A B-movie gem so bad it's almost art — Charles Durning plays a preacher in this mess.
Jailed ex-fighter Donavan Wallace strikes a deal with the prison warden for early parole - he is to go into a town to pick up a mysterious crate. He finds himself framed for the murder of a local waitress but before being thrown behind bars once again he is able to retrieve, and then hide, the crate. Donavan manages to break free from jail but finds himself pursued by various conspirators who are after the contents of the crate
Acting
Charles Durning somehow gives actual gravity to this nonsense.
Practical Effects
The crate itself — cinema's most mysterious MacGuffin container.
Director
Mike Tristano
Frank Zagarino
Donovan Wallace
Charles Napier
Sheriff Dawkins
Charles Durning
Reverend Hale
Brett Baxter Clark
Mitch Dugan
Jeff Rector
Wes Dugan
William Smith
Lee Clayton
Vernon Wells
Nick
Burt Young
Warden Gavin
Elizabeth Giordano
Charlotte Ames
Nils Allen Stewart
Hammer Johnson
Lisa Comshaw
Shay Walker
Mickey Jones
Bartender
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Frank Zagarino directed himself and still gave the best performance to Charles Durning. The crate was reportedly just plywood spray-painted black.
This film arrived at the tail end of the direct-to-video action boom, when names like Zagarino and Lorenzo Lamas ruled Blockbuster shelves. The 'neo-western' label was clearly aspirational.
US
