The Marcus-Nelson Murders

If this had been released theatrically, it could have been a candidate for some Oscars, and likely on most "10 best" film lists for 1973. Probably can be easily said that it's at least one of the 10 best TV films ever made, and ranks right up there with DUEL. It's Telly Savales' best performance, and that means he's superb. It's the role he was meant to play and no wonder it became the popular KOJAK television series. I saw this when first broadcast in 1973, and found it completely absorbing, at a time when I was more interested in action and horror stuff, like most kids, and when I could barely sit still for anything dramatic, but Savales held my attention, and the storyline never sagged. Everything in the film is top-notch, and a later second viewing years afterward only confirmed this. You won't be disappointed!

I came across this movie whilst channel surfing and boy was I pleasantly surprised. I was expecting an episode of the TV series but instead got a gritty 70'd classic. This a low down story of Police and the systems corruption which is still relevant today. Telly Savalas is superb as Kojack the only decent cop in New York who is prepared to see the set up that is taking place. A slow reveal with excellent supporting cast makes this a recommendation for everyone. This is truly an undiscovered gem that if it was a cinema movie would still be lauded today. This is a movie that really needs wider exposure. Now how to I go about getting the to show it at the BFI?

I love true stories, especially this one. Based on the book by author Selwyn Raab, (a New York Times reporter) "Justice in the Back Room". This film was intense and very close to the book. The main character Louis Humes was played by Gene Woodbury who played the part perfectly as a shy uneducated black kid that was unjustly accused of an attempted rape, a murder in Brooklyn and also implicated in a double homicide in Manhattan. The newspapers in 1963 dubbed this as the Career Girl Murders. The film calls it the Marcus Nelson murders. The story rubbed me the wrong way because at the end, the narration said Humes was still in jail. It also said the prosecutor was elected an assemblyman. I wanted to know about this and read the book. Humes(not his real name) was finally cleared but the NY police tried to pin a mugging charge against him when he was in south Jersey. He was cleared of that too. Kojak is a composite of Selwyn Raab and some police officers that care.

I agree with the other comment on this-I feel this is an excellent film and, when i voted for this film I noticed that many of the high votes were by people roughly the same age as me (18) who, like me, probably don't remember when this was originally shown- I feel this speaks volumes about how relevant and engaging this film remains after all these years... and don't get me wrong - I have hardly ever seen Kojak but this film as it stands on its own makes sense and is very good. I wont spoil the film but I'll just say that I also like how the film doesn't really have a definite answer and leaves the viewer to agree or disagree with the ending. I'd recommend buying this if you can as It's a good price these days but still a great film.

Effectively the pilot for the long running TV detective series 'Kojak", this TV movie is actually far more than that, being a dramatisation (with names changed) of an important case in American legal history, in establishing the rights of a defendant to have their legal rights read to them before answering questions relating to the offence.

Not that it helped the young unemployed black victim here, subject to a monstrous miscarriage of justice which sees him charged with three murders and an attempted rape he patently didn't do, who ended up serving time despite the efforts of in particular Kojak (a composite of the actual officers who bravely stood up for the accused) and an experienced defence attorney played by Jose Ferrer after the original court appointee (played by Robert Walden, later Joe Rossi in "Lou Grant") palpably fails him.

The direction eschews showiness and documents with fly-on-the-wall realism, the seamy methods of a so-called respected police force to pin a crime on the first donkey who comes along.

Fans of the TV series will be surprised to see none of the excellent supporting cast which made the show such a success in the 70's, like Dan Frazer and Kevin Dobson, although Telly's brother George, later the hang-dog Stavros gets a bit part as a newspaper reporter. Kojak himself isn't the finished article either as we see him act in ways he never would later on, such as violently losing his temper with a suspect, getting up close and personal with a past lover and even just working as a lone wolf much of the time. Savalas himself is excellent, already displaying the intensity of his character in his fine Italian clothes, although at this stage in his development catch-phrase and lollipop-less.

I read up on the "Career Girls" murders case which begot this drama and commend the makers for staying true to the story and bringing to light an unacceptable weakness in US justice. The fact that it led to a TV series as good as any to ever come of American television was just a bonus, albeit a very good one.