FILM · 1986
Armed and Dangerous
33 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (33)
- #001
Harold Ramis served as the film's executive producer, but because he was unhappy with the final cut he asked for his name to be removed from both the producer and the writer credits. Only the producer credit was removed.
- #002
According to Tom Lister Jr., most of the film was improvised. He said John Candy was the best person he had ever met because of how helpful Candy was toward people.
- #003
The role of Norman Kane was initially intended for Tom Hanks. When Hanks was unable to do it, John Candy suggested veteran SCTV star Eugene Levy.
- #004
Dooley (John Candy) dresses in women's clothing to escape an adults-only bookstore. It is one of Candy's signature looks (notably from SCTV, 1976), though it closely resembles Divine's costume. Candy also used this costume in Who's Harry Crumb? (1989).
- #005
The film was initially to star John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd before Belushi died. Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd were planned to appear in the film. The next change had John Candy and Dan Aykroyd in the lead roles with John Carpenter directing. In the end Aykroyd and Carpenter left the film, and Levy and Candy remained.
- #006
When John Candy's and Eugene Levy's characters arrive at the warehouse for the job, Tiny Lister's character gives them two Detex time clocks. These are widely used in the security industry to show that a security guard actually walked his "rounds" while on duty. The way it works is this: the guard carries the clock while patrolling the area he protects. They strike the clock with small keys hung at different points around the protected area. Each key is numbered for a specific location, and when inserted into the clock carried by the guard, it literally prints the key number onto a small piece of paper inside the clock. This shows when and where the guard was during his security rounds.
- #007
One of the film's most dangerous stunts came during the finale, when John Candy shoots at the car containing Jonathan Banks and Brion James and, after the tire flies off, the car is ramped and Candy nearly slides sideways as he flies through the air and lands several meters away. If Candy had been at the rear of that car, it would have killed him instantly. Candy was angry at director Mark L. Lester because of this.
- #008
John Carpenter was initially offered the chance to direct, but he turned it down.
- #009
As Frank Dooley and Norman Kane flee the party at Michael Carlino's mansion, a building with Roman architecture can be seen in the background. This building had been used as Tony Montana's business headquarters in Scarface (1983). Robert Loggia appeared in both films.
- #010
A point of parliamentary procedure means that someone raises a breach of the rules during a meeting that a person is entitled to attend.
- #011
In the opening scene, a chicken dances in front of the now-defunct Pioneer Chicken at 6720 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.
- #012
The armored vehicle used in the film was the same one used in Tough Guys. It belonged to Cinema Vehicle Services and also appeared in many other films.
- #013
The film Norman watches in the warehouse is The Caine Mutiny (1954). Norman's surname, Kane, is a homophone of Caine.
- #014
This was actress Christine Dupree's screen debut.
- #015
When Frank Dooley and Norman Kane arrive at the party, Dooley introduces them to Kokolovitch and Raisin as "Pinkus & McCarthy." This is most likely a reference to Senator Joseph McCarthy, who called communists "pinkos." The reference would have been more obvious at the time the film was released, during the Cold War.
- #016
Stacy Keach Sr., the father of producer and co-writer James Keach, appears in the film as the judge who scolds John Candy and Eugene Levy in the courtroom scenes near the beginning.
- #017
The actors Brion James and Jonathan Banks had previously appeared together in 48 Hrs. (1982). Sound editor John Dunn also worked on both films.
- #018
According to producer Brian Grazer on the 12/14/15 WTF podcast, the director left the set when he asked John Candy to call Meg Ryan a bitch, and Grazer had to take over directing.
- #019
The $4.60 an hour Captain Clarence O'Connell says the guards are paid comes to $12.36 in 2022. The $30 starting payment (followed by $30 a month) comes to $80.58. The $15 weekly union dues come to $40.29. In 2022 the minimum wage in Los Angeles County was $15.96 an hour. * The $100 fine given to Kane & Dooley comes to $268.61 * [27:00] The $50 Frank Dooley wanted to bet that the union men could tell where Jimmy Hoffa's body is buried comes to $134.31 * The $4 million a year Norman Kane asked for at the union meeting comes to $10,744,525.55 * [38:31] The $40 Kane bribed Cappy with comes to $107.45.
- #020
Co-writer and producer Harold Ramis had his producer credit removed because he and director Mark L. Lester disagreed over whether the film was meant to be a buddy-cop, almost farcical comedy; Lester wanted it to be an action-thriller with comedic elements, as in the original screenplay by Brian Grazer, James Keach and Ramis (all of whom were producers on the film).
- #021
The second film featuring Meg Ryan in 1986, the other being Top Gun, was released in the early summer before this film and was an instant box-office hit, while this film became a surprise success given its budget.
- #022
John Candy (Frank Dooley) and Larry Hankin (Kokolovitch) both appeared in Home Alone (1990); John Candy as Gus Polinski and Larry Hankin as Officer Balzak.
- #023
James Tolkan (Lou Brackman) and Meg Ryan (Maggie Cavanaugh) both appeared in Top Gun (1986); James Tolkan as Stinger and Meg Ryan as Carole.
- #024
THE DIRECTOR'S TRADEMARK: Big guns, chase scenes, a big explosive finale.
- #025
Tom Hanks was set to star alongside John Candy in the film; Hanks had agreed it would be the third film they would headline together after working on both "Splash" and "Volunteers." It would also have been the first time Hanks and Meg Ryan worked together, before they finally did so in "Joe Vs. The Volcano," which began production in 1989. It would also have been the second time Hanks and Oscar-winning producer Brian Grazer worked together, after Grazer produced "Splash!" and Hanks and Grazer would reunite twelve years after the film was completed, in 1995, on "Apollo 13." Hanks would also work with Robert Loggia in 1988's "Big," two years after this film's release, with their unforgettable piano duet at FAO Schwartz.
- #026
The money stolen from Guard Dog Security's pension and health plan was more than the $11 million that the company's owner, gangster Michael Carlino, used to run a big drug deal. Carlino told this to Brackman, the accountant who cashed out the money, just before Carlino was killed by his own men at his own party while Frank and Norm were trying to save him.
- #027
Early in the film, Eugene Levy plays the lawyer of a Charlie Manson-type criminal. Steve Railsback (The Cowboy) had previously played Manson in the 1976 miniseries Helter Skelter.
- #028
An HR briefing dated April 20, 1984 stated that the producers had signed actor-comedian Eddie Murphy for their film, but he did not appear in the final film.
- #029
John Candy (Frank Dooley), Eugene Levy (Norman Kane) and Royce D. Applegate (2nd Toxic Guard) all appeared in Splash (1984); John Candy as Freddie Bauer, Eugene Levy as Walter Kornbluth and Royce D. Applegate as Buckwalter.
- #030
Jonathan Banks and Brion James had played San Francisco detectives alongside the film's star Nick Nolte in 48 Hours four years earlier. In this film both play mob criminals.
- #031
The end credits of the film include the following: "Special thanks: Department of Public Works - City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, Department of Water and Power, Redken Laboratories, Inc."
- #032
Although he is billed as Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr. in the film, we can see that he is actually quite large compared to John Candy.
- #033
Eugene Levy plays a lawyer in this film. In real life there is a lawyer named Eugene Levy.
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