The Evil That Men Do (film)

The Evil That Men Do is an action thriller film directed by J. Lee Thompson that stars Charles Bronson.

The film was adapted by David Lee Henry and John Crowther from a novel by R. Lance Hill. It was first released by ITC Entertainment to French cinemas on March 15, 1984, and debuted in the United States via co-production partner Tri-Star Pictures on September 14, 1984.

Plot summary

Holland (Bronson) is a former CIA assassin who lives quietly and peacefully on a West Indies island. He is persuaded out of retirement by the death of Jorge Hidalgo (played by Jorge Humberto Robles), a friend and dissident journalist. Hidalgo was murdered by Clement Molloch (played by Joseph Maher), a Welsh doctor who lives in Guatemala. Molloch (cf. Moloch) has made a science of the practice of torture and sells his knowledge and skills to any government that can pay his price.

Holland is hired by Hector Lomelin (played by José Ferrer), a professor and friend of Hidalgo. He poses as a family man (Lomelin's wife Isabel is played by Constanza Hool) and is accompanied to Guatemala by Hidalgo's widow Rhiana (played by Theresa Saldana) and daughter Sarah (played by Amanda Nicole Thomas).

In a sense, Holland is a near-sociopath whose thinking becomes increasingly clear as the degree of danger in which he has put himself escalates. He is an unassuming man who can and does explode in violence with very little warning. He is also characterized by an unusual morality which allows him to kill without guilt those who he believes must be killed for the good of mankind.

Production notes

The film, shot in Mexico, includes a score by Ken Thorne and cinematography by Xavier Cruz. The Evil That Men Do was originally planned by Cannon Films but was scrapped over a financing dispute. In the end, however, ITC and Tri-Star took over production.

Notes

External links

• The Evil That Men Do at the Internet Movie Database
• The Evil That Men Do at AllRovi