Get Christie Love! (1974 TV Movie) User Reviews

Good Given the Limitations It Likely Had to Overcome to Get on Television.

[Space_Mafune · 6/10 · 10 February 2006]

When Captain Casey Reardon (played by Harry Guardino) learns that notorious gangster boss Enzo Cortino (Paul Stevens) possesses a secret ledger which could potentially be used to bring him to justice and said ledger is supposedly within the possession of his girlfriend Helena Varga (Louise Sorel), Reardon sends a brash but known for getting results, spirited and spunky young black female detective named Christie Love (Teresa Graves) on undercover assignment hoping she will be able to get to the heart of what makes Helena Varga tick so Ms. Varga will be convinced to co-operate and with her aid and possibly that of Cortino's "ledger", the police will finally be able to bring down Enzo Cortino once and for all.

Well a blaxploitation television movie had to be something somewhat groundbreaking back in 1974. Obviously this couldn't deliver the same level of violent thrills and nudity as was frequently evidenced in blaxploitation films of the period since it originally aired on television and was subject to television limitations in terms of what could and could not be shown. This element made it necessary for the plot to be more detailed than most films in the blaxploitation action vein so the focus here remains more on the mystery as it relates to Ms. Helena Varga's rather elusive past which means we see Christie actually do a surprising amount of detective work in this story. One negative element that affects the overall impact this one has is it's the subject matter seems to be aimed more towards a white audience than a black one and plays more to common expectation of non-blaxploitation detective television series from the time and era.

Personally I feel Teresa Graves does a terrific job here and really manages to convey a lot of information in a relatively short amount of time, enough to make her character one we immediately come to like and root on. All in all, this proves successful both in terms of introducing us to a lead character and providing the basic underlying set-up necessary for a TV series to follow as well as most any other TV Pilot I've ever seen and they must have done something right because a TV Series followed shortly thereafter.

"You're under arrest sugah!"

[Blooeyz2001 · 5/10 · 12 May 2002]

Blaxploitation flicks were very popular in the early 70's. "Get Christie Love!" was a watered-down TV movie version of this genre about a female detective. It was also turned into a short lived TV series ('74-'75). It's star, Teresa Graves was the first black actress to have a one hour television series. She was featured on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In", appeared in some films, & was a member of the pop group The Doodletown Pipers. She also released a self-titled solo album in 1970 (songs included "Everybody's Talking'", "My Cherie Amour", "Hey Jude", & "A Time For Us" among others). In the TV movie, Christie is tracking down a drug dealer's ledger. She knocks out the bad guys with her large handbags & karate chops them unconscious. This cartoon aspect of the movie was later toned down in the TV show. I was about 14 when the series was on the air, & it was shown at the same time as the popular "Police Woman" with Angie Dickinson, which never made any sense to me. I liked both shows, so I alternated between them each week. This time slot may have added to it's downfall. (Purchase this on VHS, because the cheapo DVD's that are floating around out there, so far, are atrocious!)

Kickass Heroine, not so Kickass Movie

[gridoon · 5/10 · 21 March 2006]

"Get Christie Love!" is included in many DVD packages along with "TNT Jackson", and the two films do have a lot of things in common: most importantly, they both have black female action leads who have the right attitude for their roles down pat, but their actual fight scenes leave a lot to be desired. "Get Christie Love" doesn't have nearly as much action as "TNT Jackson", but Teresa Graves is a better actress than Jeanne Bell, and (in my opinion at least) prettier as well. However, this film is hurt by the flat direction, a dreary pace and an uninteresting plot that wastes far too much time with an investigation about an adopted kid. And I have to agree with a previous reviewer, the DVD transfer is pretty bad. You turn the volume almost all the way up and you still can't listen to the dialogue clearly. (**)

Teresa Graves show should have done better!

[Hoohawnaynay · 8 August 2003]

It's sad this TV Movie & later a TV series never made it. It was better than some other cop shows that were on at the time. The beautiful Teresa Graves had lots of charm & charisma and made this worth watching. Watered down compared to the Pam Grier movies of the era. Funniest scene is the beginning of this TV movie where Teresa is a cop posing as a hooker and when she tells a "John" her price is $100 he calls her a nigger and she responds with "nigger lover". Try doing that today! Surprising this was 1974. Louise Sorel is a standout as a gangster's girlfriend who gets into a tussle or two with "Christie". I remember how cool I thought Teresa Graves was at the time driving around in her VW Convertible kicking men's butts and karate chopping men taller than she was. The later TV series was just as good, I don't know why it was cancelled, it was more fun than Barnaby Jones or Petrocelli or any of those other shows starring white men (how cliche). I hope they do a remastered DVD of this, the cheapie I have looks like a bad TV print transferred to DVD (snap, crackle, pop!)

