The Death Squad (1974)

When petty criminals start turning up murdered, a detective discovers they are being killed by a group of his fellow officers who think the criminals were treated too leniently by the courts.

Director:

Harry Falk

Writers:

Ronald Austin, James D. Buchanan

Stars:

Robert Forster, Michelle Phillips, Claude Akins

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Forster	...	Eric Benoit
Michelle Phillips	...	Joyce Kreski
Claude Akins	...	Connie Brennan
Mark Goddard	...	Allen Duke
Melvyn Douglas	...	Police Captain Earl Kreski
Dennis Patrick	...	The Commissioner
George Murdock	...	Vern Acker
Stephen Young	...	Lieutenant Andrece
Kenneth Tobey	...	Hartman
Bert Remsen	...	The Chief
Jesse Vint	...	Harmon
Janis Hansen	...	Dispatcher
Nate Esformes	...	Pela
Regis Cordic	...	Judge
Sidney Clute	...	Driver

Storyline

A squad of policemen who disagree with court rulings take the law into their own hands and start to make justice with their own way. An investigator is assigned the task of discovering their identity and hunting them down.

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Plot Keywords:

police | abc movie of the week | murder | vigilante | revenge | 

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Taglines:

The law doesn't always work!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

TV-14

User Reviews

The Derivative Squad

What an incredibly crazy and pointless idea to do a TV-remake of the Clint Eastwood smash-hit "Magnum Force" not even one year after its release? That's like stopping at McDonald's for a burger right after you had a perfectly fine steak diner. This is probably also the reason why "The Death Squad" is completely unknown and that I could pick up an ex- rental copy for $0.20 at a flea market. Try purchasing "Magnum Force" for that price… As said, the plot of "The Death Squad" is pretty much identical to that of "Magnum Force", except of course that the emphasis more lies on the actual vigilante coppers instead of on the Dirty Harry trying to stop them. The movie boosts a multi-talented and experienced cast, which kind of makes you wonder why all these acclaimed names bother to appear in such a low-keyed TV-production. Perhaps they all thought the aforementioned Dirty Harry flick was too gratuitously violent? The lead roles are for Robert Forster ("Alligator" and "The Don is Dead") and Claude Akins (that really creepy guy from "The Farm") and in the supportive cast we find names like Melvyn Douglas, Jesse Vint and even that cherubic blond singer from the band The Mammas and the Pappas. Forster plays the dishonorably discharged inspector Eric Benoit, dragged back aboard of the police team by the commissioner himself because his city is suffering from a so-called death squad; a bunch of vigilante cops that "correct" the mistakes made by courthouses and annihilate the scum that walk the streets. Benoit is asked to investigate because he's an old-fashioned righteous police officer, but also the members of the death squad – including his direct partner and even his mentor – want him to join them. "The Death Squad" certainly isn't a bad movie. There are a couple of noteworthy moments of action and suspense, most of them thanks to Akins' creepy charisma and scary grimaces, but the plot is simply too predictable and derivative. There are literally hundreds of obscure but genuinely worthwhile made-for-TV thrillers available from the early 70's, so don't waste your time on this one.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 January 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Death Squad

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spelling-Goldberg Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1