Incident on a Dark Street (1973) Reviews

• Routine crime-drama with all star cast

  greggrwagner2005-12-06

  This is a typical Sunday night movie that would have been shown back in the early 70's to top off your weekend before you went back to work on Monday. Basically a routine crime drama featuring then-current character actors, and a look at what Robert Pine was doing before he landed his big role on Chips, and a look at what William Shatner was doing after Star Trek and before the Emmy award winning TJ Hooker series. Plot involves two law school grads (David Canary of 'All My Children' and Robert Pine) who take on their first big cases as prosecutors for the federal government. David Canary's case involves convincing a marked mobster to blow the whistle on local politicians on the take from organized crime. Robert Pine's case is about whether or not to prosecute a seemingly clean cut family man of being the bag man in a drug deal. Nothing extraordinary about this piece, but decent TV quality fare, especially if you're a collector of all things William Shatner, Robert Pine or David Canary. Good period piece of 1973 depicting life in the big city at the time complete with rotary telephones, phone booths where you you could call for a dime (remember those?) 16mm news cameras before the age of mobile color video recorders and giant cars back in the days when everything on the road was made by GM, Ford and Chrysler. I was particularly interested in the limousine owned by the bad guy, appeared to be a rare 1970 Imperial Lebaron sedan limousine.

• Worth the effort of popping it in your DVD player

  inspectors712005-12-11

  1973's Incident On a Dark Street has probably not aged well in the 32 years since it's airing on, I'm guessing, NBC. Unlike myself, a child of the 70's, younger viewers might not enjoy the common reference points of wide lapels, land barges, and over-coiffed hair. The cast is chock full of familiar television faces with everyone doing a professional job, but the young un's might cringe at all the young farts who are now old or dead farts. Yet, there are enough twists and turns in the plotting, adequate to very good performances (check out Kathleen Lloyd's face as she quietly, with dignity lets an assistant US attorney know what's in her future), and avoidance of relentless shoot-em-ups to make you take this old, failed pilot for a series seriously (although the attack on one character by an assassin in a street-sweeper is ludicrous and the bombing of the same guy later on is pretty nauseating, considering you see a shower of blood and gunk go kersplash!). So, plunk down your buck the next time you're in the check out aisle at Wal-Mart. You might just figure you got a rebate

• The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

  weghalbert2006-12-24

  Well I watched "Incident on a Dark Street" and I see why it was a failed TV pilot... The Good,, The Bad,, and The Ugly,,,, The BAD The three leads James Olson (Never have liked him much although he was quite good in "The Andromeda Strain" due more to Robert's Wise's wonderful direction and a great script), David Canary ( He was quickly back in soap operas again after this) and Robert Pine ( He was in the TV show "Chips" after this gig) ,anyways the three leads are all milquetoast in this made for TV movie... The Good But this guilty pleasure does have a few things going for it...1st of all its Shatner playing the a total slime ball ( I can not recall him playing such a lowlife in any other role, but your the expert in that dept)... No one emotes despair quite like Bill in his ridiculous mustache, lamb chop sideburns and bad oily hairpiece. Be sure to check out the sexy 70s outfit Bill's goodtime girl is sporting... The Ugly,,,, And there's Richard Castellano, you know him from the "Godfather"...there has never been a more miserable character who exudes uncomfort and misery as Richard here, the Mob lowlife turned snitch...Smoking cigs down to the filter,,, sweating and panting after taking 3 steps,,,He almost busts his ass a few times when he has to do some physical things on film... I think this is more of a Richard really being this character than acting... He garners so much screen time in this , so you might as well enjoy his performance,,, kinda like watching Curly Howard in a wool suit two sizes too small.. Be sure to check out his life and death chase scene from a Street Sweeper!!! and lots of familiar faces in lesser roles adding to the 70s feel of this flick..John Kerr,Gilbert Rowland,Wesley Lau...There's pre "Charlies Angels" David Doyle ( who once again proves he couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag)..Murray Hamilton (playing a lowlife so well as he had to all of his acting life,,,Did Murray do a guest shot on every TV show in the 60s???, it sure seemed like it)....Kathy Lloyd (who fares OK in a small role),,, and last but not least there is Jennifer Kulik as Ann , which proves Director Buzz Kulik was not above casting his own daughter in the film... For Shatner's and Castellano's performances,,, this is worth a look...

