On W List of Movie Reviews
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Warning Shot (1967)
Rate:
7
Viewed:
11/21
11/21:
The Fugitive's David Janssen finds himself in another fix for Warning Shot.
Although the movie may be old, the mystery is at once intriguing and relevant in this day and age. Plenty of police officers
have been arrested for shooting deaths, and because of the widespread use of video technology, some of them are
found guilty of their actions. At the same time, there's a lot of neo-noir going on.
For Sergeant Tom Valens, it's obvious the deceased was in the wrong. He was ordered to freeze but ran away and
then, in the heat of the moment, pulled something out (which was actually a gun but a rubbery one at that) from inside of his
jacket. While the mystery was afoot, I made a guess that the gun had to be made out of drugs due to dissolving in the pool (think of
Traffic), but after the revelation was made, I came close to being correct.
The cast is somewhat all star in name, but most of them are forgotten. Although difficult to recognize, Carroll O'Connor plays the
judge. Ed Begley is Valens' boss while Joan Collins has the part of estranged wife. A silent film legend of her time,
Lillian Gish plays the foolish old maid. George Sanders is Calvin York at the brokerage firm, and Steve Allen appears as the
odious TV gossipmonger. The deceased's wife is Eleanor Parker. There's the appearance of Jerry Dunphy, the famed Los Angeles
news anchor. Sam Wanamaker, Walter Pidgeon, Stefanie Powers, and George Grizzard, among others, round out the rest.
All in all, Warning Shot comes through well for a dated policier.