The Blue Knight (film)

Last updated
The Blue Knight
The Blue Knight 1973.jpg
Print advertisement
Genre
  • Action
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Thriller
Based on The Blue Knight
by Joseph Wambaugh
Written byE. Jack Neuman
Directed by Robert Butler
Starring William Holden
Lee Remick
Joe Santos
Composer Nelson Riddle
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producer Lee Rich
ProducerWalter Coblenz
Production location Los Angeles
CinematographyMichael Margulies
Editors
Running time188 minutes
Production company Lorimar Productions
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseNovember 11 (1973-11-11) –
November 14, 1973 (1973-11-14)
Related
The Blue Knight (TV series)

The Blue Knight is a 1973 television and theatrical film adapted from Joseph Wambaugh's 1973 novel The Blue Knight . It inspired the 1975 TV series also titled The Blue Knight . The miniseries was broadcast on NBC TV in November 1973, consisted of four one-hour episodes (including commercials), was directed by Robert Butler, and featured an all star cast headed by William Holden as Police Officer Bumper Morgan. The additional cast includes Lee Remick, Anne Archer, Sam Elliott, Joe Santos, and Vic Tayback. It was later released as a film in condensed form.

Contents

Premise

Bumper Morgan is a 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department who is scheduled to retire in a week. Before he leaves, he must work on the murder of a prostitute in one of LA's far corners. Along the way, he must grapple with vicious thugs, his fellow officers who have mixed feelings about his retirement, and his woman who wants him to leave the streets.

Cast

Production

Holden said he was surprised to be cast as Morgan, as he thought Ernest Borgnine or Rod Steiger would have been preferred. [1] Shooting took seven weeks. [2] The Blue Knight was filmed as a four-episode miniseries of 60 minutes each for the US market and a 100-minute theatrical film for European markets. [3] It was one of the first miniseries on American television. [4]

Reception

The film was broadcast on four consecutive evenings, beginning on November 11, 1973, [2] and received positive reviews. [4] Jay Sharbutt of the Associated Press praised the miniseries' realism and wrote that readers "ought to catch this show". [5] Rick Du Brow of United Press International wrote that the miniseries' length allows it to unfold slowly and create a "cohesive dramatic atmosphere", unlike typical TV films. [6] Time Out London , in a retrospective review of the theatrical cut, called it "seminal stuff" and wrote that it is more interesting for its influence on following police dramas than its story. [7]

Awards

Emmys went to William Holden (in his first TV film role), [8] director Robert Butler, and editors Marjorie and Gene Fowler Jr. Lee Remick received an Emmy nomination. The show was also nominated for Outstanding Limited Series. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Remick</span> American actress (1935–1991)

Lee Ann Remick was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film Days of Wine and Roses (1962) and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role in Wait Until Dark (1966). She also earned seven Emmy Award nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan Fairchild</span> American actress (born 1950)

Morgan Fairchild is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series since then.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Daniels</span> American actor (born 1927)

William David Daniels is an American actor who is known for his television roles, notably as Mark Craig on the drama series St. Elsewhere, for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards; the voice of KITT on the television series Knight Rider; and George Feeny on the sitcom Boy Meets World, which earned him four People's Choice Award nominations. He reprised his Knight Rider role in the sequel TV movie Knight Rider 2000 and his Boy Meets World role in the sequel series Girl Meets World. He also portrayed Carter Nash in Captain Nice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Wambaugh</span> American writer, former policeman (born 1937)

Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh Jr. is an American writer known for his fictional and nonfictional accounts of police work in the United States. Many of his novels are set in Los Angeles and its surroundings and feature Los Angeles police officers as protagonists. He won three Edgar Awards, and was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vic Tayback</span> American actor (1930-1990)

Victor Tayback was an American actor. He was best known for his role as diner owner Mel Sharples on the television sitcom Alice (1976–1985), as well as his multiple guest appearances on The Love Boat (1977–1987). The former earned him two consecutive Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. Epatha Merkerson</span> American actress (born 1952)

S. Epatha Merkerson is an American actress. She has received accolades for her work, including an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, four NAACP Image Awards, two Obie Awards, and two Tony Award nominations. She is known for her portrayal of NYPD Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the NBC police procedural drama series Law & Order, a role she played from 1993 to 2010, appearing in 388 episodes of the series. She is also known for playing Reba the Mail Lady on Pee-wee's Playhouse and Sharon Goodwin in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med since the series premiered in November 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stefanie Powers</span> American actress (born 1942)

Stefanie Powers is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television series Hart to Hart (1979–1984), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Elliott</span> American actor (born 1944)

Samuel Pack Elliott is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades of film and television, he is recognized for his deep sonorous voice. Elliott has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niecy Nash</span> American actress, comedian, and television host (born 1970)

