Did you know RAFFERTY’S RULES was made into a movie?
First things first, don’t spend any time looking for it online, or rummaging through bargain bins at your local Blockbuster* trying to find it. Oh, it’s out there, just under a different name.
In the early nineties, as Dad was moving on to writing Rafferty books 4, 5 and 6, his agent at Curtis Brown sold the film rights for RAFFERTY’S RULES to Cinepix, a Canadian production company.
Dad’s approach at the time, and his subsequent advice to me, was “When Hollywood comes calling, don’t try to manage the process or be part of the circus, just take the money and run.”
Cinepix would go on–rebranded as Lions Gate–to some seriously big, and award-winning films, including La La Land. But back in the 80s and 90s they were building their stable with movies like Meatballs, The Mystery of the Million Dollar Hockey Puck and Ilsa—She Wolf of the SS, so I’m not sure anyone thought their version of RAFFERTY’S RULES would trouble the judges at Cannes or Sundance.
We were right.
The movie was released in 1992, titled Snake Eater III …His Law, closing out the trilogy which started with Snake Eater in 1989 and continued with Snake Eater II …The Drugbuster in the same year.
The previous two Snake Eater movies were original screenplays, so this was the only time in the trilogy that Cinepix used external source material. And boy, did they use it in an odd way.
The movie’s storyline generally follows the plot of RAFFERTY’S RULES. The characters are there: Hilda, Cowboy, Fran, Vivian, Ed Durkee, even the bad guys Goose and Turk. Hold on, someone’s missing … give me a minute … it’s on the tip of my tongue …
Rafferty.
That’s right. The movie leaves out our titular hero to wedge Jack “Soldier” Kelly (an ex-Vietnam vet / renegade cop) into the main role. He’s on suspension from the force, leaving him conveniently available when the Mollisons come seeking vengeance for their daughter. For those of you who haven’t read RAFFERTY’S RULES yet, I’ll stop there before I launch any spoilers.
By the way, it can be found on YouTube, if you’re that keen. I’ll let you find it yourself and just remember, you’ve been warned! If you do happen to brave it, drop me a line and let me know where it ranks on your book-to-movie-translation meter.
Snake Eater III appears to have been the most well-received of the Snake Eater trilogy, rating 4.2/10 on IMDB and 2.7/5 on Rotten Tomatoes, but still seems to have fallen somewhere between the cracks of “a B-movie so bad it’s actually good” and “low-budget but entertaining action flick.”
Still, for all the scorn I (and many others) have poured on Snake Eater III …His Law, the truth is that it still excites me to see “Based on the novel, Rafferty’s Rules, by W. Glenn Duncan” in the opening credits.
With Rafferty, Dad created something bigger than himself. He found a way to give a voice to things that need talking about. He’s given plenty of people over the years an enjoyable read and along the way he got his brush with the movie business.
I’m looking forward to continuing the story.
* Do Blockbuster stores still exist?