Armed and Dangerous (1986 film)

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Armed and Dangerous
The movie poster for Armed and Dangerous
Directed by	Mark L. Lester
Produced by	Brian Grazer James Keach
Written by	Brian Grazer James Keach Harold Ramis
Starring	John Candy Eugene Levy Robert Loggia Kenneth McMillan Meg Ryan
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	August 15, 1986
Running time	88 mins.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Armed and Dangerous (1986) is a movie starring John Candy as Frank Dooley, Eugene Levy as Norman Kane, Robert Loggia as Michael Carlino and Meg Ryan as Maggie Cavanaugh. The plot involves Dooley, a police officer and Kane, a criminal defense attorney, recently drummed out of their respective professions. Frank Dooley loses his job as a police officer after he catches two corrupt officers stealing a television set. He refuses to join in with them, so they overpower him and fabricate a story which gets Dooley fired. Kane loses his job as a criminal defense attorney, the judge at his last case even asks pejoratively "Where did you go to law school?", and tells him that he is considerably worse than any other lawyer that he has ever known.

The film's premise involves the pair uncovering of a scheme formulated by the security guard union's leaders (who collect $15 from each worker's weekly paycheck) to embezzle the money for their own personal gain. The pair are assigned to guard a toxic waste site after clashing with the union leaders when they refuse to answer questions about the status of the pension's fund, and question the compulsory nature of union membership.

The main source of the film's comedy comes from the interactions between Dooley and Kane, and the various mishaps and close-calls that befall the pair on their journey. There is also a romantic interest between Kane and Cavanaugh, although there does not seem to be much on-screen chemistry between the two.

The film was released in the United States on August 15 of 1986, and is set in Los Angeles, California during the 1980s.

Tagline: Undercover. Overdressed. And keeping you safe from the scum of the earth.

Quote on Promotional Posters: A comedy about security guards with the safety off

1 Quotes
2 Trivia
3 Goofs
4 External links

[edit] Quotes

The Cowboy: "Slim, I ain't never seen a handgun that big before!"
Frank Dooley: "It's a fifty caliber. They used to use this to hunt buffalo with... up close. It's only legal in two states... and this isn't one of 'em."

Norman Kane (defending a client, speaking to the judge): "I sincerely feel that the facts are completely irrelevant in this case."

Applicant: Where it says police record, does that mean felonies or misdemeanors? Clarence Cavanaugh: Both. Applicant: Oh...can I write on the back here? I'm not gonna have enough room. Clarence Cavanaugh: We've got lots of extra papers if you need 'em.

Clarence Cavanaugh: The world is a shithole. Full of shitty little scumbags who are scared shitless.

Frank Dooley: (looks at other applicant) Do you think he's a little anal? Applicant: (dryly) I think he's right.

Captain O'Connell: "You work ten hours, you make forty-six dollars." Dooley: "Now... let me get this straight. If I worked say, three billion hours, I could pull in over twelve billion dollars, roughly?" (quickly adding) "I mean, if I was eager enough and I put the time in."

Judge: Mr. Kane, you are without a doubt, one of the worst lawyers I've ever seen. Norman Kane: Oh, well then, I move for a mistrial. Judge: SHUT UP! Norman Kane: Yessir.

Frank Dooley: Oh, don't be such a wussy. Toughen up, will you? A little toxic waste isn't going to kill you.

Clarence Cavanaugh: I don't suppose you can identify any of them? Frank Dooley: Well yeah, sure. They looked like they were on the U.S. Olympic Downhill team. I told you, they were wearing ski-masks. Clarence Cavanaugh (looks at Norman Kane): How about you? Can you describe any of them? Norman Kane: Uh...yeah sure, except, well for their heads. Uhh, there was two guys. The big guy was uhh....big. And the small guy was... Clarence Cavanaugh: Small? You're a regular Dick Tracy. Norman Kane: Well, I'm sorry sir, I was scared! When people are chasing you with guns, you don't stop and ask them how much they weigh!

Tanning Salon Woman: "Gosh, I didn't realize it was going to be this formal. If I had known it was going to be this kind of party, I would have worn underwear."

Maggie Cavanaugh (instructing the security guard trainees on firearm usage): "Just remember that when you pull the trigger, bullets are going to come out very, very fast. So make sure that you keep the gun pointed away from you. Now, thats about it. You are now armed guards. God help us all."

[edit] Trivia

The film that Norman Kane is watching in the warehouse is The Caine Mutiny.

The role of Norman Kane was originally written for Tom Hanks, but he chose not to do the film. John Candy then suggested that his fellow Second City TV alum Eugene Levy be cast as the character, which he was.