There's trouble in Los Angeles. Three teenage boys are suspected of snatching purses. The cops find them in an alley and start talking to the leader. One of the followers praises the leader.
"Shut up," Benjie says. "I'll do the talking here."
Benjie's the leader. Officer Malloy talks to the boys, and he tries to steer Benjie in the right direction. Having no proof the boys did anything, Malloy lets them go.
"And think about what I told you," Malloy says.
"Yeah, sure," Benjie says. "I'll probably toss and turn all night thinking about it."
Sometimes there's a story you don't forget. It might take the form of a book, or it might take the form of a film. Sometimes it takes the form of a TV episode. I don't normally get excited about "Adam-12" (1968-'75), but "Purse Snatcher" (1970) is one of the appalling episodes of television history.
16-year-old Benjie Tremain snatches purses--and he's injured at least one elderly woman in the process. He's as rude as he can be. He's easy to hate.
Officer Malloy confronts Benjie's father, a successful business man, about what his son is doing.
"Oh, come on!" Mr. Tremain says. "This is just kid's stuff."
Martin Milner and Kent McCord play their roles recurring roles well as Officer Malloy and Officer Reed, respectively. Myron Healey does a good job as Mr. Tremain. However, the story belongs to Gary Morgan as Benjie. Morgan gives a performance to be remembered--and in doing so, he creates one of the most tragic characters I've ever seen.
"Purse Snatcher," written by Michael Donovan and directed by James Neilson, is shocking on the level of a classic episode of "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Burning Bright" (1974), where William Shatner guest-stars as the brilliant but disturbed astronaut, Josh Lang.
I think of Sidney Poitier playing Mr. Thackeray, the teacher in one of my all-time favorite movies, "To Sir, With Love" (1967). Mr. Thackeray could have reached Benjie.
"Purse Snatcher" (1970) is a 30 minute TV episode, but it has something in common with a three-and-a-half hour epic: the Martin Scorsese masterpiece, "The Irishman" (2019), which I consider the best gangster movie ever made. "Purse Snatcher" and "The Irishman" are both stories that address the question of how we spend our lives.
The main character of "The Irishman" is mob man Frank Sheeran, played by Robert De Niro. Frank's life of crime has ended. Benjie's life of crime has only begun. "The Irishman" is narrated by the elderly Frank, who tells his life story.
What about Benjie? Will he even get a chance to tell his story?
