Stories about escorting prisoners, etc.
March 2, 2015 2:59 AM Subscribe
Recommend me some fun(-ish) fiction in which characters forcibly escort other characters from Point A to Point B, all the while developing some kind of relationship. Maybe it's a cop escorting an arrestee, maybe it's a US Marshal escorting a reluctant federal witness, maybe it's a bounty hunter escorting a bail jumper, maybe it's a truant officer scooping up a truant, or maybe it's something less official entirely.
Midnight Run, 48 Hours, and 16 Blocks would be three of the more famous examples of what I'm talking about, as would one of the more prominent plot threads in Game of Thrones.
Midnight Run, 48 Hours, and 16 Blocks would be three of the more famous examples of what I'm talking about, as would one of the more prominent plot threads in Game of Thrones.
Flashback
Clean-cut FBI man John Buckner is detailed to escort heavily-bearded Huey Walker back to jail for offenses dating back to his days as a celebrated hippie radical.
posted by quinndexter at 3:14 AM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Clean-cut FBI man John Buckner is detailed to escort heavily-bearded Huey Walker back to jail for offenses dating back to his days as a celebrated hippie radical.
posted by quinndexter at 3:14 AM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
3:10 to Yuma (there are 2 movie versions, I believe). IMDB summary of the more recent one - "Outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) terrorizes 1800s Arizona, especially the Southern Railroad, until he is finally captured. Wade must be brought to trial, so Dan Evans (Christian Bale), the owner of a drought-stricken ranch, volunteers to escort him to the train."
posted by walkinginsunshine at 3:33 AM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by walkinginsunshine at 3:33 AM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Missouri Breaks
Not a major part of the story but significantly executed.
posted by arzakh at 4:04 AM on March 2, 2015
Not a major part of the story but significantly executed.
posted by arzakh at 4:04 AM on March 2, 2015
Yes, Out of Sight is fantastic! The best performance J.Lo has given, by far, and George Clooney has never been more charming.
posted by Georgina at 4:42 AM on March 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Georgina at 4:42 AM on March 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
Clint Eastwood's The Gauntlet is pretty much the classic.
posted by nicwolff at 5:20 AM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by nicwolff at 5:20 AM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Midnight Run with DeNiro.
posted by jadepearl at 5:34 AM on March 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by jadepearl at 5:34 AM on March 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
I love Out of Sight too, but J. Lo doesn't have Clooney in custody while they fall for each other, she's just chasing him around, so I don't think it counts. She does transport Steve Zahn briefly, and develops their antagonistic relationship, but it's not the main plot.
posted by nicwolff at 5:39 AM on March 2, 2015
posted by nicwolff at 5:39 AM on March 2, 2015
An episode of NCIS from the 2nd season called Chained. An NCIS agent is undercover as a fellow prisoner and stages an escape in order to win the trust of the real criminal and find out where the stuff he's stolen is hidden. Hijinks ensue (naturally). You don't need to be familiar with NCIS in general - it works as a standalone episode.
posted by *becca* at 5:56 AM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by *becca* at 5:56 AM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Con Air is all about transporting prisoners.
posted by sockermom at 6:10 AM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by sockermom at 6:10 AM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
The recent nouveau-Western The Homesman is about a Nebraska spinster who's hired to escort three pioneer wives who've developed serious mental illnesses back to the East.
posted by ostro at 7:04 AM on March 2, 2015
posted by ostro at 7:04 AM on March 2, 2015
I think Die Hard (3) With a Vengeance fits this category. NYPD John McClane is targeted by a terrorist, the brother a man McClane killed in the original movie. McClane has to go through a series of risky tasks in order to delay or prevent a major bombing. At one point, he's rescued by Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson). The terrorist witnesses this and forces them to work together to find and disarm the bombs.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:27 AM on March 2, 2015
posted by Sunburnt at 7:27 AM on March 2, 2015
Along the Great Divide (which contains a version of Down in the Valley, one of my earworm songs).
