Originally, the film was cast with Kris Kristofferson in the role but Bronson stepped in when he left the project. Of course, he is not really a helicopter pilot and there are plenty of other complications. Finally he latches onto the idea that the film is based on, he will land a helicopter in the prison yard and lift the prisoner directly out of the fortress. The second attempt involves Randy Quaid in drag, and you know that’s not going to get it done. At first he doesn’t realize what he got himself into and the initial attempt at escape fails.
Bronson plays Nick as an almost comic character he is full of bravado, bullshit and big ideas. Unlike the TV promo you see above, in the film, his price is not $250,000, it’s actually $1200 at first. Nick Colton is a somewhat shady bush pilot who is willing to run afoul of the law if necessary. His wife is trying to arrange an escape from the prison and she hires Bronson’s character to carry it out.
His detention has been arranged for by the company he worked for because he has information that would be damaging to them. Robert Duvall is an unjustly imprisoned American in Mexico. In between “Death Wish” the most influential starring vehicle of Bronson’s career, and “Hard Times”, the most accomplished performance in his career, came this movie, an exploitation picture based on a real event but sold as a fictional story.
