess that I'm a big fan of Ah-nuld, the Austrian Oak from "Pumping Iron," the secret agent from "True Lies," the adventure-seeking Doug Quaid from "Total Recall" and, of course, the Terminator.
The director can't even handle these sequences well - and Lord knows they were done very amusing, if not silly, in "Commando," which is everything that "Raw Deal" wants to be: not a great action movie but a simple flick for guys who like to switch off their brains and watch things go boom.Arnold's appeal, I think - and what separates him from the come-and-go action stars such as Seagal and Van Damme and even Stallone - is his powerful screen presence, his charisma, and most of all, his lenient nature towards his films.
After she throws it at his head, Arnold returns with the immortal line, "You should not drink and bake."That sort of depressed but oddly humorous atmosphere permeates all hour and forty minutes of Raw Deal, as Mark is brought in by his old boss Harry (Darren McGavin) to infiltrate the Patrovita mob and bring it down from the inside.
If you love Arnold, Kathryn Harrold, Darren McGavin, Paul Shenar, Robert Davi, the rest of the cast in the film, Action, and interesting Thrillers films then I strongly recommend you to see this film today!Movie Nuttball's NOTE:Here are some other Arnold recommendations: Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, Red Sonja, The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines, The Running Man, Red Heat, Commando, Predator, Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop, Last Action Hero, True Lies, Junior, Eraser, Jingle All The Way, Batman and Robin, End of Days, and Collateral Damage!.
Between the brilliant The Terminator and (for me) some of his most entertaining movies (The Running Man, Red Heat, Total Recall) Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in this typical 80's action film where he plays a former FBI agent tasked with infiltrating a Chicago crime syndicate and tracking down an informer responsible for the deaths of many law enforcement officers.
Another action flick starring Arnold Scharzenegger, where he plays former FBI agent Mark Kaminsky, now a small town sheriff in North Carolina.
Darren McGavin played a heartfelt role as the FBI Chief.Overall, not an exciting action movie and not one of the better ones starring Arnold.Grade D+.
Raw deal 1989 is a typical action fare the story is typical this makes a dull film the music is bad they could have done better.Arnie is corny , macho and produces pathetic one liners that you will laugh at all of it it mindless and so is entertaining the last shootout is great but its good in parts bad in others .Mindless entertainment the plot is a bad case but there is 80s classy scenes arnie has done better a great one would be red heat , last action hero was OK but arnie just doesn't acts he doesn't use good acting he is just like a macho msan in action killing bad guys he himself if funny and in this he is so bad hes great ..
Simply put it's a modest action joint directed with confidence and touch of flair by John Irvin (who brought us "The Dogs of War", "Ghost Story" and "Hamburger Hill"), but it's rather sparse on the vigorous activity leaning on story mechanisms with Schwarzenegger spending most of his time wooing the gorgeous Kathryn Harrold and trying to be best buddies with the mobsters he's infiltrating (Sam Wanamaker, Paul Shenar and Robert Davi who seems born to play these roles), but when it kicks into gear it doesn't disappoint as it can be quite violent with a full-out assault in the climatic 15 minutes where it has Schwarzenegger going on a shooting spree while driving his car with The Rolling Stone's "Satisfaction" blaring.
Wrongly disgraced FBI agent Kaminsky (Schwarzenegger) reluctantly takes up a job as a sheriff of a small town but is given another chance, goes undercover and joins the Mafia to take them down.Paul Michael Glaser's Raw Deal, possibly with a different director could have become a successful mediocre 80's cop/gangster flick.
However, it become another Arnold vehicle which does them both credit, playing on his humour, packed with one liners, his physicality, he throws guys about and his action persona, he fire lots of guns.Looking back and to put things into perspective, and removing The Running Man (1987) from the equation, Raw Deal fittingly sits in between Commando (1985) and Red Heat (1988).
Darren McGavin gives a subtle performance as FBI agent Harry and Kathryn Harrold isn't bad.Raw Deal was never going to win awards but it's an above average production, fast-paced, action-packed and entertaining.