A great battle of poor actors

[birdy123 · 5/10 · 9 August 2008]

Christie Love's friends, enemies, and co-workers live in an alternate-reality world that attempts to depict Los Angeles in the early 1970's. Not the way it really was, but the way the scriptwriters wanted it to be. Along the way, expect Ms Love to blatantly flip off her boss and get away with it, for him to make advances to her when there's no apparent chemistry, and for her to behave like Superwoman "with emotions". One of the bad guys simply lets himself be flipped out an upper-story window. It doesn't matter that he weighs over twice what she does, if you look closely enough, he's actually helping her. What a guy! Did I say that almost everyone she knows in this movie dies? Ms. Graves also appears to be in a contest with everyone else to see who can be the worst actor. It's fun watching who's worse, it pays to actually have a scorecard. You can rank Harry Guardino first for the bad opening, and then keep notes from there.

This movie actually succeeds in points, despite itself. They put a bit of money into it, there are some good production values - I mean the now-vintage cars sometimes project better than the humans, but hey, the scale I'm using refers to television, not the cinema. You won't be crying with the actors as much as laughing at them, but you won't be turning this show off, either.

I had no trouble with the volume on my copy. But, at two DVD's for a dollar in my local supermarket, I don't feel ripped off either.

DVD transfer is inaudible

[TheSmutPeddler · 6/10 · 6 January 2006]

I would give "Get Christie Love!" a higher score if the Brentwood DVD transfer had sound that I could actually HEAR. I turned my volume up all the way and still couldn't hear half of what was going on. This is a major disappointment since I remember seeing and enjoying "Get Christie Love!" when it was first broadcast (I was about eleven years old at the time). Teresa Graves made a likable femme fatale and her groovy outfits and funky talk were a welcome addition to prime time TV. "Julia" always bored me, but "Christie Love" was a hoot. Sad that Ms. Graves got bitter and religious and finally burned to death, but that's just another example of what Hollywood success (or the lack thereof) can do to people ill-equipped to handle the bumpy ride. Bottom line: this was a very good TV-movie production and it has been rendered almost unwatchable by a lousy video transfer. Buyers (and renters) beware!

Usually, they put the best stuff into the pilot...usually!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 10 December 2016]

Imagine taking the gritty, sexy and very adult blacksploitation genre and transporting it to TV in the 1970s! There is absolutely no way that they could seriously tackle this genre for many reasons, such as the language, nudity, violence and hatred of 'the man'--all stuff they just couldn't do justice to on television! Yet some brilliant execs at ABC thought this would be a great idea...and this spawned "Get Christie Love". My review is only for the pilot movie...and I have no idea if the show was as god-awful...though I assume it must have been or worse, as usually they put some of the best stuff in the pilot!

When the film begins, Christie is on assignment to pose as a hooker in order to catch a serial killer. Her backup is apparently brainless and loses track of her...and so it's up to Christie to take out the psycho all by herself. Later, her boss inexplicably screams at her and tells her she did a lousy job. A short time later, she's undercover in a hotel room when the bellman tries to murder her*. She fights him off and he plunges to his death. Later, her boss inexplicably screams at her and tells her she did a lousy job!! She also ends up getting to one of her leads when it's too late** as she's looking for a long-lost (and assume aborted) child.

"Get Christie Love!" is a bad film...and I am surprised that it did well enough to lead to a short-lived TV series. Teresa Graves was not a particularly good or believable actress, the writing was often atrocious and the story so sanitized and silly that I can't see it attracting much of an audience.

*The fight scene with the bellman is one of the most unintentionally hilarious scenes I've ever seen in a made for TV movie. At one point, the madman gets the gun away from Christie and it's lying next to him. Instead of picking it up and shooting her, he dives at her when she's standing on the balcony and essentially throws himself off to his death! It's sloppy AND stupid!

**A woman calls Christie with important information. BUT, she won't tell Christie over the phone...she wants Christie to meet her. Naturally this means the woman MUST die before telling Christie the whole story...an overly used cliché if I've ever seen one!

