David Janssen (a huge star at the time thanks to The Fugitive) headlines and the supporting cast is extraordinary - Stefanie Powers, Ed Begley, Joan Collins, Keenan Wynn, George Sanders, Lillian Gish, Eleanor Parker, Carroll O’Connor, Walter Pidgeon.
The basic setup is hardly dazzlingly original. Janssen is Detective Sergeant Tom Valens. He’s staking out an apartment building (trying to catch a psycho killer) on a very foggy night. A guy leaves the apartment house. He’s acting furtively and when he sees Valens he runs, Valens gives chase, the guy draws a gun and Valens shoots him dead. It would be an open-and-shut case of a cop shooting in self-defence except for one thing. The guy’s gun cannot be found, leading to the suspicion that there was no gun. Now Tom Valens is facing a manslaughter charge.
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As invariably happens in such stories Valens decides that the only way to save his career is to find out what really happened that night. He’s on suspension but he’s going to investigate the case anyway.
He has a suspicion that maybe the doctor wasn’t such a saint after all. He comes up with a couple of theories that might explain the doctor’s suspicious behaviour (the most obvious being that he was visiting his mistress).
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These theories don’t quite pan out but Valens has to keep digging.
So in its essentials it’s a routine story. That doesn’t matter. What matters is not the originality of a story but how well it is told, and in this case it’s told pretty well.
Tom Valens makes a good hero. He’s sympathetic without being too sympathetic, he’s smart but not too smart, he’s a good cop but not a perfect one. He makes mistakes. He follows the wrong leads. But he keeps trying. Janssen was good at playing imperfect heroes and he does a fine job.
He makes mistakes in his personal life as well. His divorce from his wife Joanie (Joan Collins) is about to become final. Joanie is still willing to try to save the marriage. She’s a nice lady. She loves him. He’d be a fool to push her away. But he does.
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Those extraordinary supporting players mostly get limited screen time but Lillian Gish and Eleanor Parker make the most of their opportunities. Joan Collins is good and looks stunning.
The plot setup is standard but there are some nice twists.
The most significant thing about this movie is the timing. It came out in 1966. A year later Bonnie and Clyde was released. The tone and the style of crime movies changed dramatically overnight. The tone and style of movies in general changed at that time. 1967 was a pivotal year. As far as crime movies are concerned 1967 also saw the release of Point Blank but it was Bonnie and Clyde that had the biggest impact. Almost overnight movies like Warning Shot seemed hopelessly old-fashioned. And were quickly forgotten.
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Seeing it now it’s Warning Shot’s old-fashioned vibe that gives it its appeal. It’s like a classic 1950s crime B-movie.
Another movie that suffered the same fate as Warning Shot and was also unfairly forgotten is The Money Trap from 1965 which is an actual classic film noir, not a neo-noir.
Warning Shot is extremely well-crafted (and superbly shot with some great atmosphere)
in the classical Hollywood style and that classical style has a lot to be said for it. I personally prefer it to the new style that emerged post-1967. This is a thoroughly entertaining movie and it’s highly recommended.
The Kino Lorber release offers a very good transfer and there’s an audio commentary.
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So in its essentials it’s a routine story. That doesn’t matter. What matters is not the originality of a story but how well it is told, and in this case it’s told pretty well.
Tom Valens makes a good hero. He’s sympathetic without being too sympathetic, he’s smart but not too smart, he’s a good cop but not a perfect one. He makes mistakes. He follows the wrong leads. But he keeps trying. Janssen was good at playing imperfect heroes and he does a fine job.
He makes mistakes in his personal life as well. His divorce from his wife Joanie (Joan Collins) is about to become final. Joanie is still willing to try to save the marriage. She’s a nice lady. She loves him. He’d be a fool to push her away. But he does.
.jpg)
The plot setup is standard but there are some nice twists.
The most significant thing about this movie is the timing. It came out in 1966. A year later Bonnie and Clyde was released. The tone and the style of crime movies changed dramatically overnight. The tone and style of movies in general changed at that time. 1967 was a pivotal year. As far as crime movies are concerned 1967 also saw the release of Point Blank but it was Bonnie and Clyde that had the biggest impact. Almost overnight movies like Warning Shot seemed hopelessly old-fashioned. And were quickly forgotten.
.jpg)
Another movie that suffered the same fate as Warning Shot and was also unfairly forgotten is The Money Trap from 1965 which is an actual classic film noir, not a neo-noir.
Warning Shot is extremely well-crafted (and superbly shot with some great atmosphere)
in the classical Hollywood style and that classical style has a lot to be said for it. I personally prefer it to the new style that emerged post-1967. This is a thoroughly entertaining movie and it’s highly recommended.
The Kino Lorber release offers a very good transfer and there’s an audio commentary.
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