History Film / CloakAndDagger

* ProductPlacement: The ''Cloak and Dagger'' video game existed in Atari 2600 and Arcade versions. The version shown in the movie uses the arcade screens and is depicted as being played on the Atari 5200, a planned release which was forestalled by the Great Videogame Crash.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Davey fantasizes about clock and dagger adventures, then gets forced into one.

* EverythingIsBigInTexas: Between the Tower Life Building, River Walk, the Sunken Gardens in Brackenridge Park, and [[RememberTheAlamo the Alamo]], the movie gets a lot of mileage out of using early-1980s [[OtherCitiesInTexas San Antonio]] as a setting.

* FreudianTrio: Haverman, Alvarez, and Rice fall under this trope as the Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively, in terms of their impulsive behavior, [[RefugeInAudacity as they select some very public San Antonio landmarks in which they conduct their dirty spy business]]. Haverman is the most reckless, Alvarez falls somewhere in between him and Rice, who is the most discreet (albeit not by much.) [[spoiler: Not surprisingly, this is precisely the order in which they are killed. Haverman is killed in a car wreck when he carelessly drives the van into a jewelry store [[HoistByHisOwnPetard after intending to run down and kill Davey]]; Alvarez is accidentally killed by Rice during the aforementioned "[[DeadlyDodging Crossfire]] [[BatmanGambit Gambit]]" when Rice tries to shoot Davey instead; and finally, after picking up the gun from Alvarez's corpse, Davey kills the remaining spy out of rage when backed into a wall when he thinks said remaining spy has killed Jack Flack]].

* FreudianTrio: Haverman, Alvarez, and Rice fall under this trope as the Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively, in terms of their impulsive behavior, [[RefugeInAudacity as they select some very public San Antonio landmarks in which they conduct their dirty spy business]]. [[spoiler: Not surprisingly, this is precisely the order in which they are killed. Haverman is killed in a car wreck when he carelessly drives the van into a jewelry store [[HoistByHisOwnPetard after intending to run down and kill Davey]]; Alvarez is accidentally killed by Rice during the aforementioned "[[DeadlyDodging Crossfire]] [[BatmanGambit Gambit]]" when Rice tries to shoot Davey instead; and finally, after picking up the gun from Alvarez's corpse, Davey kills the remaining spy out of rage when backed into a wall when he thinks said remaining spy has killed Jack Flack]].

* EvenEvilHasStandards: George and Eunice [=MacCready=] may not make an honest living, but they become very indignant with Rice, Alvarez, and Haverman for their failure to be discreet and maintain a low profile, especially when the latter three try to publicly murder Davey (see [[WouldHurtAChild Would Hurt A Child]] below). Eunice even says something to this effect as she and George are in the car while discussing their plans to flee the country, and he agrees.

* FreudianTrio: Haverman, Alvarez, and Rice fall under this trope as the Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively, in terms of their impulsive behavior, [[RefugeInAudacity as they select some very public San Antonio landmarks to conduct their dirty spy business]]. [[spoiler: Not surprisingly, this is precisely the order in which they are killed. Haverman is killed in a car wreck when he carelessly drives the van into a jewelry store [[HoistByHisOwnPetard after intending to run down and kill Davey]]; Alvarez is accidentally killed by Rice during the aforementioned "[[DeadlyDodging Crossfire]] [[BatmanGambit Gambit]]" when Rice tries to shoot Davey instead; and finally, after picking up the gun from Alvarez's corpse, Davey kills the remaining spy out of rage when backed into a wall when he thinks said remaining spy has killed Jack Flack]].

* FreudianTrio: Haverman, Alvarez, and Rice fall under this trope as the Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively, in terms of their impulsive behavior, as they select some very public San Antonio landmarks to conduct their dirty spy business. [[spoiler: Not surprisingly, this is precisely the order in which they are killed. Haverman is killed in a car wreck when he carelessly drives the van into a jewelry store [[HoistByHisOwnPetard after intending to run down and kill Davey]]; Alvarez is accidentally killed by Rice during the aforementioned "[[DeadlyDodging Crossfire]] [[BatmanGambit Gambit]]" when Rice tries to shoot Davey instead; and finally, after picking up the gun from Alvarez's corpse, Davey kills the remaining spy out of rage when backed into a wall when he thinks said remaining spy has killed Jack Flack]].

