Ben Marino Movies

Quincy (Jack Klugman) finds himself between the proverbial rock and a hard place after a prize horse named Star Chaser dies mysteriously after a big race. Insurance investigator Annie O'Connor (Katherine Justice) accuses wealthy Nelson Spencer of killing the horse to collect on a huge policy, and also of murdering a veterinarian to cover up his crime. Trouble is, Spencer is one of Quincy's best friends--and Annie is Quincy's current sweetheart. Real-life jockey Chris McCarron plays a key role in this episode, which was partially filmed at the fabled Santa Anita racetrack. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Quincy (Jack Klugman) positively identifies the charred remains of a motel-fire victim as being the body of Jessica Ross (Jessica Walter), the most popular and highest-paid female journalist in the country. Imagine Quincy susprise when, while appearing on a televised press conference to announce his finding, Jessica herself waltzes into the room, very much alive. Though advised to keep a low profile after this humiliating experience, Quincy intends to prove that the woman claiming to be Jessica is an impostor--and that a murder may have been committed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A meek, downtrodden man named Staley (Mario Roccuzzo) hopes to get even for a lifetime of being browbeaten and humiliated. His plan involves planting a time bomb in a high-rise office building, then tipping off the FBI. The problem facing Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is the fact that Staley has neglected to reveal the name of the city where the building is standing! Prominently featured in the cast is Victor French, soon to be a fixture of such Michael Landon-produced efforts as Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This gritty, fast-paced, and innovative police drama earned five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay (written by Ernest Tidyman), and Best Actor (Gene Hackman). Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (Hackman) and his partner, Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider), are New York City police detectives on narcotics detail, trying to track down the source of heroin from Europe into the United States. Suave Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) is the French drug kingpin who provides a large percentage of New York City's dope, and Pierre Nicoli (Marcel Bozzuffi) is a hired killer and Charnier's right-hand man. Acting on a hunch, Popeye and Buddy start tailing Sal Boca (Tony Lo Bianco) and his wife, Angie (Arlene Faber), who live pretty high for a couple whose corner store brings in about 7,000 dollars a year. It turns out Popeye's suspicions are right -- Sal and Angie are the New York agents for Charnier, who will be smuggling 32 million dollars' worth of heroin into the city in a car shipped over from France. The French Connection broke plenty of new ground for screen thrillers; Popeye Doyle was a highly unusual "hero," an often violent, racist, and mean-spirited cop whose dedication to his job fell just short of dangerous obsession. The film's high point, a high-speed car chase with Popeye tailing an elevated train, was one of the most viscerally exciting screen moments of its day and set the stage for dozens of action sequences to follow. And the film's grimy realism (and downbeat ending) was a big change from the buff-and-shine gloss and good-guys-always-win heroics of most police dramas that preceded it. The French Connection was inspired by a true story, and Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, Popeye and Buddy's real life counterparts, both have small roles in the film. A sequel followed four years later. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi