Backfire
Before the night is over... someone will be rich, someone will be dead, someone will be avenged.
1988 | 93m | English
Popularity: 0.9 (history)
| Director: | Gilbert Cates |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Rebecca Reynolds, Larry Brand |
| Staring: |
| Mara McAndrew's marriage is falling apart. Her husband, Donnie, a Vietnam veteran, suffers troubling flashbacks about the war, leaving him unresponsive to her needs. Mara wants out, but she also wants Donnie's money. When Mara meets a mysterious stranger, Reed, at a local bar, she believes she has found the right person to help her out of her predicament. But Mara worries that Donnie's sister, Jill, is on to her. | |
| Release Date: | Jun 21, 1988 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Gilbert Cates |
| Writer: | Rebecca Reynolds, Larry Brand |
| Genres: | Drama, Mystery, Thriller |
| Keywords | vietnam veteran, murder, inheritance |
| Production Companies | ITC Entertainment |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 10, 2025 (Update) Entered: Apr 25, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Karen Allen | Mara McAndrew |
| Keith Carradine | Reed |
| Jeff Fahey | Donnie McAndrew |
| Bernie Casey | Clinton James |
| Dean Paul Martin | Jake |
| Virginia Capers | Maxine |
| Philip Sterling | Dr. Creason |
| Dinah Manoff | Jill |
| Frances Flanagan | Claire |
| Antony Holland | Judge Hardin |
| Dwight Koss | Deputy 'Buzz' |
| Gordon McIntosh | Big George |
| Wendy Van Riesen | Alice |
| Eric Schneider | Dr. Cooper |
| Enid Saunders | Aunt Elizabeth |
| Jay Brazeau | Junior |
| Lesley Ewen | Dispatcher |
| Dwight McFee | Searcher #1 |
| Kim Kondrashoff | Searcher #2 |
| Brian Linds | Bob |
| Robert Metcalfe | Deputy #2 |
| Tom McBeath | Man in Bar |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Rebecca Reynolds | Writer |
| Larry Brand | Writer |
| Melvin Shapiro | Editor |
| Gilbert Cates | Director |
| Daniel A. Lomino | Production Design |
| Sandy Arthur | Set Decoration |
| Andrew Brown | Costume Design |
| Anna Hill Johnstone | Costume Design |
| John Inzerella | Makeup Artist |
| Ken Dufva | Foley Artist |
| Jane Feinberg | Casting |
| Betty Thomas Quee | Stunt Double |
| Donald Hauer | First Assistant Director |
| Bob Gray | Production Manager |
| Wendy A. Ross | Second Assistant Director |
| Richard Coleman | Third Assistant Director |
| Cyrus Block | Camera Operator |
| John Sprungman | Camera Trainee |
| Cynnie Troup | Script Supervisor |
| Dillard Brinson | Key Grip |
| John S. Bartley | Gaffer |
| Rick Buckmaster | Genetator Operator |
| Larry Sutton | Sound Mixer |
| Graham Crowell | Boom Operator |
| Mark Prior | Assistant Set Decoration |
| Bill Thumm | Property Master |
| Roy Aborgast | Special Effects Coordinator |
| Garry R. Brolley | Construction Coordinator |
| Lola Kemp | Hairstylist |
| Jayne Dancose | Assistant Makeup Artist |
| Robert Weinberger | Unit Publicist |
| Jack Rowand | Still Photographer |
| Eleanor Spencer | Extras Casting |
| Tink Ten Eyck | Production Controller |
| Karen Ann Stewart | Production Coordinator |
| Diana J. Austin | Production Accountant |
| Tim Myers | Post Production Supervisor |
| Charles V. Coleman | Assistant Editor |
| Michael Smith | Assistant Editor |
| James J. Klinger | Supervising Sound Editor |
| Jack Kirschner | Sound Editor |
| Richard Adams | Sound Editor |
| Horace Manzanares | Assistant Sound Editor |
| Erma E. Levin | Music Editor |
| Gregory H. Watkins | Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| Bill W. Benton | Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| William L. McCaughey | Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| J.J. Makaro | Stunts |
| Tak Fujimoto | Director of Photography |
| David Shire | Original Music Composer |
| Mike Fenton | Casting |
| Jacob Rupp | Stunt Coordinator |
| David Jacox | Stunt Double |
| Michael Westmore | Special Effects Makeup Artist |
| Dean Paul Martin | In Memory Of |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Danton Rissner | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 2 |
| 2024 | 5 | 8 | 19 | 4 |
| 2024 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 2 |
| 2024 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 3 |
| 2024 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 2 |
| 2024 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 2024 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Trending Position
"Backfire" is an exceedingly strong film from the very beginning and it easily leads the viewer astray on many occasions, especially after Mara is forced into the position where she must return home with Donny following his presumably failed suicide attempt - he has stipulated in some legal paperwor ... k she will have power of attorney should he ever become incapacitated - and she must subsequently contend with the intrusive interference of Donny's sister Jill. This development narrows and sharpens the focus of the entire film and the true architect of everything which has been happening neatly harks back to the frequent visual references to Donny's traumas in Vietnam. The pace has also been tightly wrought throughout to achieve maximum effectiveness and potential and it continually manages to shatter expectations and anticipations to create an extremely poignant and memorable portrait of true friendship.