Chiefs 

Three generations of police chiefs for a southern town go about their jobs while a serial murderer operates.

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Keith Carradine, Stephen Collins

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Charlton Heston	...	Hugh Holmes 3 episodes, 1983
Keith Carradine	...	Foxy Funderburke 3 episodes, 1983
Stephen Collins	...	Billy Lee 3 episodes, 1983
Brad Davis	...	Sonny Butts 3 episodes, 1983
Tess Harper	...	Carrie Lee 3 episodes, 1983
Wayne Rogers	...	Will Henry Lee 3 episodes, 1983
Paul Sorvino	...	Sheriff Skeeter Willis 3 episodes, 1983
Victoria Tennant	...	Trish Lee 3 episodes, 1983
Billy Dee Williams	...	Tyler Watts (aka Joshua Cole) 3 episodes, 1983
Lane Smith	...	Hoss Spence 3 episodes, 1983
Leo Burmester	...	Emmett Spence 2 episodes, 1983
Kaiulani Lee	...	Mrs. Butts 2 episodes, 1983
Novella Nelson	...	Nellie Cole 2 episodes, 1983
J. Kenneth Campbell	...	Dr. Tom Manton 2 episodes, 1983
James Brown Henderson	...	Pieback Johnson 2 episodes, 1983
Leon Rippy	...	Tommy Allen 2 episodes, 1983

Storyline

This series tells the story of a southern town's police chiefs and the serial murderer who confounds them. Will Henry Lee is the first chief, an easygoing man who works to establish the position while the murderer begins his havoc. The second is a violent racist who stumbles about his job as the murderer continues his. Tyler Watts is the final chief in the story, an African-American cop who must deal with the virulent racism of his community while he puts together the pieces to finally bring the murderer to justice.

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Plot Keywords:

tv mini series | police chief | ku klux klan | murder investigation | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

An epic adventure seeming with power, love and hatred.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chefia

Filming Locations:

Chester, South Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Highgate Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

229 min (video) 283 min (3 parts)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The book indicates that the story took place in Georgia. The book also indicates that Delano is a fictitious town.

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Goofs

Chief Watts is driving on Highway 41 and he sees a blond boy walking on the other side of the road, going in the same direction. After they talk, the boy starts hitchhiking to get a ride heading in the direction he originally came from.

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Quotes

Skeeter Willis: [to Tyler] Now listen, Boy, I don't care how long you was a MP. You doin' business in my county now, and I just might go outta my way to show you what that means.

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Alternate Versions

There is a video version that sometimes shows up on cable. It cuts the running time from six to four hours and mainly skims the middle story of Sonny Butts.

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Connections

Remade as Chiefs (2018)

User Reviews

A Great Story

This is definitely one story I wish someone would either release on DVD or show on television again. This is a wonderful story that shows is a wonderful look at how life was in the south as shown through the eyes of three generations of police chiefs. Wayne Rogers is great in his role as the first chief, Will Henry Lee, and Brad Davis is great as the racist chief Sonny Butts. However, Billy Dee Williams gives an outstanding performance as Chief Tyler Watts (aka Joshua Cole), the chief who manages to break the case that had been dogging the town for years. Also, Keith Carradine plays the perfect killer in Foxy. His portrayal of the maniacal serial killer really gave you the impression that he had a dark side. But the performance that really surprised me was Charleton Heston as town founder, Hugh Holmes. Normally, I'm not the biggest fan of Mr. Heston, but he turned out an outstanding performance as the man who is the tie to the three generations of police chiefs. This mini-series is definitely a classic.