A Very Good Performance Despite the Inherent Limitations

[Uriah43 · 6/10 · 29 May 2013]

An informant tells "Captain Casey Reardon" (Harry Guardino) of the Los Angeles Police Department that a major heroin shipment is coming in and that a drug-lord's girlfriend named "Helena Varga" (Louise Sorel) has all of the information on a secret ledger. Initially an undercover police detective named "Christie Love" (Teresa Graves) is called in but when her cover is blown she is taken off the case. At least that is what Captain Reardon tells her. Christie, on the other hand, doesn't want to be taken off the case. Therefore she takes it upon herself to dig deeper in order to get Helena to cooperate. Having said all of that, I thought Teresa Graves put on a very good performance despite the inherent limitations a made-for-television movie has placed upon it. I especially liked the flirtatious interplay between Christie Love and Captain Reardon and the way she used her sex appeal to her advantage. Be that as it may, while this movie might seem a bit tame to some viewers, I enjoyed it for the most part and rate it as slightly above average.

Watered-down, made-for-TV blaxploitation.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 17 April 2015]

Undercover LAPD policewoman Christie Love (Teresa Graves) is sent to Florida to keep an eye on Helena Varga (Louise Sorel), girlfriend of organised crime boss Enzo Cortino (Paul Stevens), in the hope of laying her hands on a ledger that could bring down the kingpin's entire drugs empire.

Get Christie Love! is a 1974 made-for-TV blaxploitation movie inspired by the likes of Coffy, Foxy Brown and Cleopatra Jones. While star Teresa Graves certainly makes for a likable and attractive lead, she simply cannot compete with her big screen counterparts, the TV format watering down the elements that make the genre so much fun: the nudity and violence. Where Coffy strip off for sex before blowing a hole in her enemy with a shotgun, Love simply gives her opponents a pathetic karate chop and cuffs them. Her clothes remain on throughout.

3.5/10, rounded up to 4 for IMDb.

Teresa Graves, the PG Pam Grier.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 7 July 2017]

When you first see alleged street walker Teresa Graves, you can't help but think of all those tough characters played by Pam Grier in all those 1970's blaxploitation films. But there's no broken glass glued into her hair to shock the rival who tries to rip off her wig, and she's not an angel dust addict killing cops at point blank range like Grier did in "Fort Apache, the Bronx". She's an undercover cop coming off the case of discovering a serial killer of prostitutes, now ready for an even larger, more important assignment, tracking down the head of a heroine ring.

The key to her getting her foot into the door if cracking the crack ring us through the exotic Louise Sorel. Long before she walked dobermans with diamond collars on the soap "Santa Barbara" and burying people alive on "Days of Our Lives", Sorel was one of the most visible faces on primetime, and here is shear camp. Harry Guardino is her determined boss both irritated and amused by her.

I can see why there was enough attention to make a weekly TV series based upon this as Graves is obviously enjoying being the black Angie Dickinson. She's filled with sass yet still feminine, likable yet tough. She confronts each foe with confidence, giving them a warning of what their fate will be, and often right. I think the reason it failed unfortunately is that as good as she is, the audience was limited, and so were ideas that could be shown on a TV screen on a weekly basis. I'm sure ideas ran out quickly, so this is one of those missed opportunities that is fun for what it sets out to do, but was perhaps two decades too soon and treated far more amateurishly than it should have been.

Loved this show

[helenadair32 · 10/10 · 5 January 2020]

I love how Teresa acted in her series and I hated that this show was canceled after only 1 season, it was just as good as the other series that were out. She was a awesome actress with morals something some of the actors and actresses don't have today, they will do or say anything for the money, but I'm glad she wouldn't partake in certain roles for religious reasons, awesome Lady !!!!!

How did she ruin her career?

[themtb2007 · 5/10 · 23 February 2008]

I really find it offensive that this site said she "ruined her career" by turning down roles due to religious views. MORE black people needed to do the same so perhaps we still wouldn't be playing prostitutes, gang members, tough cops, scared comic relief aside white actors, and buffoons. She had hire morals and this site calls that a negative? So her infamous comment of the word "nigger" is positive? I am proud of this lady and her courage to NOT play negative roles. WHAT can ANYONE say against that? In todays times it is clear that many actors such as chris Tucker, play the typical scared black man roles, or even greats like richard prior took degrading roles in movies, never playing the brains till eddie murphy gave him the chance, but alas, eddie played the joke next to the white actor when he started off as well with nick nolte. So I feel Ms graves is a hero for black actors and actresses. Better to NOT work than play a pimp... Like the classic movie "hollywood shuffle" so aptly put it, "there is work at the post office"

spunky cop with attitude out to catch some bad guy.

