L.A. Heat is a 1989 police film directed by Joseph Merhi and starring Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and Jim Brown. The film follows Detective Jon Chance, a Los Angeles detective who dreams of being a cowboy hero and living by "the code of the West," as he is assigned to track down a violent drug dealer.[1]
| L.A. Heat | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Joseph Merhi |
| Written by | Charles T. Kanganis Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs |
| Produced by | Joseph Merhi Richard Pepin |
| Starring | Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs Jim Brown |
| Cinematography | Richard Pepin |
| Edited by | Paul G. Volk |
| Music by | John Gonzalez |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | PM Video |
Release date |
|
Running time | 1hr 25min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $135,000 (estimated) |
Plot summary
Jon Chance, an L.A. vice cop who is a man who dreamed of being a cowboy hero. He saw himself as an exemplary hero who always felt that the use of guns was not a necessity. However, Chance needs to stop dreaming. He needed to return to the real world! Jon Chance gets an assignment which he can't say no to and has to accept, to bust a drug dealer named Clarence. The case later gets personal when Carl, Chance's partner get killed by Clarence during a routine drug bust. A drug war will soon ensue between Clarence, who is trying to retrieve his drugs and money, and the police...
Cast
- Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as Jon Chance
- Jim Brown as Captain
- Kevin Benton as Clarence
- Myles Thoroughgood as Spyder
- Trish Johnson as Jane
- John Henry Richardson as Boris
- Robert Gallo as Sylvio
Reception
TV Guide gave the film two stars out of four, calling it "A reasonably entertaining low-budget crime thriller".[2] Variety called the film "an okay made-for-video feature", praising Jacobs' "ernest performance" but describing the sound recording as "a bit rough and ready".[3]
Legacy
The film was a success on home video and was followed by three sequels, Angels of the City (1989), L.A. Vice (1989), and Chance (1990), in which Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs reprises his role as Detective Jon Chance.
