Little Ladies of the Night (1977)

The sister of ex-pimp and current Los Angeles Police detective Kyle York was murdered working the streets a few years ago. Since his reform, he has teamed with Officer Russ Garfield to ... See full summary »

Director:

Marvin J. Chomsky

Writers:

Ted Morgan (story), Hal Sitowitz

Stars:

David Soul, Louis Gossett Jr., Linda Purl

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Soul	...	Lyle York
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Russ Garfield
Linda Purl	...	Hailey Atkins
Clifton Davis	...	Comfort
Carolyn Jones	...	Marilyn Atkins
Paul Burke	...	Frank Atkins
Lana Wood	...	Maureen
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Karen Brodwick
Vic Tayback	...	Finch
Katherine Helmond	...	Miss Colby
Dorothy Malone	...	Maggie
Bibi Osterwald	...	Matron
Sandra Deel	...	Mrs. Brodwick
David Hayward	...	Brady
James Ray	...	First Senator

Storyline

The sister of ex-pimp and current Los Angeles Police detective Kyle York was murdered working the streets a few years ago. Since his reform, he has teamed with Officer Russ Garfield to clear the streets of underage girls working in prostitution. Pretty, young runaway Hailey Atkins has been turned out. Down deep she wants to go straight, but has had great difficultly escaping her pimp, and doesn't even have a place to go. York and Garfield go out on a limb to try and help.

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Plot Keywords:

runaway | police | pimp | prostitution | unhappiness | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite looking the part of an underage girl, Linda Purl was twenty-one-years-old when this movie aired.

User Reviews

Diamond alley

Linda Purl is Hailey Atkins, a 14 year old runaway who becomes a prostitute in the stable of pimp Comfort (Clifton Davis). Hailey has left her parents because her mother Marilyn (Carolyn Jones) is jealous of the attention her husband Frank (Paul Burke) gives their daughter. Detective Russ Garfield (Lou Gosset) and Advisor Lyle ‘Stick' York (David Soul) try to help Hailey to get away from Comfort.

Purl looks too old to play a 14 year old and uses an inexpressiveness to convey youth. In comparison, she is easily out-performed by Kathleen Quinlan who plays the 15 year old experienced `lady' Karen Brodwick. However in one scene, where Hailey tells Lyle to stop helping her, there is a glimpse of the actress Purl is later to become.

The teleplay by Hal Sitowitz, suggested by an article by Ted Morgan, is presented as a morality tale, where Hailey resorts to prostitution when rejected by her mother, sought by the police as a minor who is a runaway which is against the law, and subjected to a pornography ring in a detection centre. Her mother describes Hailey's role as `another woman' to her husband, and prostitution is here given the slang `flatbacking'. The treatment also has Comfort's ladies represented by his number 1 Maureen (Lana Wood) rationalise his abuse as love, and in a perverse scene, when Hailey returns to him, he has his women seek physical revenge for her betrayal. However the one interesting touch is the unresolved future presented for Hailey.

Director Marvin J Chomsky gets a laugh from a policewoman role-calling Hailey after she tells Lyle her name, but regrettably makes Jones look unflattering.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Diamond Alley

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spelling-Goldberg Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1