The Title Says It All. I remember seeing Raw Deal at the Fox Theatre in Spokane twenty-plus years ago and I still can tell you what I was thinking as this infantile, Z-grade mess of an action thriller proceeded to make me want a refund.I wondered if Arnie would do any more quality movies like The Terminator.I resented having all that bloodletting and cursing without throwing in the third leg of the R-rated terrible trio--nudity.
Between the marvellous, macho, military mayhem that was Commando and the sheer brilliance of sci-fi/action classic Predator, Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared in this shoddy shoot-em-up, most notable for being the one where the star slicks back his hair (seriously, that's the only thing I could remember about this film from my previous viewing).The uninspired plot for this largely forgettable cheese-fest sees Arnie as disgraced FBI agent turned small-town sheriff Mark Kaminsky, who slaps on the pomade to go deep undercover in the Chicago mafia after being offered the possibility of reinstatement if he helps to kill the mobsters responsible for the death of his ex-boss's son.
The slicked back hair fools everyone but mob heavy Max Keller (Robert Davi), who suspects that the new muscle isn't on the level.There's no denying that this is far from Arnie's best film—the script is diabolical, the action is poorly staged, and the majority of the movie seems to be simply treading water until the bullet-riddled finale—but for those after a few unintentional laughs to go with their gratuitous violence, look no furtherThis film's so-bad-they're-good highlights include Kaminsky's hilarious domestic spat with his inebriated, cake-hurling wife (Don't drink and bake!), Arnold struggling to deliver the priceless line 'He molested, murdered and mutilated her' (the film is worth watching for this moment alone), the ridiculous attack on the bad guys' quarry hangout which sees our hero effortlessly picking off numerous villains while fishtailing his car at high speed, Kaminsky's reckless suggestion to start a bombing campaign on the city's police precincts (what's a few maimed cops in the pursuit of vengeance?), and the inevitable scene in which Kaminsky 'tools up', preparing a vast collection of weaponry for the final battle, pulling on his leather jacket and checking himself out in the mirror before he leaves to kick ass.Unmitigated tripe this may be, but it sure is funny at times..
In watching Raw Deal again now for the first time since I was about 10 years old, I can't help thinking that people must have been more entertained by Arnie's bad acting than his action movie presence.
It's yet another one of those old action movies where Arnie with his thick accent plays an all-American guy, this time an FBI agent named Joseph Brenner living in exile for treating a suspect too roughly.
Raw Deal differentiates itself from some of Arnie's other bad action movies because it doesn't take itself seriously.
Raw Deal is 1986 American action film directed by John Irvin, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathryn Harrold, Darren McGavin and Sam Wanamaker.
Rating-4/10Raw Deal is an action movie fuelled by death, thrill pumping fighting and some pretty Arnie like lines+moves.
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Mark Kaminski a cop who got a raw deal from the FBI as is currently working for a sheriff department when his friend Harry Shannon (Darren McGavin) finances Kaminski to singlehandedly infiltrate and destroy a Chicago mob family in this howlingly absurd yet admittedly fun actioner, Raw Deal may not be Schwarzenegger's best movie, but at least Schwarzenegger is top form.
In the eighties Arnie was the action movie King, but Raw Deal is not one of his best.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathryn Harrold, Sam Wanamaker, Paul Shenar, Robert Davi and Darren McGavin star in this 1986 action film.
For some reason i like this movie, i've seen it quite a few times and still find it entertaining, no way is it near to Arnies best but is one of my favourites and will always recommend it to Fans of Arnold.There is quite a lot of fist fights for a Arnie movie and all of them are a little OTT but are still excellent to watch, i love the first fight scene when Arnie knee's a guy in the face and he goes flying backwards onto a table which snaps in half, it was was seriously cheesy but really funny.There are of course gun fights and the ending was classic, he kills a whole mob family by himself and gets away with just a scratch on his arm.The music in this movie was great especially on the action scenes.
The acting isn't up to much, Arnie is very wooden in this I must say while it's left to intense character actor Robert Davi to bring a bit of class to the thing.Raw Deal is a fine 80's action thriller & one of Arnie's most overlooked films, it's not up there with his best but it's still good solid entertainment & lots of violent fun.