Cult 101: Night of the Juggler (1980) 4K Restoration
Director: Robert Butler Run Time: 101 min. Rating: R Release Year: 1980
Starring: Barton Heyman, Cliff Gorman, James Brolin, Linda Miller, Richard S. Castellano
Country: United States
Language: English
Cult 101 at Gateway Film Center
A celebration of the best cult films of all time.
About the film:
“Big fan of this film… Lots of old school, sleazy NYC on display here. And crazy cop with a grudge, Dan Hedaya, chasing ex-cop on-the-run, James Brolin, through Midtown Manhattan streets while recklessly firing his shotgun with hundreds of civilians running about is what movies are all about.”
– Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sean Baker
The grit and intensity of late-1970s New York City is depicted in stark detail in this relentlessly action-packed cult classic. Twenty-four hours of nerve-jangling tension and suspense begin when a twisted psychotic (Cliff Gorman, Cops and Robbers, All That Jazz) kidnaps a teenaged girl, mistaking her for the daughter of a wealthy real estate developer. Her determined father (James Brolin, The Car, The Amityville Horror), a hard-hitting ex-cop, doggedly pursues them through New York’s seamy streets, decaying, burned-out Bronx tenements, and the grimy subterranean corridors beneath the city itself.
Based on the novel by William P. McGivern (The Big Heat, Odds Against Tomorrow) and co-starring Richard S. Castellano (The Godfather), Julie Carmen (In the Mouth of Madness), Dan Hedaya (Blood Simple) and Mandy Patinkin (The Princess Bride), Night of the Juggler is a thrilling example of no-holds-barred, pure adrenaline-fueled filmmaking. The film’s original director Sidney J. Furie (The Ipcress File, The Appaloosa) was replaced by Robert Butler (Up the Creek, Turbulence) a few weeks into production.
About the filmmaker:
Robert S. Butler (November 16, 1927 – November 3, 2023) was an influential American television and film director celebrated for launching several iconic series. He directed the pilots for Star Trek, Batman, Hill Street Blues, Hogan’s Heroes, Moonlighting, and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, helping define their tone and visual legacy. Butler earned two Emmy Awards—for The Blue Knight (1973) and Hill Street Blues (1981)—and was honored by the Directors Guild of America with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 for his outstanding contributions to television direction.
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