The Stolen Children (policeman escorting children to a children's home).
posted by gudrun at 7:32 AM on March 2, 2015
The Stolen Children (policeman escorting children to a children's home).
posted by gudrun at 7:32 AM on March 2, 2015
I don't know if it's fun, but Spartan (David Mamet film) seems to fit the bill. Delta Force guy escorting the President's daughter. A bit too much "slap her, she's hysterical!" and "woman = bitches" for me but it was bad-good in a "what the fuck, David Mamet" type way.
posted by stoneandstar at 7:45 AM on March 2, 2015
posted by stoneandstar at 7:45 AM on March 2, 2015
Gene Hackman did a movie called The Package that also fits your bill.. (pretty obscure, IMO)
posted by k5.user at 7:52 AM on March 2, 2015
posted by k5.user at 7:52 AM on March 2, 2015
It's not a great movie (probably not even a good one, unless you like Russell Brand Russell-Branding about for a couple of hours), but in the interest of getting further afield than law enforcement, Get Him to the Greek is about a record label employee tasked with getting a rock star who has fallen off the rehab wagon from London to a gig in LA.
The TV Tropes page Live-Action Escort Mission has a few more examples.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:12 AM on March 2, 2015
The TV Tropes page Live-Action Escort Mission has a few more examples.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:12 AM on March 2, 2015
Hitchcock's The 39 Steps...Not exactly what you are asking for, but a take on the con handcuffed to a women he must move about the country to prove his innocence. Hitch used this trope in a couple of other movies. Saboteur?
Also The Defiant ones. Two escaping convicts chained together. Bonus One's black and one's white.
posted by Gungho at 10:29 AM on March 2, 2015
Also The Defiant ones. Two escaping convicts chained together. Bonus One's black and one's white.
posted by Gungho at 10:29 AM on March 2, 2015
Pied Piper by Nevil Shute. An elderly Englishman escorts a growing band of kids entrusted to him out of Occupied France at the beginning of the war. It was made into a movie in 1942 and a TV mini-series in 1990.
posted by Rash at 10:29 AM on March 2, 2015
posted by Rash at 10:29 AM on March 2, 2015
The Rundown. Legitimately one of my favorite films. The Rock goes to fetch the truant son of his boss in Brazil and has a hard time of it.
There is also The Eagle, about a Roman and his slave searching for the lost eagle standard of the missing ninth legion. When they meet a bunch of locals, the Roman's celtic slave escort declares himself to be the master of the Roman character and they switch roles for a while.
The Princess Bride, of course.
Pitch Black, about a disastrous attempt to move prisoner!Vin Diesel from point A to point B.
posted by wrabbit at 1:02 PM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
There is also The Eagle, about a Roman and his slave searching for the lost eagle standard of the missing ninth legion. When they meet a bunch of locals, the Roman's celtic slave escort declares himself to be the master of the Roman character and they switch roles for a while.
The Princess Bride, of course.
Pitch Black, about a disastrous attempt to move prisoner!Vin Diesel from point A to point B.
posted by wrabbit at 1:02 PM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Narrow Margin is a great film about this scenario. (Spoilers in the linked to article, though; watch it fresh!) There was a not great remake in the 90's that simplified the plot and lost the psychological depth of the original.
posted by bertran at 2:55 PM on March 2, 2015
posted by bertran at 2:55 PM on March 2, 2015
Due Date with Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. Preview.
posted by Jacqueline at 6:37 AM on March 3, 2015
posted by Jacqueline at 6:37 AM on March 3, 2015
Get Him to the Greek with Russell Brand and Jonah Hill. The interlude in Las Vegas is hilarious.
posted by elle.jeezy at 7:30 PM on March 3, 2015
posted by elle.jeezy at 7:30 PM on March 3, 2015
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posted by Sticherbeast at 3:08 AM on March 2, 2015