[shantbe · 2/10 · 18 July 2009]

this movie sucked monkey butt. I could barely keep my eyes open watching. Teresa Graves was a horrible actress and I found the title character and her boss to be a couple of douche bags. I actually felt sorry for the woman that they were tailing. The way they harassed and extorted that poor woman was deplorable. If they put half as much effort into investigating the guy that they were actually after then maybe all their witnesses wouldn't have gotten killed. I don't even know why they were after the guy's ledgers in the first place. I understand the historical significance of the movie but it doesn't make it a good film even for TV. Nothing even happens until the last fifteen minutes of the movie and even then it's not particularly exciting. And like I said the title character is rude, obnoxious, annoying, and kind of stupid. And I know Teresa Graves was last minute substitution for Cicely Tyson, who had gotten injured, but come on! they couldn't find anyone better?

2 out of 10 stars and that's being very generous

An indelible character

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 8 February 2015]

Taking an honored place among the black exploitation characters of the Seventies is Teresa Graves and the indelible character she created in Get Christie Love. When she walked away from the series and later from show business all together she certainly was never forgotten.

I do remember her as a regular on Rowan&Martin back in the day and she was a talented woman with the ability to take herself not too seriously. Until she decided to become a Jehovah Witness. That was taking in to the max.

Christie Love is a LAPD policewoman who's real handy both with weapon and with fighting skills. When we first meet her she's taking down a serial rapist all by herself because her backup didn't get there on time to be of assistance. But her supervisor has bigger plans for her.

Harry Guardino playing the supervisor wants Graves to go undercover to find a ledger that drug kingpin Paul Stevens is supposed to have. Since the days of Al Capone those things are kept under the tightest of hoodlum security. Stevens certainly has one tightly secured operation. In these days before computers nothing is down on paper. All that they can learn for a while is that Louise Sorel has something to do with the books.

Teresa Graves was not alone or unique in putting religion first. Dolores Hart left movies to become a nun in the 60s. Later on Kirk Cameron made the same kind of demands on the producers of Growing Pains when he got into fundamentalist Christianity. Only Kirk came back using his celebrity for evangelism. Both Graves and Hart took a more private and more respectful approach to religion.

This was a television pilot, nothing spectacular or great about it except for Teresa Graves. She was unforgettable, RIP Teresa Graves.

YOU'RE NOT GETTING A TIP

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 14 December 2018]

Christie Love (Teresa Graves) is really a substandard cop who is too direct. She manages to subdue her opponent even though she can't kick her foot higher than a guy's kneecap. She goes after a heroin dealer with about as much tact as Peter Sellers. The film causally drops the n-word without anyone getting sued or charged with a hate crime. All the cops had big hair back then. There was no concern over warrants and jurisdictions. A credit card could open any dead bolt lock.

The film has camp value if you pay attention. Oh yes. It is nice to know a street hooker costs the same now as it did in 1974. How do they get by?

Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.

In an early scene a would-be John calls prostitute posing Christie the N-word when she asks for too much money. She causally walks off calling him a "N-lover." In 1974 I would not have thought nothing of this scene. Now it is worth noting in how times have changed in one generation.

Get Christie Love! Boasts a beautiful lead actress but little else

[kevin_robbins · 4/10 · 8 April 2024]

I recently watched Get Christie Love! (1974) on Prime. This TV movie, which later launched a television series by the same name, follows a charismatic police detective in search of her next big break. She believes she's found it when she uncovers clues leading to a drug lord. Can she bring down the drug lord and finally gain recognition for her work?

Directed by William A. Graham (Return to the Blue Lagoon), the film stars Teresa Graves (That Man Bolt), Harry Guardino (The Enforcer), Louise Sorel (Days of Our Lives), and Darlene Conley (The Bold and the Beautiful),

Set in the heart of the blaxploitation era, alongside the peaks of icons like Pamela Grier and the Cleopatra Jones pictures, "Get Christie Love!" aligns with the content of its time. Graves, though strikingly beautiful, delivers an inconsistent performance, and her fight scenes lack authenticity, failing to resonate, especially when facing male opponents. In comparison to Grier, she falls short. Additionally, the film lacks compelling car chases and shootouts, with a notably poorly executed "fall" scene adding to its flaws.

In conclusion, Get Christie Love! Boasts a beautiful lead actress but little else. I would rate it a 4/10 and recommend it solely to dedicated blaxploitation enthusiasts.

Teresa Graves shines in this fun TV movie

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 8 March 2019]

Brash policewoman Christie Love (a delightfully sassy and spirited performance by Teresa Graves) goes undercover to get the good on a nefarious heroin drug ring.

