Here's a movie by Buzz Kulik before he made the greatest TV movie of all time, Brian's Song. But the draw here is David Jassen while he was still at the top of his fame. You either like him or you don't because if droll conflicted was gold he'd be Fort Knox. Seriously his TV series The Fugitive was one of the top ten of all time. Here he's in every bit as much trouble as Richard Kimball, but this time he's on the other side fighting to clear his name to remain a detective and not an inmate. That sounds interesting as him being on the other side made for some of the best TV ever.
Well, lightning rarely strikes twice with so many possible other places. But, that isn't to say this movie should be panned. It's got a potent well of talent in the assembled cast, yet it is let down by a too simple plot and quite pedestrian writing. It either feels like an attempt to cash-in on Janssen while he's hot...or, just the birthing of a director who would become the master of the "TV Movie of the Week" format. But Janssen plays it with a real feeling of a man who has been handed a series of raw deals and still just is. He is broken but he kind of thrives on being broken and it is interesting to watch. If you're a Janssen completist you have to see this and if you just somehow connect with his rather dour, yet supremely human demeanor and style then by all means enjoy.
Well, lightning rarely strikes twice with so many possible other places. But, that isn't to say this movie should be panned. It's got a potent well of talent in the assembled cast, yet it is let down by a too simple plot and quite pedestrian writing. It either feels like an attempt to cash-in on Janssen while he's hot...or, just the birthing of a director who would become the master of the "TV Movie of the Week" format. But Janssen plays it with a real feeling of a man who has been handed a series of raw deals and still just is. He is broken but he kind of thrives on being broken and it is interesting to watch. If you're a Janssen completist you have to see this and if you just somehow connect with his rather dour, yet supremely human demeanor and style then by all means enjoy.