Call it "Harper" lite. Very Ross MacDonaldish look at mid 60s LA. Not quite as visually or dramatically effective as Jack Smight's earlier, better, Socal neo noir, though. More could have and should have been done with the gloriously tawdry Seascape Apartment complex and its very chlorinated, concretized pool, home to various kinds of City of Angels flotsam like corrupt airline co pilots, dead photographer's assistants, senile, comfortably doddering old ladies and aging dogs with heroin dolls in their mouths. Too many settings, by contrast, are of the uninspired, interior variety (i.e. Doctor's offices, lawyers offices, stockbroker's office, courtrooms, police station etc) as befits director Buzz Kulik's tv origins. Fortunately, Kulik also has the rapid, lets leave 'em hanging for the next commercial, sense of pacing that is a definite plus in this kind of crime drama pic. Also a plus are some fine performances from a wide assemblage of pros like Walter Pidgeon, George Grizzard, Eleanor Parker and Stefanie Powers, just to single out the four best, in my opinion. On the downside in the acting dept are the woefully talentless Joan Collins and certain old pros who seem to be coasting at this late stage of their careers, like George Sanders and Lilian Gish. As for David Janssen, as always his laconic, mumbling persona takes a bit of getting used to but once you're there he becomes quite effective in conveying incorruptible cynicism, a necessary neo as well as old school noir attitude. Give it a B minus. PS...Great 60s, jazzy score by Jerry Goldsmith is also a plus.
Review of Warning Shot
