Siege of Terror (24 Oct. 1973)

A robbery of armored car guards morphs into a deadly hostage standoff, with bulldog Lt. Theo Kojak as the negotiator. Half the Talaba Brothers gang escapes with the cash, but when the other... See full summary »

Director:

William Hale

Writers:

Abby Mann (creator), Robert Heverly,

Stars:

Telly Savalas, Harvey Keitel, Dan Frazer

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Telly Savalas	...	Lt. Theo Kojak
Harvey Keitel	...	Jerry Talaba
Dan Frazer	...	Captain McNeil
Kevin Dobson	...	Bobby Crocker
James Sloyan	...	Jack Murzie (as James J. Sloyan)
William Hansen	...	Old Man Hostage
David Proval	...	Calvelli
Jude Farese	...	Mike Amazeen
John Garwood	...	Frank Talaba
Bart Burns	...	Deputy Commissioner
Rick Hurst	...	Crew Cut Hostage (as Richard Hurst)
Ralph James	...	Albie Linnick
Jannis Durkin	...	Woman Model Hostage
Alan Manson	...	Detective (as Allan Manson)
Arnold Soboloff	...	Mastin

Storyline

A robbery of armored car guards morphs into a deadly hostage standoff, with bulldog Lt. Theo Kojak as the negotiator. Half the Talaba Brothers gang escapes with the cash, but when the other half is cornered, they invade a surplus store, crammed with guns and ammo. The robbers also have bargaining chips: the 5 people in the building, plus a badly wounded patrolman, who dove in the store to warn of the incoming robbers. While young Detective Bobby Crocker pursues the thieves who got away, his boss at Manhattan South, the dapper, bald Kojak smooth-talks Jerry Talaba to get the hostages out. Hothead Talaba demands a crewed, fueled 707 at JFK, or he'll start killing the hostages, then toss them out before the TV cameras and hundreds of spectators - one by one.

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Plot Keywords:

police officer taken hostage | hostage situation | armored truck robbery | armored car robbery

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 1973 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Broad St & South St, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

51 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The police jacket for the dossier on Harvey Keitel's character, Jerry Talba, lists him as 5' 9". The actor is only 5' 7.5".

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Quotes

Jack Murzie: That's your goof, Kojak! I warned you: the first bullet's got your name on it.
Lt. Theo Kojak: I told you we needed more time.
Jack Murzie: Pass me a hankerchief, I cry easy.

User Reviews

One Nasty and Volatile Hostage Crisis

The first episode of Kojak sure started off with a bang. A good citizen spots an armored car holdup in progress and dials 911. The Manhattan South plainclothes detectives respond and half the gang gets away with the loot, but the other half goes across the Williamsburg Bridge and wouldn't you know it they take refuge in a sporting goods store with hostages and all kinds of guns.

Telly Savalas in his first appearance as Lieutenant Theo Kojak has one nasty and volatile hostage crisis on his hands. Harvey Keitel who even as a stone cold killer exhibits a certain amount of charisma and this was at the time he was coming into his own as a player. This is an episode with a lot of tension. And those first 10 minutes with a police chase across the bridge to rival Bullitt was one slam bang way to get this series started.

Kojak as a series sure got noticed in its debut.