Trapped

I saw this movie many years ago and have always wanted to see it again. It was very suspenseful, wish I could find it to buy. Great idea for a movie plot, man gets attacked in a men,s room of a department store, the guard doesn't realize someone is still in the store so the poor guy is stuck in a store with attack dogs... I would die. I love a good movie and years ago they had better "made for TV movies". I would recommend this movie, that is if you could find it any where to rent or buy, I haven't seen it on TV since the year it first viewed. Funny how some movies stay with you. If you liked Trapped you would like: "Night Terror" with Valiere Harper full of suspense. I love movies that make me jump, both of these did...

I first would like say that I would never do anything like that as to spoil this TV movie for anyone.

I saw this TV movie, when I was a teen back in 1973; and I enjoyed this movie. I hope you put it out soon! What I would also like to say is that television and movie studio's, have a lot of old shows and films that have been locked away since I was kid. One example, would be "Sargent's Three" that had the "Rat Pack" in it. I've search high and low for this movie and not even a bite!... ya really should show it. I enjoy a good western and that was one of them, I watch TMC and AMC and I haven't seen it at anytime.

The set-up for this early 70's made-for-TV thriller is simplistic but efficient and much more frightening than any horror movie revolving on zombies, vampires or immoral ax-wielding psychopaths could ever be. The situation where the male protagonist finds himself trapped in may not be likely to happen any time soon, but it's definitely not unthinkable. Being the victim of a robbery, Chuck Banner is left behind in the restroom of a big shopping complex. When he regains consciousness, the store is closed down for the weekend and severely trained guard dogs stand between him and the exit doors. His only hope for rescue is his ex-wife and daughter, with whom he was supposed to meet at the airport, but by the time they figure out where Chuck is stuck, it might be too late. Movie scripts don't get any more rudimentary than this, but "Doberman Patrol" nevertheless guarantees a mere 90 minutes of suspense and thrills, largely thanks to James Brolin's strong performance as the man in peril as well as to the impressively trained dogs. The beautiful and athletic animals are very menacing and definitely fulfill their "guarding" duties. The search for Chuck on the outside is interesting to follow as well, with his ex-wife and her new husband being surprisingly likable and identifiable characters. The subject matter and the limited cast of characters don't exactly lend themselves to gory situations, but in this case the tense and claustrophobic atmosphere and stellar performances suffice. Recommended!

I remember this made-for-tv film as a kid. I was 7 when this came out, and in 2nd grade. Doberman's scared me then. But as a dog owner I can't help but wonder if the writers thought this one through. What high end department store chain used dogs to guard their merchandise? Was this even a real scenario? I'm curious because even my well-trained service dogs are not left alone running around in our house all night unsupervised. They get into things and sometimes make messes. I can't imagine a high end store using such a service, when most stores lose merchandise to shoplifting regularly (it's called "shrinkage") and take that into account when setting their prices. And that is during the day when they are opened for business. So as an adult I find this scenario ridiculous.

An early entry in the glory days of TV movies that stands well alongside other TV movies on the era. Well acted, very well edited and scored and most importantly written and directed by Frank De Felitta. It ages pretty well and of course has real dog attacks rather than CGI junk animals. For some reason this quality of TV production died out almost entirely in the 1980's when all the elements of craft that this film has vanished really until X Files and other shows brought back film type story telling to TV.

The story unfolds very well and is believable and involving, this should be on DVD and certainly is among the handful of memorable TV movies of any era, it's like a very good episode of the Hitchcock series or Thriller--the Boris Karloff series. Someone at Univeral get this out on DVD like it deserves. This movie will having you making sure you're home before any store closes. James Brolin sweats and suffers with the best of them.