Such was novelist Joseph Wambaugh's standing in 1980 that his name actually appeared above the title on the movie marquee for this quirky police love story that fails to arrest viewers. Robert Foxworth stars as Valnikov, a divorced, alcoholic homicide detective newly transferred to Hollywood's robbery division, with Paula Prentiss costarring as his very reluctant new partner. Their quarry? Harry Dean Stanton, at his most desperately sleazy as the "Terrier King," a dog breeder in debt to gamblers, who kidnaps a champion schnauzer for $84,000 in ransom. Prentiss makes the most of a rare leading role, but Foxworth barely registers, and the supporting cast lacks the credibility that gave director Harold Becker's other Wambaugh adaptation--The Onion Field--its gritty, docu-like texture. Granted, there is a nifty chase scene through a kennel, and early screen appearances by Christopher Lloyd and James Woods, but while this may be just the ticket for Wambaugh fans, genre lovers can find better police procedurals. Sporting a reasonably decent widescreen transfer and a relatively dry (and slow) commentary track by Becker, this is not a necessary purchase. (K. Lee Benson)
The Black Marble
Anchor Bay, 110 min., PG, DVD: $19.98 Volume 18, Issue 4
The Black Marble
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: