Last Embrace
Encyclopedia
Last Embrace is a 1979 thriller film directed by Jonathan Demme
. Based on the novel The 13th Man by Murray Teigh Bloom, it stars Roy Scheider
, Janet Margolin
and Christopher Walken
.
border from El Paso
to a town in Mexico
to meet a contact in a cantina. But it's a set-up and his wife is murdered.
Harry ends up in a Connecticut
sanitarium, where his sanity is in some doubt. He receives a mysterious anonymous letter written in Hebrew and signed: "Avenger of Blood."
Helped by a woman named Ellie Fabian who has a few secrets of her own, Harry ends up in a life-threatening climactic chase at Niagara Falls
.
in a May 4, 1979 New York Times review of Last Embrace wrote of Scheider: "No other leading actor can create so much tension out of such modest material."
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
. Based on the novel The 13th Man by Murray Teigh Bloom, it stars Roy Scheider
Roy Scheider
Roy Richard Scheider was an American actor. He was best known for his leading role as police chief Martin C...
, Janet Margolin
Janet Margolin
Janet Margolin was an American theater, television and film actress.- Early life :Margolin was born in New York City, the daughter of Benjamin Margolin, an accountant who was born in Russia and was founder and president of the Nephrosis Foundation, now the Kidney Foundation of New York...
and Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
.
Plot summary
Government agent Harry Hannan goes across the TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
border from El Paso
El Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
to a town in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to meet a contact in a cantina. But it's a set-up and his wife is murdered.
Harry ends up in a Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
sanitarium, where his sanity is in some doubt. He receives a mysterious anonymous letter written in Hebrew and signed: "Avenger of Blood."
Helped by a woman named Ellie Fabian who has a few secrets of her own, Harry ends up in a life-threatening climactic chase at Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
.
Cast
- Roy ScheiderRoy ScheiderRoy Richard Scheider was an American actor. He was best known for his leading role as police chief Martin C...
as Harry Hannan - Janet MargolinJanet MargolinJanet Margolin was an American theater, television and film actress.- Early life :Margolin was born in New York City, the daughter of Benjamin Margolin, an accountant who was born in Russia and was founder and president of the Nephrosis Foundation, now the Kidney Foundation of New York...
as Ellie Fabian - Christopher WalkenChristopher WalkenChristopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
as Eckart - Sam LeveneSam LeveneSam Levene was an American Broadway and film actor. He made his Broadway debut in 1927 with five lines in a play titled Wall Street, and over a span of nearly 50 years, appeared on Broadway in 37 Shows, of which 33 were the original Broadway Productions, many now considered legendary...
as Sam Urdeil - John GloverJohn Glover (actor)John Soursby Glover Jr. is an American actor, perhaps best known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Personal life:...
as Richard Peabody - Marcia RoddMarcia RoddMarcia Rodd is an American actress.Rodd was born in Lyons, Kansas, the daughter of Rosetta and Charles C. Rodd. She studied drama at Northwestern University....
as Adrian - Charles NapierCharles Napier (actor)Charles L. Napier was an American actor, known for his portrayals of square-jawed tough guys and military types.-Early life:...
as Quittle - David MarguliesDavid MarguliesDavid Joseph Margulies is an American actor.Margulies was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Runya , a nurse and museum worker, and Harry David Margulies, a lawyer. Margulies graduated from City College of New York. Immediately afterward, he made his stage debut in the off-Broadway play Golden 6...
as Rabbi Drexel
Reaction
Vincent CanbyVincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
in a May 4, 1979 New York Times review of Last Embrace wrote of Scheider: "No other leading actor can create so much tension out of such modest material."