Raw Deal (1986)

Raw Deal is a 1986 American action film directed by John Irvin, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathryn Harrold, Darren McGavin and Sam Wanamaker.

Plot
After the son of FBI agent Harry Shannon (Darren McGavin) is killed by a mafia organization, former FBI agent turned small-town sheriff Mark Kaminski (Arnold Schwarzenegger) agrees to help infiltrate the mafia in order to help take it down.

Cast

 * Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mark Kaminski / Joseph P. Brenner
 * Kathryn Harrold as Monique
 * Darren McGavin as FBI Special Agent Harry Shannon
 * Sam Wanamaker as Luigi Patrovita
 * Paul Shenar as Paulo Rocca
 * Steven Hill as Martin Lamanski
 * Joe Regalbuto as Marvin Baxter
 * Robert Davi as Max Keller
 * Blanche Baker as Amy Kaminsky
 * Steve Holt as FBI Special Agent Blair Shannon
 * Sven-Ole Thorsen as Patrovita's Bearded Bodyguard
 * Ed Lauter as Baker
 * Robey as Lamanski's Girl
 * Victor Argo as Dangerous Man
 * George P. Wilbur as Killer #1
 * Denver Mattson as Killer #2
 * John Malloy as Trager
 * Lorenzo Clemons as Washington 2nd Sergeant
 * Dick Durock as Dingo
 * Frank Ferrara as Spike
 * Thomas Rosales, Jr. as Jesus
 * Jack Hallett as Carson
 * Leon Rippy as Man in Tux
 * Doug Billings as Guy Standing at Poker Table
 * Norman Maxwell as Fake State Trooper
 * Tony DiBenedetto as Rudy

Production
The film was originally produced so that Dino De Laurentiis could put some quick cash into his long gestating project Total Recall, a film that Laurentiis had owned the rights for and one that Schwarzenegger would later take the leading role.

Partly due to the poor box office performance of the movie, De Laurentiis would eventually file for bankruptcy and the rights to "Total Recall" were sold to Carolco.

At the time, Schwarzenegger was still under contract with De Laurentiis for a number of Conan the Barbarian sequels and in exchange for dissolving this multi-picture agreement, he agreed to star in "Raw Deal."

Initially, Schwarzenegger was more interested in doing "Total Recall," but De Laurentiis objected because he didn't feel that Schwarzenegger was right for the leading role and Patrick Swayze was cast before De Laurentiis' bankruptcy.

The filming was done on location in Chicago, Castle Hayne, North Carolina and Wilmington, North Carolina at the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group Studios. The filming began on October 19, 1985.

The original title was intended to be called "Let's Make a Deal." During the filming and production, it was changed to "Triple Identity" and finally, it was called "Raw Deal" in order to make the movie sound more like a regular action film.

In an interview promoting the film, Arnold Schwarzenegger said this was the first film where he got to wear an elaborate & modern wardrobe. Before this, he said that his wardrobe budget for a film was about "ten dollars".

Box Office
"Raw Deal" debuted at #2 at the box office, grossing $15,946,969 during its opening weekend, coming in behind "Top Gun". In Germany, the film made $2,183,216.

Domestically, it made $16,209,459.

Critical Reception
The movie received a mixed reception from critics.

On Rotten Tomatoes, it was given an 25% rating based on 12 reviews and given an audience score of 29%.

The Los Angeles Times' Sheila Benson said, "Has it come to this? That we can feel vaguely cheered that "Raw Deal" (citywide), where the bodies again pile up like cordwood, is a better made movie than "Cobra"?"

However, she praised Schwarzenegger saying that his strength as an actor is "not that he can toss grown men over ceiling beams, but that he has a vein of sweetness and self-deprecation that no amount of mayhem can obliterate. It has shone from him since "Pumping Iron;" it has allowed him to surmount silly and unwise pieces of action (such as the drunk scenes in one of the "Conans" and here), and even his own awkwardness as an actor".

Roger Ebert gave the film a rating of two in a half stars, saying the movie plot "is so simple (and has been told so many times before), that perhaps the most amazing achievement of "Raw Deal" is its ability to screw it up. This movie didn't just happen to be a mess; the filmmakers had to work to make it so confusing".