The Presidio (1988)

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writer (WGA):

Larry Ferguson (written by)

Release Date:

10 June 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

THE PRESIDIO ARMY BASE, SAN FRANCISCO. When a landmark of historic tradition becomes the scene of a shocking murder, a military commander and a street-tough cop are forced into action... against the killer, the mysterious past, and each other.

Plot:

Jay Austin is now a civilian police detective. Colonel Caldwell was his commanding officer years before...

Plot Keywords:

Army | Detective | Presidio | Chase | Female Nudity

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell
Mark Harmon	...	Jay Austin
Meg Ryan	...	Donna Caldwell
Jack Warden	...	Sgt. Maj. Ross Maclure
Mark Blum	...	Arthur Peale
Dana Gladstone	...	Col. Paul Lawrence
Jenette Goldstein	...	Patti Jean Lynch
Marvin J. McIntyre	...	MP Zeke
Don Calfa	...	Howard Buckely
John DiSanti	...	Det. Marvin Powell
Robert Lesser	...	Sgt. Mueller
James Hooks Reynolds	...	George Spota
Curtis W. Sims	...	Sgt. Garfield
Rick Zumwalt	...	Bully in Bar
Rosalyn Marshall	...	Lawrence's Secretary

Also Known As:

The Presidio: The Scene of the Crime (UK)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:14+ (Ontario - 2006) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Originally meant to star Sir Sean Connery and Don Johnson, but Johnson had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with "Miami Vice" (1984). Mark Harmon was brought in as a last-minute replacement.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When outside, Lt. Col. Caldwell does not render salute to the Medal of Honor recipient. It is customary in any instances to render salute and very disrespectful not to render, no matter how much you know the person.

Quotes:

Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell: [to Julius] Now why don't you ask him how he won the Medal of Honor?
Sgt. Major Ross Maclure: How old are you, Julius?
Julius: Eight.
Sgt. Major Ross Maclure: You want to live to be nine?
Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell: Obviously he didn't win it for charm.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Resident Alien (1990)

Soundtrack:

That Old Black Magic

Murder At The Presidio

A Military Policeman investigating what looked like a break-in at the Officer's Club at the Presidio in San Francisco is shot down. The same man also shoots an SFPD officer while fleeing the first crime. This makes the whole thing a dual jurisdiction between the Army and the local law enforcement.

Hard enough normally, but in this situation you have a detective played by Mark Harmon who's a former MP who has a bad history with Sean Connery the provost marshal in charge at the Presidio. Though they hate each other's guts they of necessity have to work together.

Sean Connery is one of those players who just being in a film elevates in class. Without him in the thing this would be just a routine police yarn, might have been good enough for a made for TV film and nothing more. Another conflict in the film is Connery with daughter Meg Ryan who takes an interest in Harmon at first to spite dad, but then finds herself falling for him.

Acting honors in this film go to Jack Warden the retired sergeant major who won a Congressional Medal of Honor saving Connery's life in Vietnam. Warden and Connery keep you interested in the film, in finding out just why the MP and the SFPD officer had to die. Without them, I doubt anyone would care.