A routine nighttime stakeout. A shadowy figure. A foot chase, with shots fired. And then...every police officer’s nightmare. David Janssen (Macho Callahan, TV’s The Fugitive) heads an all-star cast in this absorbing crime drama set in Los Angeles. Janssen is Tom Valens, an L.A.P.D. sergeant who fatally shoots what he perceives to be an armed suspect...but the man’s purported “weapon” is nowhere to be found. And, moreover, the deceased is a respected doctor with a seemingly impeccable reputation and character. Charged with manslaughter and suspended from the force, Sgt. Valens ignores public outcry and sets out to gather the puzzle’s pieces, produce the “missing” gun...and clear his name. Steve Allen, Ed Begley, Joan Collins, Lillian Gish, George Grizzard, Carroll O’Connor, Eleanor Parker, Walter Pidgeon, Stefanie Powers, George Sanders, Sam Wanamaker and Keenan Wynn are among the Hollywood luminaries featured in this taut and gripping thriller, directed and produced by Buzz Kulik (Shamus) with a sparkling jazz score by Jerry Goldsmith (Lonely Are the Brave).
