Getting Even (1986 film)

Getting Even (also known as Hostage: Dallas and Inferno USA) is a 1986 American film directed by Dwight H. Little.

Plot
A soldier-of-fortune, Tag Taggert, played by Edward Albert, steals some Russian nerve gas from Afghanistan, and brings it to the U.S. to be analyzed. A greedy millionaire rancher, played by Joe Don Baker, finds out about it, steals it and uses it in an extortion scheme. Audrey Landers plays the lead FBI agent-in-charge tasked with thwarting the extortion scheme.

Production
In an interview, director Dwight H. Little explained that Getting Even was a "vanity project" for members of a wealthy Texas oil family. "They owned helicopters, a Lear jet, ranches. Their only condition was that we used all of their stuff. The whole movie was written and devised around what they owned", said Little.

Actress Audrey Landers was dating one of the financiers of the film, according to Little. She also helped getting a lot of local acting talent, many of whom she knew from her work on the TV show Dallas.

Little also explained that stuntman Paul Baxley was instrumental in making the film: "He really helped me to figure out the helicopter sequences, the explosions, how to do all of it safely. He was super knowledgeable. If he wanted a guy to drop from a helicopter, he knew who to call. Paul Baxley was my secret weapon." The final scene, which takes place on top of Reunion Tower, was filmed there with permission. The financiers knew the owners of the restaurant on top of the tower. According to Little, the helicopter from which Joe Don Baker's character shoots at Edward Albert's character, was really flying only thirty feet from the tower.

Cast

 * Edward Albert as 'Tag' Taggert
 * Audrey Landers as Paige Starson
 * Joe Don Baker as King R. Kenderson
 * Rod Pilloud as Doc
 * Billy Streater as Ryder
 * Blue Deckard as Kurt
 * Dan Shackleford as Roule
 * Caroline Williams as Molly
 * Woody Watson as Max