The Glass Shield (1994)

Two cops become compelled to act against corruption and discrimination within their police precinct.

Director:

Charles Burnett

Writers:

Charles Burnett, John Eddie Johnson (screenplay "One of Us")

Stars:

Michael Boatman, Lori Petty, Erich Anderson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Erich Anderson	...	District Attorney Ira Kern
Richard Anderson	...	Watch Commander Clarence Massey
Thomas Babson	...	U.S. Marshall
Monty Bane	...	Coroner
Ernie Lee Banks	...	Mr. Woods
Michael Boatman	...	Deputy J.J. Johnson
Jean Hubbard-Boone	...	Mrs. Woods
James Boyce	...	Paramedic #1
Gaye Shannon-Burnett	...	Woman Driver
Bernie Casey	...	James Locket
Linden Chiles	...	Sergeant Berry Foster
Janet Claire	...	Juror
Victor Contreras	...	Mr. Cruz
Wanda De Jesus	...	Carmen Munoz
Bill Dearth	...	Guard

Storyline

J.J. is a rookie in the Sheriff's Department and the first black officer at that station. Racial tensions run high in the department as some of J.J.'s fellow officers resent his presence. His only real friend is the other new trooper, the first female officer to work there, who also suffers similar discrimination in the otherwise all-white-male work environment. When J.J. becomes increasingly aware of police corruption during the murder trial of Teddy Woods, who he helped to arrest, he faces difficult decisions and puts himself into great personal danger in the service of justice.

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Plot Keywords:

police corruption | rookie | sheriff | murder | police | 

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Taglines:

In a world filled with violence... his only weapon is the truth!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense dramatic material

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 June 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Auf Ehre und Gewissen

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,146,748, 4 June 1995, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,313,633

Company Credits

Production Co:

CiBy 2000,Miramax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Teddy Woods (Ice Cube) says. "Like the song says, 'My skin is my sin,'" which is the title of one of Cube's B-sides.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film Johnson's training officer, Chuck Gilmore, gets upset with him for not ticketing the woman in the red convertible for speeding and Gilmore decides to take over the wheel himself. Immediately after that we see their car chasing the red convertible again with a brief shot during the chase of Gilmore sitting in the passenger seat.

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Connections

Referenced in Love and Death on Long Island (1997)

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Soundtracks

Em Yeu Anh
Performed by Mary Lou Taylor
Music and Lyrics by Stephen James Taylor, BMI

User Reviews

An insult to your intelligence!

I'm surprised this wasn't a made for TV film! It has the look of a TV production, it was most likely video taped. The writing and direction is not up to movie standards. While they do have some veteran actors; they performances were tainted by poor writing. The writer decided that rather then rely on well written story with just a few of the points he wanted to make; he decided to throw every racism cliché into this one. And while the story is just plain silly; the poor direction leads to some pretty poor performances. I'm sure many of the actors in this film don't list this as one they are proud of. We all know that there are abuses by law enforcement; but this writer/director is beating us over the head with this script. If your looking for a well written, well acted story that make you feel like you got your monies worth; avoid this film like the plague. Written at about a 4th grade level.