Outrage

Robert Culp (they call his character "doctor"...I think he's a vet or something) and family move to an affluent, low-tax, zero-law-enforcement suburb. Lantern-jawed Culp and his dog are nearly killed when some local idiot neighbor kids get drunk and "go cruising" through his front yard at 60mph. He presses charges, which arouses the kids' ire, and suddenly him and his family are the victims of a violent and disturbing prank campaign.

Marilyn Manson, er, Marlyn Mason rather, plays his fretful, boiled-celery wife, who urges him not to use violence against his sneering nemeses, and who really just wants to move somewhere with decent public services. But The System is getting Culp nowhere, and he's not about to leave his house because of some punk kids and their crazy rock and roll music. And we all know what movie people do when The System fails...(but this is based on a true story, which makes it even better).

It should be noted that while the villainous hooligans do have convenient '70s funk-o-matic "teenage" theme music that warns us when they're up to no good, this film actually ends up treating the age brackets even-handedly (really!). It doesn't make a big generational thing out of it. Kudos for that.

Anyway, if you like dogs (or at least believe in protecting their civil rights, like me), and you like justice, and you like fire, and you like justice for dogs by way of fire, and you think people who skitter nervously out of troubled communities are "too damn soft," then this flick's ethos is up your alley. No, it's not really "good," at least not in any widely recognized sense of the word. There's nothing subtle or understated or clever about it, it's just sort of a feature-length PSA for vigilantism. It does, however, capture the feeling of some memorable scenes in other, beloved works. Remember in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns when Batman leads the Mutants on horseback to reclaim Gotham City? Remember that scene in A Christmas Story where the kid pounds the bully's face in? Remember how cool that was? Or do you just really hate being looked at funny by your neighbors? Yeah, mon.

Unfortunately, this was a 1973 made-for-TV movie that I just happened to catch at 4am on my local WB affiliate, and it's probably not destined for DVD release. But after being inspired by this film, do you think I'm gonna just sit here and take it!?!

I remember this story well was very exciting and want my dad to see it but there don't seem to be a video for sale. It's a great movie and I had hoped someone made have taped it and would sell me a copy.The story must have been a television show only but was one of the greatest examples of the rage that can be instilled in a person when several outside forces are against his way of life and no one of authority will help

This made for TV film was remade in 1998. I haven't seen the newer version, so I cannot compare the two.

When the story begins, a group of punk teens are running amok in a nice California neighborhood--pouring loads of garbage into a lady's pool, nearly running over pedestrians, dogs and horses and acting like they are above the law. When one of the folks being menaced by them tries to be constructive and work to have speed bumps and more policing, Jim Kiler (Robert Culp) is attacked by the thugs and they nearly kill him. When the law seem either unable or unwilling to do much of anything, Kiler is backed against the wall and has no other choice but to approach the teens' parents...who don't seem to care in the least. So what is to happen next? Well, considering that the boys go essentially unpunished, you can only assume things will escalate! But Kiler STILL tries very hard to work within the system through much of the movie. Find the film on YouTube and find out for yourself what's next in this family's nightmarish lives.

While the plot might sound quite a bit like "Death Wish", this film came out a year earlier...plus it was set in the suburbs. Additionally, Kiler did NOT react like Bronson did in "Death Wish"-- he didn't go out at night shooting the boys...though considering how awful they were, you certainly wouldn't have blamed his character!

Overall, this is a very well made and exciting film. Culp did a very nice job in the film and it's not just some revenge picture. Plus, it's apparently based on a real case...which adds to the realism. Well worth seeing...and filled with all sorts of funky 70s music!

Watching Robert Culp display barely contained anger is mesmerizing. Whether he's playing a murderer who must endure repeated visits from Lt. "Columbo", or, as in the case of this ABC "movie of the week", a decent man pushed to the breaking point by rich sociopaths, it's always thrilling to watch his patience being tested. You see the anger building in the way he clenches his jaw. The slow, deep breaths he takes that indicate how his patience is being tested. And, of course, that unmistakable edge in his tone- a clear warning that if he's pushed...one...inch...further...

Yes, Robert Culp was a perfect choice for the role of Dr. Jim Kiler, a man who finds that the police and court system are ineffective in protecting his family from harassment by a group of privileged young thugs. Some might rightly disapprove that in the end Kiler solves his problem by giving in to his primal urges. As this movie is allegedly based on a true story, one cannot help but wonder if the incidents really did cease after he took his revenge- and if there were really no legal reprisals in response to his vigilantism? But beyond questions of it's accuracy, this is quite an engrossing movie with a memorable performance from it's star, and there's something immensely satisfying in watching the good doctor pay his tormentors a late night visit.

This is a very good, made for TV film. It depicts trouble in suburbia circa 1970's and the sort of neighbors one certainly does not want to have around. The worst & most upsetting part of the film was when the punk teenagers killed the family dog. The teens do everything to annoy and harass this poor family. But boy!, does the lead character take vengeance on those punk teenagers in the end. The father/homeowner surely does not take all of the aggravation from the punk teens lightly and is quick to retaliate after lack of help from the police that is. He stands up to them and protects his home and his family. A very good actor..I might add.

I watched this on TV when I was like 8 or 9. I have never seen it again on TV and would like to. Definitely a good one! It's the sort of movie one may catch on a weekday night very late at night and can't stop watching or an afternoon film on a weekend. It's the kind they just don't show anymore.

It is definitely worth seeing!