The 1980s was a golden age for action films and heralded the rise of many Hollywood icons, from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone to Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. Another big name back then was Patrick Swayze and his 1989 flick 'Roadhouse' was perhaps his most violent outing ever on screen.
Directed by Rowdy Herrington, the film was about bouncer James Dalton (played by Swayze) brought in to protect a small town in Missouri from a local businessman and gangster. A blend of rowdy fights, bluesy bar music and a touch of romance has ensured its cult status over the years.
The film is loved so much that a big budget remake was recently released on Amazon Prime starring Jake Gyllenhaal and, on his acting debut, UFC star Conor McGregor. Whether or not it'll attain the classic status of the original remains to be seen but for those who can't get enough of Swayze's kicks, punches and big hair, below are 10 facts about the 1989 film.
A toned Swayze had his top off a lot in the film, much to many viewers delight (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.)Swayze's love interest spent a month learning to be a doctor
Kelly Lynch, who starred as Dr Elizabeth ‘Doc’ Clay, carried out extensive research and preparation for her role as the film's main love interest. During a 2008 interview, she explained how she'd spent time in a hospital shadowing actual medical practitioners: “I spent a month learning how to tie off stitched. I spent a month… and [then] they hand me a staple gun. I was so p****d off. Like, oh, this is cheating!”
In the same interview, Lynch said Doc’s initial meeting with Dalton was one of her favourite scenes, adding that it showed how “two people from two different worlds [have] this instant chemistry… He fell for a really smart woman, which I think is really great for a guy.”
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It was marketed just like Dirty Dancing
In 1987, the drama-dance film 'Dirty Dancing' catapulted Swayze into stardom. So much so that the 'Roadhouse' filmmakers seemingly wanted to follow suit with its success and included questionable 'Dirty Dancing' references in both the film’s marketing and the film itself, reports Eighties Kids.
The action film's original tagline was explicit in its intentions: 'The dancing’s over. Now it gets dirty' and the film’s inclusion of Otis Redding’s 'These Arms of Mine' – the same song used during 'Dirty Dancing's love scene – was also used during Dalton and Doc’s romantic scene.
Swayze starred on its soundtrack
Swayze, who died in 2009 of pancreatic cancer, was a man of many talents. The hunk sang on and even co-wrote the big ballad 'She's Like the Wind' for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. After that success, Swayze would once again enter the recording studio – this time for 'Road House'.
Not only did he write and sing 'Cliff’s Edge', he also contributed vocals to 'Raising Heaven (in Hell) Tonight', both of which are on the soundtrack. The actor features alongside The Jeff Healey Band (who perform live in the film) as well as Bob Seger and Otis Redding.
Swayze with co-star Kelly Lynch, his love interest in the film (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.)The original runtime was three-and-a-half hours
'Road House' comes in at a fairly standard 114 minutes for an action film. But in an interview with The Oklahoman, Sam Elliott (who played Dalton's friend Wade Garrett) confirmed that the original cut of the film was “three hours and 20 minutes long." This meant that more than a third of the film was left out.
Elliott’s performance was believed to have been hit the hardest, although he noted that “everybody suffered”. Other alterations include mostly removing Kathleen Wilhoite’s Carrie Ann scenes and heavy editing of certain fight scenes. One scene was also cut in which Dalton made the other bouncers strangely dance around in tutus as part of their training.
Swayze turned down two other action classics to star in it
Starring in 'Road House' meant that Swayze turned down the opportunity to appear in two other big Hollywood action films around the same time. He was offered the chance to appear alongside Sylvester Stallone as Gabriel Cash in 'Tango & Cash' in 1989, a part that instead went to Kurt Russell.
Swayze also sustained injuries on the set of 'Road House', which forced him into a long recovery period. This resulted in him being unable to take part in the sci-fi classic 'Predator 2' in 1990. He was first choice to play Lieutenant Michael R. Harrigan, a role that was ultimately bagged by Danny Glover.
Swayze performed all his own stunts and fights
Ever the action star, Swayze did all all the fights scenes himself, which added to the realistic feel of the action shots. In fact most of the cast also performed their own stunts and were trained by Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez - a legendary stunt choreographer who made his name in Jackie Chan movies like 'Wheels on Meals' and 'Dragons Forever'.
Urquidez was said to be so impressed with Swayze that he encouraged him to take up competitive kickboxing, a sport he decided not to pursue due to the physical stress of it. Throughout his life, Swayze was plagued by a knee injury initially through playing football and after one intense fight scene on the set he had a procedure to remove 2.5 ounces of fluid from his knee.
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Swayze made his name as a household heartthrob two years earlier in Dirty Dancing (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.)It was made into a stage musical with a very long name
Quite unbelievably, Road House was adapted into an off-Broadway musical in 2003. While the full title of the musical seemed to carry on for an age and was called 'Road House: The Stage Version Of The Cinema Classic That Starred Patrick Swayze, Except This One Stars Taimak From The 80’s Cult Classic “The Last Dragon” Wearing a Blonde Mullet Wig.'
To add to its bizarreness, the production was put together by New Zealand scientist Timothy Haskell, one of the world’s leading experts on sea ice who has the strait between Ross Island and White Island in Antarctica named after him. Billed as a tongue-in-cheek ‘fightsical’, the show really did star Taimak, the mononymic actor and stuntman of 1985’s The Last Dragon.
A direct-to-DVD sequel was made in the Noughties
'Roadhouse' met with fairly mixed reviews upon its release - yet is now considered a cult classic - but many film fans may have missed its sequel back in 2006. Named 'Road House 2: Last Call' the DVD-only flick told the story of Dalton’s son and starred none of the original film’s cast. The only actor of any note in it was Jake Busey ('Starship Troopers', 'The Frighteners') who played the film’s main bad guy. Unsurprisingly it was a flop that passed by unnoticed.
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Swayze performed all his own stunts and fight scenes (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.)One scene was used to train New York police officers
Amazingly, the scene when Dalton spoke to the bar staff about "three simple rules" made such an impact with the New York Police Department that its bosses used it in an attempt to stop their recruits' minds from wandering. The scene forms part of a mandatory, three-day retraining course that 22,000 officers underwent after the death of Eric Garner in police custody in 2014.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the course as had “a transcendent effect” on community policing. However, with one officer in attendance complained: “It’s crazy. They’re showing us something from a movie and they want us to act like that in real life. It’s not realistic.”
Bill Murray phones Kelly Lynch's husband every time he sees her sex scene
Lynch, who also starred in the 80s classic Cocktail, revealed that her husband is still teased about her 'Road House' sex scene with Swayze. Bill Murray calls up fellow actor Mitch Glazer, who's been married to Lynch for three decades, every time he sees the scene on TV.
But it’s not just Bill who has some fun with it. Lynch said that any one of Murray and his “idiot brothers” might call and say “Kelly’s having sex with Patrick Swayze right now. They’re doing it. He’s throwing her against the rocks.” Glazer once said that Murray even called all the way from Russia just to carry on the tradition.
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