The Evil That Men Do (film)

"The Evil That Men Do" is a politically-oriented action film directed by J. Lee Thompson. The film was adapted by David Lee Henry and John Crowther from a novel by R. Lance Hill. It was first released by ITC Entertainment to French cinemas on March 15, 1984, and debuted in the United States on September 14, 1984.

"The Evil That Men Do" stars Charles Bronson in the lead role of Holland, a former (presumably CIA) assassin who lives quietly and peacefully on a West Indies island. He is persuaded out of retirement by the death of Jorge Hidalgo (played by Jorge Humberto Robles), a friend and dissident journalist. Hidalgo was murdered by Clement Molloch (played by Joseph Maher), a Welsh doctor who lives in Guatemala. Molloch has made a science of the practice of torture and sells his knowledge and skills to any government that can pay his price. His idol is Dr. Josef Mengale, the Nazi "Angel of Death" whose inhuman experiments on concentration camp prisoners at Auschwitz is lengendary.

Holland is hired by Hector Lomelin (played by Jose Ferrer), a professor and friend of Hidalgo. He poses as a family man and is accompanied to Guatemala by Hidalgo's widow Rhiana (played by Theresa Saldana) and daughter Sarah (played by Amanda Nicole Thomas).

In a sense, Holland is a near sociopath whose thinking becomes increasingly clear as the degree of danger in which he has put himself escalates. He is an unassuming man who can and does explode in violence with very little warning. He is also characterizes by a unusual morality which allows him to kill without guilt those who he believes must be killed for the good of mankind.

The film, shot in Mexico, includes a score by Ken Thorne and cinematography by Xavier Cruz. "The Evil That Men Do" was originally planned by Cannon Films but was scrapped over a financing dispute.