Carol Denise Betts, known professionally as Niecy Nash, is an American actress, comedian, and television host. Her acting career began in the late 1990s, with appearances in the films Boys on the Side (1995) and Cookie's Fortune (1999). She garnered recognition for her portrayal of Deputy Raineesha Williams in the comedy series Reno 911!, along with hosting the Style Network show Clean House (2003—2010), for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor</span> American actress (born 1969)

Aunjanue L. Ellis-Taylor is an American actress. She has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kay Lenz</span> American actress (born 1953)

Kay Ann Lenz is an American actress. She is the recipient of a Daytime Emmy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Saturn Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Jefferson Jr.</span> American actor (born 1946)

Herbert Jefferson Jr., is an American film, television, and stage actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Sargent</span> American film director and actor (1925–2014)

Joseph Sargent was an American film director. Though he directed many television movies, his best known feature-length works were arguably the action movie White Lightning starring Burt Reynolds, the biopic MacArthur starring Gregory Peck, and the horror anthology Nightmares. His most popular feature film was the subway thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. Sargent won four Emmy Awards over his career.

<i>Around the World in 80 Days</i> (miniseries) 1989 multi-national TV series or program

Around the World in 80 Days is a three-part television miniseries originally broadcast on NBC from April 16 to 18, 1989. The production garnered three nominations for Emmy awards that year. The teleplay by John Gay is based on the 1873 Jules Verne novel of the same title.

The Alpha Caper is a 1973 American made-for-television crime thriller film directed by Robert Michael Lewis. It stars Henry Fonda as an embittered parole officer forced into early retirement, who decides to take revenge against the city officials by stealing a gold shipment being moved to a new depository. The television film was the final production of producer Aubrey Schenck and was a television pilot for an American television series called Crime.

<i>The Blue Knight</i> (TV series) 1975 American TV series or program

The Blue Knight is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from December 17, 1975 until October 20, 1976. It stars George Kennedy as Officer Bumper Morgan. The show was based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Joseph Wambaugh and produced by Lorimar Productions. It was also inspired by the 1973 TV film The Blue Knight, starring William Holden, which ran before the TV show premiered.

<i>This Years Blonde</i> 1980 American TV series or program

This Year's Blonde is a 1980 American television film directed by John Erman and starring Constance Forslund as Marilyn Monroe, Lloyd Bridges as Johnny Hyde, and Norman Fell. Based on the Garson Kanin novel Moviola about Monroe, the film was presented as part of a three-night TV special event on NBC titled Moviola: A Hollywood Saga.

<i>Death of a Salesman</i> (1966 American film) 1966 American TV series or program

Death of a Salesman is a 1966 American made-for-television video adaptation of the 1949 play of the same name by Arthur Miller. It was directed by Alex Segal and adapted for television by Miller. It received numerous nominations for awards, and won several of them, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Directors Guild of America Award and a Peabody Award. It was nominated in a total of 11 Emmy categories at the 19th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1967. Lee J. Cobb reprised his role as Willy Loman and Mildred Dunnock reprised her role as Linda Loman from the original 1949 stage production.

<i>The Blue Knight</i> (novel) 1972 novel by Joseph Wambaugh

The Blue Knight is the second novel by former Los Angeles Police detective Joseph Wambaugh, written while he was still a serving detective. Published in 1972, it follows the last days on the beat for a veteran LAPD police officer, detailing his thoughts and actions from a first person perspective. The narrative is written in a coarse, sometimes self-deprecating manner; in the first chapter, Bumper refers to himself as having "an ass two nightsticks wide".

The Letter is a 1982 American television movie, starring Lee Remick, Ronald Pickup, Jack Thompson, Ian McShane and Christopher Cazenove and directed by John Erman. It is the third film version of the 1927 play of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham.

References

  1. ↑ Witbeck, Charles (1973-11-10). "Bill Holden Is Blue Knight in 'Serial' Movie This Week". The Blade . p. TV-1.
  2. 1 2 Stelzer, Dick (1973-11-11). "Awed by His 'Blue Knight'". Chicago Tribune . p. 5.
  3. ↑ Thomas, Bob (1973-08-27). "William Holden Pounds the Beat". Montreal Gazette . Associated Press. p. 34.
  4. 1 2 Capua, Michelangelo (2009). William Holden: A Biography. McFarland & Company. ISBN   9780786455508.
  5. ↑ Sharbutt, Jay (1973-11-14). "'Blue Knight' Series Well Worth Your Time". The Register-Guard . Associated Press. p. 58.
  6. ↑ Du Brow, Rick (1973-11-15). "'Blue Knight' Offers Moving Study in Humanity". Pittsburgh Press . United Press International. p. 62.
  7. ↑ "The Blue Knight". Time Out London . 10 September 2012. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  8. ↑ Gray, Tim (2016-04-17). "William Holden: The Golden Boy of Vintage Hollywood". Variety . Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  9. ↑ "The Blue Knight". Emmys.com . Retrieved 2016-05-12.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.