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: You'd expect that a PG spy caper starring two children keeping a video game away from villains would be a lot more kid-friendly, but this film features quite a bit of murder. The kid hero is even stuffed into a car trunk with a corpse. Twice.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: You'd expect that a PG spy caper starring two children keeping a video game away from villains would be a lot more kid-friendly, but this film features quite a bit of murder. The kid hero is even stuffed into a car trunk with a corpse. Twice.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: George and Eunice [=MacCready=] may not make an honest living, but they become very indignant with Rice, Alvarez, and Haverman for their failure to be discreet and maintain a low profile, especially when the latter three try to publicly murder Davey. Eunice even says something to this effect as she and George are in the car while discussing their plans to flee the country, and he agrees.

* AdultsAreUseless: Davey's father, the police, and several other characters [[CassandraTruth refuse to believe Davey and will not help him in any way]]. [[spoiler: Even the grandparent-like elderly couple who help Davey escape the hitmen turn out to be Evil Old Folks.]]

* AdultsAreUseless: Davey's father, the police, and several other characters refuse to believe Davey and will not help him in any way. [[spoiler: Even the grandparent-like elderly couple who help Davey escape the hitmen turn out to be Evil Old Folks.]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Averted with the spies. See [[WouldHurtAChild Would Hurt A Child]] below.

As in many other 80s movies, ''Cloak & Dagger'' features a non-traditional family: Davey's father is raising him, as his mother is recently deceased. But surprisingly, it [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids subverts many classic family-movie tropes]].

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: You'd expect that a spy caper starring two children keeping a video game away from villains would be a lot more kid-friendly, but this film features quite a bit of murder. The kid hero is even stuffed into a car trunk with a corpse. Twice.

One day, Davey is on a fire escape while playing a spy-game with his friend Kim and happens to see a real FBI agent being threatened by a few bad guys. The agent escapes to the stairwell, and hands Davey a cartridge for a game called ''Cloak & Dagger''. [[ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin With his dying breath]], he tells Davey to get a million points to unlock the secrets in the game; then he is shot and falls screaming down the stairwell.

* AdultsAreUseless: Davey's father, the police, and several other characters refuse to believe Davey and will not help him in any way. [[spoiler: Even the grandparent-like elderly couple who help Davey escape the {{Mooks}} turn out to be EvilOldFolks.]]
%%* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor

* FakinMacGuffin: After the bad guys witness Davey getting the cartridge, and fail to capture him at his home the next day, they kidnap his next-door neighbor and invoke a HostageForMacGuffin scenario. Jack Flack tells Davey not to play along, and instead tells him to steal a normal Cloak & Dagger cartridge to use for the trade instead. The bad guys figure it out very quickly, as a sticker on the back of the cartridge gives it away.
* FictionalVideoGame: Averted. The ''Cloak and Dagger'' video game existed in Atari 2600 and Arcade versions. The version shown in the movie uses the arcade screens and is depicted as being played on the Atari 5200, a planned release which was forestalled by the Great Videogame Crash.

* ImaginaryFriend: Jack Flack is Davey's companion through most of the film, but only exists in Davey's imagination.
** His final scene though, where it seems that Rice might be able to just see him, and some of his dialogue before [[spoiler: he dies]], subtly hints that he might be a NotSoImaginaryFriend.

%%* {{Mooks}}

%%* StockScream

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Inasmuch as Jack Flack is an aspect of Davey, the strong part of his imagination centered on spy games (and {{LARP}}ing inside said spy games) which he built up as a coping mechanism for his MissingMom (actually dead mom) and absent dad. Though ultimately it is self-preservation, as Jack said after he is "shot," near the end Jack urges Davey to kill one {{Mook}} by proxy using the Crossfire Gambit, then tricks Davey into directly shooting the head bad guy. Although, some part of him must have had these ideas since Jack suggested them.

