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Traces of Red

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Traces of Red
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAndy Wolk
Written byJim Piddock
Produced byMark Gordon
David V. Picker
Starring
CinematographyTim Suhrstedt
Edited byTrudy Ship
Music byGraeme Revell
Distributed byThe Samuel Goldwyn Company
Release date
  • November 13, 1992 (1992-11-13)
Running time
105 min
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3,206,714

Traces of Red is a 1992 neo noir erotic thriller film, directed by Andy Wolk and starring James Belushi, Lorraine Bracco and Tony Goldwyn. The film was released theatrically by The Samuel Goldwyn Company on November 13, 1992. After the limited theatrical release in the United States, the film became a surprise hit in the United States Home Video market; the film made 224.8% more revenue on home video than it did in theaters.[1]

Lorraine Bracco used a body double for the nude scene.[2] Her performance in the film earned her a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress.

Plot

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The film begins with Jack Dobson, a homicide detective from Palm Beach, flat on his back with a bullet in his chest. It is then told in flashback form, leading up to the events that led him to this fate.

Jack has been receiving threatening letters. He and his partner Steve Frayn conclude that the source must be a mob figure whom Jack is about to testify against in court. But another possibility is that someone could be causing trouble for Jack's brother, Michael, who is in an election campaign for public office.

Women begin turning up dead with lipstick traces left by the killer. A woman Jack has begun seeing, Ellen Schofield, could be involved. But when Ellen sees Jack leave a restaurant with a woman who soon becomes a victim, suspicion is cast toward Jack himself as the killer. Jack eventually reveals that he was raped as a child by his former 1st grade teacher, Gloria Wurtz. While speaking with Michael, Steve learns that it was by his own mother who raped Jack. Steve decides to go forward with his own investigation but, in the process, winds up having sex with Ellen, much to his wife's (who he earlier celebrated his seventh wedding anniversary with) and Jack's (who now sees him as a traitor) dismay. After Ellen turns up dead, Jack decides to take Beth (Steve's wife) with him to a secluded getaway home, immediately following Steve confiding in Jack that he trusted him. After finding evidence that Jack is indeed the killer, Steve and Michael rush to the getaway home where Jack and Beth are. Jack is holding Beth and is seemingly about to strangle her when Steve yells at Jack to freeze. Jack pushes Beth aside and draws his gun, but is shot by Steve before he can get off a shot. Then, Jack (in narrative form) says "I guess you probably thought that I was some kind of hero when you first saw me laying there, at the beginning. Wrong. But the story wasn't over ...... not yet." Eventually, Michael is revealed to be the real killer. Jack's murder was faked, as he wanted to give Michael a false sense of security that he was dead, and responsible for the murdered women. Michael is set up to seemingly be alone with a woman in a hotel room. After he attempts to strangle the woman, Steve bursts into the room with his gun drawn, and tells Michael to freeze. It is then revealed that Jack is not dead, much to Michael's shock. Jack tells Steven and the woman to leave the room, so that he can talk to his brother alone. As they are embracing, Michael manages to take Jack's gun. Michael then commits suicide by shooting himself in the temple. The movie concludes with Steve asking Jack if he's ready (after his brother's funeral), to which Jack replies, "I will be."

Cast

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  • James Belushi as Detective Jack Dobson
  • Lorraine Bracco as Ellen Schofield
  • Tony Goldwyn as Detective Steve Frayn
  • Joe Lisi as Lieutenant J.C. Hooks
  • William Russ as Michael Dobson
  • Faye Grant as Beth Frayn
  • Michelle Joyner as Morgan Cassidy
  • Victoria Bass as Susan Dobson
  • Melanie Tomlin as Amanda
  • Jim Piddock as Mr. Martyn
  • Ed Amatrudo as Emilio
  • Danny Kamin as Prosecutor Dan Ayeroff
  • Harriet Grinnell as Louise Dobson
  • Lindsey Jayde Sapp as Nancy Frayn
  • Mario Ernesto Sánchez as Tony Garidi
  • Joe Hess as 'Minnesota'
  • Will Knickerbocker as Tommy Hawkins
  • Edgar Allan Poe IV as Ian Wicks
  • Billy Garrigues as Phillip Norris
  • Katherine Culliver as Kimberly Davis
  • Renate Schlesinger as Ingrid
  • Nick Xatzis as Theo (uncredited)

References

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  1. ^ GEORGE T. CHRONIS and LISA ROBINSON, "Hallmark Launches Its Own Home Video Label Forms Hallmark Home Entertainment division with Steven Beeks as president", Video Store Magazine, January 1, 1995
  2. ^ "Traces of Red". Timeout.com. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
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