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The Cross and the Switchblade ()


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Long before faith-based films became a regular feature of mainstream movie theaters, there was "The Cross and The Switchblade," the story of Pastor David Wilkerson and gang member Nicky Cruz.

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David Wilkerson
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Nicky Cruz
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Rosa (as Jackie Giroux)
Jo-Ann Robinson ...
Little Bo
Dino DeFilippi ...
Israel
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Abdullah
Gil Frazier ...
Big Cat
Don Lamond ...
Sergeant Delano
Sam Capuano ...
Hector Gomez
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Mingo
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Moonlight (as Hector Mercado)
Stew Silver ...
Augie
Dorothy James ...
Graciela Gomez
David Connell ...
Pusher
Michelle Galjour ...
Angela
Jackie Cronin ...
Norma
Virginia Alonso ...
Mary
Steven Blackwell ...
Bottlecap (as Darryl Speer)
Thomas Mooney ...
Chance
Vince O'Brien ...
Judge (as Vincent O'Brien)
Jay Devlin ...
District Attorney
Paul Haney ...
Lawyer
Victor Bumbalo ...
Hugo
Stanley Finesmith ...
Trial Defendant
Sal Christi ...
Court Policeman
Andrew T. Murphy ...
Reporter
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Photographer
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Mau Mau Deb
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Bishop Deb
Mark Dawson ...
Policeman
Norman Bly ...
Heckler
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mark Hall ...
Teen-ager (uncredited)
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Gang Member (uncredited)
Philip Suriano ...
Chi-Chi (uncredited)

Directed by

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Don Murray

Written by

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Don Murray ... (screenplay) and
James Bonnet ... (screenplay)
 
Elizabeth Sherrill ... (book)
 
John Sherrill ... (book)
 
David Wilkerson ... (novel)

Produced by

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Ken Curtis ... associate producer
Tom Harris ... associate producer
Dick Ross ... producer

Music by

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Ralph Carmichael

Cinematography by

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Julian C. Townsend ... director of photography

Editing by

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Angelo Ross

Casting By

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Kleg Seth

Art Direction by

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Charles Bailey

Costume Design by

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Pearl Somner

Makeup Department

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John Jiras ... makeup artist

Production Management

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Robert Baron ... in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Sam Bennerson ... second assistant director (as Samuel N. Bennerson)
Steve Marshall ... assistant director (as Steven M. Marshall)

Sound Department

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Christopher Newman ... sound (as Chris Newman)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Martin Gaiptman ... wardrobe (as Martin D. Gaiptman)

Music Department

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Ralph Carmichael ... conductor

Script and Continuity Department

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Renata Stoia ... continuity

Additional Crew

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Nicky Cruz ... technical advisor
Sue Leyden ... assistant to producer
Noni Rock ... production secretary
Maria Van Slyke ... unit publicist (as Maria VanSlyke)
David Wilkerson ... technical advisor
Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

David Wilkerson is a relatively-young parish priest in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania. With nominal funds, insufficient even to get a hotel room which forces him to sleep in his car, his church sends him to New York City to bring the word of God to the young men and youth of the Egyptian Kings, who are on trial for their violent gang activities. David hopes God will be their salvation. Although David is not allowed to get near the Egyptian Kings, his trip to the courthouse garners much publicity; because of it, David meets a tough street youth named Little Bo, who offers to introduce David to the main gangs still out on the streets, namely the mixed-white Mau Maus and the predominantly-Black Bishops, who are fighting each other for territory. Who the gangs hate more than each other, however, are the authorities. David turns his attentions to the two gangs and wants them to know that God loves them no matter who they are or what they do, and in doing so will guide them to make the right choices in life. He and his messages may be difficult to penetrate into the groups, but the general consensus is that if he can get through to Nicky Cruz, one of the leaders of the Mau Maus, he will be able to get through to anyone. But David hopes to get through to them all at his own risk, especially as Nicky continually threatens him. Another whom he sees who is especially in trouble is Rosa, Nicky's "girl," who will do anything to get the money to get her two-injections-per-day heroin fixes. Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines Now an explosive motion picture! See more »
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Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • La cruz y el puñal (United States, Spanish title)
  • La croix et le poignard (France)
  • La cruz y el puñal (Spain)
  • Das Kreuz und die Messerhelden (West Germany)
  • Korset och stiletten (Sweden)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 106 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Did You Know?

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Trivia According to "Run Baby Run", the autobiography of Nicky Cruz, the Mau Mau gang actually wore black leather jackets with crimson double M's on the back instead of red jackets with white double M's, as depicted in the film. See more »
Goofs The story takes place in the early 1950s, but in one scene Big Cat references Medicaid, which wasn't established until 1965. The original story took place in the 1950s, but the movie took place in its "present day", circa 1970. See more »
Movie Connections Referenced in Clay Pigeon (1971). See more »
Quotes Nicky Cruz: You come near me and I'll kill you!
David Wilkerson: Yeah, you could do that. You could cut me up into a thousand pieces and lay them in the street, and every piece will still love you.
See more »

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