Director William A. Graham keeps the enjoyable and engrossing story moving along at a snappy pace, maintains a reasonably tough tone throughout, stages the exciting action set pieces with aplomb and competence, and tops everything off with an amusing sense of saucy humor. Graves brings a winning blend of spunk, sharp wit, and seriously smoldering sexiness to her juicy lead role; she receives sturdy support from Harry Guardino as gruff disapproving superior Captain Casey Reardon, Louise Sorel as the haughty Helena Varga, Paul Stevens as smooth ringleader Enzo Cortino, Lynne Holmes as pathetic junkie snitch Celia Jackson, and Tito Vandis as the antsy Spiliolis. The groovy score by Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson hits the swinging spot. A nifty teleflick.

TV movie

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 19 November 2023]

Directed by William Graham (Return to the Blue Lagoon) and written by George Kirgo, this is the pilot movie for the eventual series that starred Teresa Graves as Christie Love. Graves was the second African-American woman to star in her own television series after Diahann Carroll in Julia.

Based on the novel The Ledger by Dorothy Uhnak, this movie has the book's lead Christie Opara - a white NYPD detective - become black detective Christie Love. Obviously finding some inspiration from Coffy, Foxy Brown and Cleopatra Jones, Love even had her own catchphrase: "You're under arrest, sugah!"

Between the pilot and series, Graves became a Jehovah's Witness and demanded that the show not be as sexual as the movie, which had Christie having an affair with her captain. She's on the case of an informant, Helena Varga (Louise Sorel), who is about to testify against her boyfriend. There's also a serial killer that Christie goes undercover to catch.

It's nowhere near as exciting as the movies it wants to be. Graves is pretty good, however. The series lasted 22 episodes, which was a full first season. She would retire from acting and become really involved in her religion. Sadly, she died in 2002 after an accident in her apartment with a space heater.

The same year this was made, Graves also played Countess Vampira in Old Dracula.

TV movie Get Christie Love! is interesting for historical purposes

[tavm · 5/10 · 1 March 2007]

Based on the book, "The Ledger", Get Christie Love was the first time a black female portrayed a detective on network TV. Teresa Graves is adequately compelling as the cop with some attitude whose superior, Captain Reardon (Harry Guardino), has a major open flirtation with her that she seems to occasionally encourage. The main plot concerns the search of a drug dealer's ledger through the interrogation of the wife in order to bring him down. Despite some fight scenes and car chases that attract some attention, the pace seemed mostly dreary and I almost fell asleep before the end. The most interesting discovery for me, however, was the appearance of Ron Rifkin as a serial killer of prostitutes named Normand whom Christie catches in the beginning when she dresses as one. Rifkin would, nearly three decades later, play Sloane on one of the most exciting action series ever-Alias. Compared to that show, this TV movie that later became a series doesn't have as exciting fight scenes but I guess network censorship was more stricter then. Worth a look for historical purposes.

Not Forgotten.....

[riverheadestelle · 8/10 · 17 October 2005]

Teresa Graves started out as one of the bikini-clad dancers on 'Laugh-In' before she landed this somewhat forgotten role. This was another ABC network pilot which seemed to test well. It's significant in that she was the first black actress to have a leading role in a prime time police drama. The series was enjoyable although short-lived. In one episode, she showcases her singing talent where she covers the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out".

I loved this series because - let's face it - there weren't many characters of this sort on prime time television. Black females were often portrayed as the usual stereotypes: the mother on welfare, the noble hardworking maid or housekeeper, the hooker, etc. Never a cop before 'Get Christie Love!' as far as prime time television goes.

After the series failed, Teresa Graves left acting to pursue missionary work in Africa among other things. I was sad to find that the actress died a few years ago at the age of 54 from a fire in her home. Incidentally, she died the same year (2002) as another alumni ABC actor Dennis Patrick - from 'Dark Shadows'. This stands out to me because Mr. Patrick was scheduled to make an appearance at the 2002 "Dark Shadows" Halloweenathon convention in Tarrytown - normally held in October. He too, ironically enough, died in a fire that broke out at his home.

Enough Already! Okay, Folks, She Had Brown Skin!

[nneprevilo · 8/10 · 25 December 2005]

These reviewers prove that Americans are so obsessed with color, that they cannot even write a review without making a big deal out of the fact that the leading lady wasn't white with "blond eyes and blue hair!"

When I watch "Get Christy Love," all I can think of is how enjoyable this movie is and how beautiful and delightful Terera Graves is in the title role! People,we get it! She had brown skin. What do you expect her to do? Explode or turn to stone? Enough already! For the rest of us HUMAN BEINGS, just sit back and enjoy this interesting film.

Note: There was talk that Whitney Houston expressed interest in making a big screen version based on this character. But, like most stars of color, they sit back and wait for Hollywood to call (they are NOT going to call) and before they know it, they are too old to play the part. Why didn't Houston hire a screenwriter and put her money where her mouth was? She would have been perfect for this role.