# Pure Danger

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1996 film directed by C. Thomas Howell

Pure Danger Directed by C. Thomas Howell Written by Joseph John Barmettler William Applegate Jr. Produced by Richard Pepin Joseph Merhi Starring C. Thomas Howell Teri Ann Linn Michael Russo Marcus Chong Leon Cinematography Ken Blakey Edited by Scott Riddle Music by Alex Wilkinson Production company PM Entertainment Group Distributed by PM Entertainment Group Release date September 10, 1996 (1996-09-10) (U.S.) Running time 99 minutes Country United States Language English

***Pure Danger*** is a 1996 [action film](/source/Action_film) starring and directed by [C. Thomas Howell](/source/C._Thomas_Howell). It co-stars [Teri Ann Linn](/source/Teri_Ann_Linn), Michael Russo, [Marcus Chong](/source/Marcus_Chong) and [Leon](/source/Leon_Robinson). The story concerns an ex-con cook (Howell) and a waitress (Linn) who happen upon stolen diamonds, and find themselves on the run from the two gangs looking to get them back, respectively led by a mafioso (Russo) and his African-American rival (Leon).

## Plot

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## Cast

- [C. Thomas Howell](/source/C._Thomas_Howell) as Johnie Dean

- [Teri Ann Linn](/source/Teri_Ann_Linn) as Becky

- Michael Russo as DePalma

- [Marcus Chong](/source/Marcus_Chong) as Freethrow

- [Leon](/source/Leon_Robinson) as Felix

- [Rick Shapiro](/source/Rick_Shapiro) as Dice

- Ray Laska as Miccelli

- Bill Rutkoski as Tony (as Bill Rutkowski)

- Elisa Leonetti as Stella

- [Lou Casal](/source/Lou_Casal) as Farmentero

## Production

*Pure Danger* was C. Thomas Howell's second film as a director after 1995's *Hourglass*.[1][2] The transition remained difficult, as people often dismissed it as an actor's whim, and his private lifestyle did not give him much political sway in Hollywood.[1] The [IMDb](/source/IMDb), based on unspecified sources, has filming taking place during parts of September and October 1995.[3] Although some establishing shots place scenes in [Las Vegas](/source/Las_Vegas), main unit photography took place in [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles).[4] Comedian [Scott "Carrot Top" Thompson](/source/Carrot_Top), who had a similar cameo in *Hourglass*, makes an appearance as a morgue truck driver in the climactic chase.[4]

### Comments by Marcus Chong

In a 2019 book detailing his grievances against the movie business, actor Marcus Chong blames Howell and PM for destroying his relationship with the [William Morris](/source/William_Morris) talent agency during the making of this film. According to Chong, he took the part of "Freethrow" as a favor to his sister [Rae Dawn Chong](/source/Rae_Dawn_Chong), who was Howell's ex-wife. He was later called to perform [ADR](/source/Dubbing#ADR/post-sync), but could not attend on the desired date due to his commitment to a stage play. Chong claims that Howell was unduly rigid in refusing to reschedule the recording session. Instead, the director joined PM employees in making angry phone calls to Chong and William Morris, causing him be let go and hurting his career.[5]

## Release

*Pure Danger* was released on [VHS](/source/VHS) by PM Entertainment on September 10, 1996.[6][7]

## Reception

*Pure Danger* has received mixed to positive reviews. Mike Mayo of *[The Roanoke Times](/source/The_Roanoke_Times)* praised the "quickly paced action" and the "terrific car chases" for which PM Entertainment is known. Although he found that some Tarantino stylings were "blatantly borrowed, the L.A. locations are well-chosen and the humor is rough, earthy, and original", making the film "refreshingly unpredictable".[8] Mistakenly referring to it as Howell's directorial debut, *[VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever](/source/VideoHound's_Golden_Movie_Retriever)* called the movie "fast paced and surprisingly entertaining".[9] Sister publications [TV Guide](/source/TV_Guide) and *The Motion Picture Annual* were less enthusiastic, describing it as "a convoluted crime caper" which "borders on the truly tasteless, and features too many criminals to keep track of". It further complained that "[i]t's never quite clear whether *Pure Danger* is intended as comedy or drama."[4]

## Related works

Howell directed and starred in another crime film for PM Entertainment the following year, *[The Big Fall](/source/The_Big_Fall)*.

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ew-5apr96_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ew-5apr96_1-1) Watson, Bret (April 5, 1996). ["'Kindred: the Embraced': 'E.T.' grad C. Thomas Howell goes small-screen with a vampire show"](https://ew.com/article/1996/04/05/kindred-embraced/). *Entertainment weekly*. Retrieved May 29, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["C. Thomas Howell"](https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/05/05/c-thomas-howell/). *Chicago Tribune*. May 5, 1996.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Pure Danger: Filming & production"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117406/locations/). *imdb.com*. Retrieved April 22, 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-mpa-97_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-mpa-97_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-mpa-97_4-2) Grant, Edmond, ed. (1997). *The Motion Picture Guide – 1997 Annual (The Films of 1996)*. New York: Cinebooks. pp. 305–306. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0933997000](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0933997000).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Chong, Marcus (2019). [*The Kill Off: A True Story*](https://books.google.com/books?id=9V6TDwAAQBAJ). Los Angeles: Marcus Chong Inc. pp. 34–36. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780359595259](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780359595259).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Look for... videos"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/102217544/). *The Cincinnati Enquirer*. Knight-Ridder News Service. September 11, 1996. p. E2 – via newspapers.com (subscription required) .

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["What's new"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/260025099/). *Montgomery Advertiser*. August 29, 1996. p. 5C – via newspapers.com (subscription required) .

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Mike, Mayo (September 28, 1996). ["Look for names you know in five dramas"](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1996/rt9609/960928/09300098.htm). *The Roanoke Times*. p. 12 – via newspapers.com (subscription required) .

1. **[^](#cite_ref-hound_9-0)** Craddock, Jim, ed. (2008). [*VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever 2009*](https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781414400044_0/page/760/mode/2up). Farmington Hills: [Gale](/source/Gale_(publisher)). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781414400044](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781414400044). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1095-371X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1095-371X).

## External links

- [*Pure Danger*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117406/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pure Danger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_Danger) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_Danger?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.