* FreudianTrio: Haverman, Alvarez, and Rice fall under this trope as the Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively, in terms of their impulsive behavior, as they select some very public San Antonio landmarks to conduct their dirty spy business. [[spoiler: Not surprisingly, this is precisely the order in which they are killed. Haverman is killed in a car wreck when he carelessly drives the van into a jewelry store [[HoistByHisOwnPetard after intending to run down and kill Davey]]; Alvarez is accidentally killed by Rice during the aforementioned "[[DeadlyDodging Crossfire]] [[BatmanGambit Gambit]]" when Rice tries to shoot Davey instead; and finally, after picking up the gun from Alvarez's corpse, Davey kills Rice out of rage when backed into a wall when he thinks Rice has killed Jack Flack]].

* FreudianTrio: Haverman, Alvarez, and Rice fall under this trope as the Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively, in terms of their impulsive behavior, as they select some very public San Antonio landmarks to conduct their dirty spy business. [[spoiler: Not surprisingly, this is precisely the order in which they are killed. Haverman is killed in a car wreck when he carelessly drives the van into a jewelry store [[HoistByHisOwnPetard after intending to run down and kill Davey]]; Alvarez is accidentally killed by Rice during the aforementioned "[[DeadlyDodging Crossfire]] [[BatmanGambit Gambit]]" when the latter spy tries to shoot Davey instead; and finally, after picking up the gun from Alvarez's corpse, Davey kills Rice out of rage when backed into a wall when he thinks Rice has killed Jack Flack]].

* FreudianTrio: The three spies; Haverman, Alvarez, and Rice fall under this trope as the Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively, in terms of the extent of their impulsive behavior, as they select some very public San Antonio landmarks to conduct their dirty spy business. [[spoiler: Not surprisingly, this is precisely the order in which they are killed. Haverman is killed in a car wreck when he carelessly drives the van into a jewelry store [[HoistByHisOwnPetard after intending to run down and kill Davey]]; Alvarez is accidentally killed by Rice during the aforementioned "[[DeadlyDodging Crossfire]] [[BatmanGambit Gambit]]" when the latter spy tries to shoot Davey instead; and finally, after picking up the gun from Alvarez's corpse, Davey kills Rice out of rage when backed into a wall when he thinks Rice has killed Jack Flack]].

* FreudianTrio: The three spies; Haverman, Alvarez, and Rice fall under this trope as the Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively, in terms of the extent of their impulsive behavior, as they select some very public San Antonio landmarks to conduct their dirty spy business. [[spoiler: Not surprisingly, this is precisely the order in which they are killed. Haverman is killed in a car wreck after he carelessly drives the van into a jewelry store [[HoistByHisOwnPetard after intending to run down and kill Davey]]; Alvarez is accidentally killed by Rice during the aforementioned "[[DeadlyDodging Crossfire]] [[BatmanGambit Gambit]]" when the latter spy tries to shoot Davey instead; and finally, after picking up the gun from Alvarez's corpse, Davey kills Rice out of rage when backed into a wall when he thinks Rice has killed Jack Flack]].

* FreudianTrio: The three spies; Haverman, Alvarez, and Rice fall under this trope as the Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively, in terms of the extent of their impulsive behavior, as they select some very public San Antonio landmarks to conduct their dirty spy business. [[spoiler: Not surprisingly, this is precisely the order in which they are killed. Haverman is killed in a car wreck after he carelessly drives the van into a jewelry store [[HoistByHisOwnPetard while intending to run down and kill Davey]]; Alvarez is accidentally killed by Rice during the aforementioned "[[DeadlyDodging Crossfire]] [[BatmanGambit Gambit]]" when the latter spy tries to shoot Davey instead; and finally, after picking up the gun from Alvarez's corpse, Davey kills Rice out of rage when backed into a wall when he thinks Rice has killed Jack Flack]].

* FreudianTrio: The three spies; Haverman, Alvarez, and Rice fall under this trope as the Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively, in terms of the extent of their impulsive behavior, as they select some very public San Antonio landmarks to conduct their dirty spy business. [[spoiler: This is precisely the order in which they are killed. Haverman is killed in a car wreck after he carelessly drives the van into a jewelry store [[HoistByHisOwnPetard while intending to run down and kill Davey]]. Alvarez is accidentally killed by Rice during the aforementioned "[[DeadlyDodging Crossfire]] [[BatmanGambit Gambit]]" when the latter spy tries to shoot Davey instead. And finally, after picking up the dead Alvarez's gun, Davey kills Rice out of rage when backed into a wall when he thinks Rice has killed Jack Flack]].