• Mmmm… Breathe deep the cheesiness of this TV Movie (or failed pilot… you decide)

  Guido_TheKillerPimp2006-02-17

  What does an actor do when his TV show gets cancelled? Well, if you are William Shatner you slap on a ridiculous moustache and lambchop sideburns combo and audition as a heavy in a Pilot about the day-to-day action-packed life of the District Attorney office of Los Angeles County. What does a cast-off of a TV Western do? Well if you are David Canary you follow in the successful footsteps of your former Bonanza co-star Pernell Roberts and star in a Pilot about another public service organization in a major California city (no wait "San Francisco International" (1970) failed as a Pilot) With talent like this where can "An Incident On A Dark Street" round out the cast – hey how about second banana "The Godfather" Italian Stereotypes? Please tell me what was up with Richard S. Castellano?? (formerly "That fat Clemenza") As a second-generation Sicilian-American – on both sides of my family – I am not offended that he portrays a Sicilian as a mobster as much as he portrays a Sicilian as a monosyllabic mush-mouthed idiot who takes pets to bed with him in an apartment furnished in early-rathole. After his incredible emoting during his first meeting with David Canary's character I was wishing it was him who was killed instead of his brother, portrayed by Tony Giorgio – (formerly Bruno Tataglia). And Frank, paisan, when you stick your hand down a culvert expecting to touch a leather satchel of incriminating evidence against the Leopold Organized Crime Family (Leopold is Sicilian?!, must be that offshoot of that hell-raising Franco-Sicilian Mob my grandfather told me about on Palermo's lower east side…) and instead feel something metal – you don't pull on it – MINGIA! With guys like this in the Mob there is not much more work that DA James Olson will have to do before he retires and allows himself to get beamed back to the alien planet that spawned him. I mean c'mon is there anybody weirder looking that James Olson? Bob on Soap comes off less wooden than this guy! But thank god that we can round out the DA staff with the likes of Robert Pine and David Doyle. Robert Pine? Did this guy do anything after his weekly witty repartee at morning Roll Call with Ponch and John on CHiPs? And David Doyle? I don't know what it is about this guy but in this movie he just exudes oiliness. After watching him I get this unsettling feeling he may have rode around with the undercover cops on that pederasty case a LITTLE too long. (What's a pederast Walter? Shut the F*** Up, Donnie) But don't sell Mr. Doyle short; the one star I give this movie is attributed to his performance as the Bad Cop in the Bad Cop-Good Cop interrogation worked on our favorite morbidly obese goombah – priceless! I would have given this movie two stars but it lacked enough 70's pilot stalwarts. Give me Max Gail, Clu Gulagher, OK even Stuart Margolin and then maybe two stars. And how about more scenes with Shatner and his blond honey in the babydoll lingerie? The fact this outfit even made it to TV was interesting So if you are looking for that cheesy smell that went out with the '70s, "An Incident on a Dark Street" will allow you to reminisce with plenty of unintentional comedy

• Mister Wallace..I Want My MONEY!

  sol12182005-03-31

  (Some Spoilers) Made for TV movie about corruption in high places in the city government. With a totally out-of-the-blue sub-plot that has nothing at all to do with whats going on in the film. Vinnie Romero, Tony Glorgio, is murdered by the Leopold Mob and dumped off a Pier with an ice pick stuck in his head. Vinnie was going to the DA's office to blow the whistle on Leapold and his connections with the city's head of the Utilities Authorthy Devaver G. Wallace, William Shatner, in rigging building contracts. Knowing he's a marked man Vinnie gave the evidence that he had on Leopold to his brother Frank, Richard Casellano,for safe-keeping. With Vinnie now in the city morgue Frank feels he'll join him very soon and goes to the DA for protection.Not wanting to be a stool pigeon, like Vinnie, Frank is let out on the street where the Leopold Mob is out to get him. Frank ends up almost getting flattened by a steamroller before he accepts help from the DA's office. In return for his testimony and documents he has on the Leopold Mob. Taking the police and members of the DA's office to the place where he hid the evidence on Leopold Frank is blown apart and killed by a bomb planted there by the mob who took the incriminating documents before hand. Back at Wallace's office panic is setting in with him and his assistant and partner Ed Shilling, Murray Hamilton, on the verge of bankruptcy in a failed stock venture. Shilling needs cash to stave that off with Wallace wanting more of the kick-back from the deal he has going with Leopold something called "The Portland Project". Wallace to his dismay finds that "The Portland Projet" fell through, which earlier lead to his partner in crime Shiller committing suicide after he got the bad news from Leopold himself. It also comes to light to the shocked Wallace that the bank that he owes the money for his stock market adventure is owned by non-other then Leopold's nephew! So he's in no position to ask Leopold for any kick-backs at all. Getting smacked around by Leopold's boys for not being able to pay him back his money Wallace later agrees, or is forced, to talk and at the end of the film we see him and Leopold being brought before the court to face justice. The sub-plot in the movie has to do with young Arthur Trenier, James Davidson, on trial for drug possession as well as drug trafficking that can put him away for as much as fifteen years. With all hope gone to keep Arthur out of the clink his wife Louise, Kathleen Llyod, reveals to the stunned prosecuting attorney Paul Hamilton Jr, Robert Pine,that she has this fatal disease and hasn't long to live, this dying from an unknown illness was a big thing back then in Hollywood. The DA Joe Dubbs, James Olson, who was very determined to put poor Arthur away agrees with the much more sympathetic DA's attorney Hamilton to give him probation. Run of the mill crime/court story that has a much better cast then the material that their given makes it both interesting and watchable.