A lieutenant officer working the first day on the job, a group of prisoners being transported to a high security facility, a father and daughter looking for their nanny’s home, and a mysterious interracial inner city gang. . . what do they all have in common? They all almost fatefully find their way to an emptied police precinct on the verge of closure in John Carpenter’s 1976 low budget cult classic Assault on Precinct 13.
Only John Carpenter’s second feature film, the writer/director weaves these four stories together, a doomed pacing drawing them all to one location for a single fateful night. The officer is Ethan Bishop (Austin Stoker), an African American working his first day on the job. . . given a seemingly uneventful task, he is the man in charge of the derelict Precinct 13 – a semi-closed location that will have its power and telephone lines shut off the next morning. The only remaining skeleton staff are: Sergeant Chaney (Henry Brandon) and a pair of secretaries, Leigh (Laurie Zimmer) and Julie (Nancy Kyes).
Meanwhile, an officer named Starker (Charles Cyphers) is delivering a group of prisoners by bus to a prison – Napoleon Wilson (Darwin Joston), an oddly alluring, laconic smart ass is on his way to death row (and is always asking for a cigarette – knowing there won’t be too many more opportunities), while, according to Wells (Tony Burton), another prisoner, he has never had any luck in his life, the third inmate, Caudell (Peter Frankland), is increasingly sick.
The third storyline finds Lawson (Martin West) and his young daughter Kathy (Kim Richards) driving around a sketchy neighbourhood looking for their nanny’s home. . . their goal, to convince the lady to come live with them.
Without giving away what brings everyone together, soon each person finds their way to the precinct, looking for aid or a safe haven, only for the above mentioned gang to start a lengthy siege on the station.
Filmizon.com’s Nikolai Adams with Assault on Precinct 13 writer/director John Carpenter
Gritty, action packed, and intense, with a budget of just over one hundred thousand dollars, Carpenter got to make the movie his way. With almost no interference, you witness a filmmaker with the ability to make bold decisions – for example, intense deaths and crazy action. Loosely based off of one of his favourite films, Rio Bravo, he updates the classic western with a modern twist – transforming ‘the sheriff and a ragtag crew guarding a prisoner story’ into a tale of inner city strife. When I interviewed Carpenter, he was absolutely enamoured with Bravo’s director Howard Hawks, so it is no real surprise that he reworked one of his films like this (if you look at the end credits, it is edited by John T. Chance – John Wayne’s character in the film. . . in fact, it was Carpenter who did the editing). There were also other influences though, for Carpenter admits that George A. Romero’s The Night of the Living Dead gave him some ideas – the voiceless gang, with a never-ending hunger for violence are in many ways like the zombies in Dead.
Perhaps the most alluring aspect (like in Rio Bravo) is watching a unique mix of people break down barriers in the name of survival. For Bishop knows that there is no chance for the negligible staff to hold off an entire gang, so he releases the prisoners – and we witness an African American cop and criminal, a white death row inmate and two women attempt to hold off this seemingly endless onslaught. Race, sex, cop or criminal matter not, it is almost like a Rolling Stones’ song.
Just as interesting is John Carpenter’s score (which he completed in a short three days). . . inspired by Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song and Lalo Schifrin’s composition in Dirty Harry (1971), it is the movie’s driving force. With simple, synthesised phrasing, it intros the suspense and outros the action. It’s funny, you really don’t hear Led Zeppelin until you are told that that’s one of the influences, afterwards, you can immediately draw a connection to the Immigrant Song’s introduction. To make a further connection to rock history, listen to the bass line in U2’s New Year’s Day – I think you’ll hear some similarities to this score as well.
Not by any means a hit in the United States upon its release, Assault on Precinct 13 was a blockbuster in Britain. Only gaining greater appreciation over time, its tension is palpable, its action rivetting, story creative and cinematography striking. It transcends its budget, a young director with carte blanche shooting from the hip – so very western! So, join the onslaught and take this as a sign to visit the precinct – it is an explosively good time.