Burt Reynolds was at his surliest and angriest in Screen Gems' production, Hawk, a series by Allen Sloane, writer of TV shows with a socially relevant point of view. Unfortunately, Hawk was cancelled with only 17 episodes broadcast, unable to compete with Dean Martin and a movie of the week.
Hawk was gritty and was filmed that way. It didn't have the overall natural feel of the groundbreaking Naked City but its night scenes of a shabby, grungy, sleazy 1966 Manhattan filmed in color have an eerie quality enhanced by the spooky music of the great Kenyon Hopkins. (Nelson Riddle's one episode has riffs too similar to the Batman series.) This is the dangerous Manhattan that was the backdrop for Death Wish in 1974. Hawk's New York is a city populated by psycho-killers, mobsters, maniacs, mental cases, punks, nightcrawlers and assorted career criminals.
Reynolds generally had two expressions in Hawk, angry and angrier, with a soft spot for some ladies but he was never given a steady girlfriend. His father was a high iron worker who fell to his death and this propels Hawk, especially in one episode when he goes after a corrupt contractor. Hawk was blunt and direct, not concerned about offending anyone including his superiors, suspects and potential sources of information. He had an African-American coworker and sidekick played well by Wayne Grice who saved him from death a few times, including getting crushed in an industrial size compactor.
When it came to the action scenes, common sense and proper procedure was usually neglected. Faced with gun-totting thugs, Hawk would fling himself bodily at them like a bull and get into wild, furniture smashing brawls. In most episodes he would take brutal beatings that would put anyone in the hospital, unlike most TV detectives who'd win every fight. Mannix was hit over the head once a week but Hawk took a far worse beating in almost every show. Reynolds did his own stunts and as he grew older the effects of these stunts took its toll. He could barely walk near the end of life.
Many guest stars went on to great fame or solid careers. Tony LoBianco is a thief who steals heroin, predating the French Connection. Frank Converse, fresh off Coronet Blue and a year from N.Y.P.D., is a crooked cop working for the mob. Gene Hackman is a frightening religious fanatic who murders strangers. Robert Duval is a killer after negotiable bonds. Many of the female guest stars went on to prolific New York soap opera careers.
The directors were an accomplished lot including Sam Wanamaker, Alexander Singer and Paul Henreid. Reynolds directed one episode, Blind Man's Bluff that starred his close friend James Best as a psychopathic killer targeting cabbies.
One of the best episodes was Wall of Silence featuring Emily Prager as a very pretty autistic teen who witnesses the shooting of a policeman by punk Scott Glenn but doesn't understand what she's seen, can't speak and is Hawk's only witness. It was one of the early shows (besides Breaking Point starring Paul Richards) that explored the relatively unknown condition of autism. Her character is something of a "baby doll," a behavioral trait that would probably not be permitted in a modern script.
After Reynolds passed away. Get TV programmed post-midnight episodes of Hawk for two weeks. The slicker California-based Dan August was shown during the day. Less angry than Hawk, August was not too far removed in temperament. Since Coronet Blue was released on DVD last year, there's still hope for Hawk getting a release one day.
