Howard Becker directed this dramatic thriller, starring George C. Scott and Timothy Hutton.
The supporting cast includes Ronny Cox, Tom Cruise, Sean Penn, Giancarlo Esposito and Evan Handler.
Taps
The screenplay by Robert Mark Kamen, James Lineberger, and Darryl Ponicsan is based on Devery Freeman’s 1979 novel Father Sky.
The film follows a group of military school students who take over their school in order to save it from closing.
It was Penn’s first film role, and Cruise’s second and his first major role after a brief appearance in Endless Love a few months earlier.
Cadet Brian Moreland dines privately with Bunker Hill Military Academy commander General Harlan Bache, who promotes him to Cadet Major, the highest cadet rank.
Bache announces that the board of trustees will sell the school to real estate developers, but they will remain open for one more year to allow the seniors to graduate and the underclassmen to find other schools.
Chaos leads to violence, when a younger cadet on sentry duty panics and runs out to surrender. He drops his weapon which fires upon hitting the ground, and the National Guard return fire and kill another cadet.
The boy’s death weakens Moreland’s resolve, and he decides to end the occupation and surrender. But the rebellious David Shawn starts shooting and the campus is overrun by the authorities as firefight ensues.
In the tragic end, Moreland tries to stop Shawn, but both youngsters are killed by suppressing fire and the siege ends abruptly.
A montage of scenes from the Academy’s proud past flash across the screen in the aftermath.
The movie was moderately popular at the box-office, though it advances the careers of both Cruise and Penn.
Cast
George C. Scott as Brigadier General Harlan Bache
Timothy Hutton as Cadet Major Brian Moreland
Ronny Cox as Colonel Kerby
Sean Penn as Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer (debut film role)
Tom Cruise as Cadet Captain David Shawn
Brendan Ward as Cadet Plebe Charlie Auden
Evan Handler as Cadet First Lieutenant Edward West
John P. Navin, Jr. as Cadet Plebe Derek Mellot
Billy Van Zandt as Cadet Bug
Giancarlo Esposito as Cadet Captain J.C. Pierce
Credits:
Directed by Harold Becker
Screenplay by Darryl Ponicsan, Robert Mark Kamen; adaptation by James Lineberger, based on “Father Sky,” 1979 novel by Devery Freeman
Produced by Howard B. Jaffe, Stanley R. Jaffe
Cinematography: Owen Roizman
Edited by Maury Winetrobe
Music by Maurice Jarre
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date: December 18, 1981
Running time: 126 minutes
Budget: $14 million
Box office: $35.8 million
