Badge of the Assassin
| Badge of the Assassin | |
|---|---|
Original film poster of "Badge of the Assassin".
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| Genre | Crime Thriller |
| Written by |
Robert K. Tanenbaum (book) Philip Rosenberg (book) Lawrence Roman (screenplay) |
| Directed by | Mel Damski |
| Starring |
James Woods Yaphet Kotto Alex Rocco |
| Theme music composer | Tom Scott |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Daniel H. Blatt Robert Singer Robert K. Tanenbaum (co-executive producer) |
| Producer(s) | Pixie Lamppu (associate producer) |
| Cinematography | John Lindley |
| Editor(s) | Andrew L. Cohen |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Blatt-Singer Productions |
| Distributor | CBS |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release |
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Badge of the Assassin is a 1985 television film starring James Woods, Yaphet Kotto and Alex Rocco. It was directed by Mel Damski. The film first aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System network on November 2, 1985. The film's production company was Blatt-Singer Productions.
The film stars James Woods as Assistant District Attorney Robert K. Tanenbaum, Yaphet Kotto as Detective Cliff Fenton NYPD and Alex Rocco as Detective Bill Butler NYPD. Other cast members in the film include David Harris as Lester Bertram Day, Steven Keats as Harold Skelton, Defense Attorney, Larry Riley as Herman Bell, Pam Grier as Alexandra 'Alie' Horn, Rae Dawn Chong as Christine Horn and Richard Bradford as L.J. Delsa.
Based on the true story that took place in Harlem during 1971, the Badge of the Assassin film is based on the 1979 book of the same name - a true-crime account from the former district attorney and New York Times bestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum and Philip Rosenberg. Woods played Tanenbaum in the film, whilst Tanenbaum was a co-executive producer. Writer Lawrence Roman transferred the book into a script for a television film. The film is an account of the detective work and prosecution that resulted in the conviction in 1975 of the Black Liberation Army members who, four years earlier, had shot to death two New York City police officers, Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagentini, in an unprovoked attack.
In The Pittsburgh Press of November 1, 1985, an article under the headline "TV time warp says Badge of Assassin" written by Barbara Holsopple stated "'Television destroys time... it just eats up evenings and spits them out and they're gone.' The words came from Yaphet Kotto, one of today's most respected actors. He was ruminating on a controversy that erupted during a press conference for tomorrow's CBS film, Badge of the Assassin. The film dramatizes the efforts of an assistant district attorney in New York City to capture and convict the killers of two policemen. The men, one white, one black, were gunned down in Harlem in 1971 by the Black Liberation Army, an offshoot of the Black Panthers. The film is racist, suggested a TV critic too young to remember that horrifying and bizarre era of outrageous rhetoric and rebellion when city officials hosed down peach marchers and a Michigan housewife was murdered for registering voters and "offing" the "pigs" could be a life's commitment. For nearly a decade, society tore itself apart on the evening news. The presence of TV cameras fed the fires. And the embers are so cold now, a young man asks why the Black Liberation Army's political stance is not given a fair shake to "explain" why two policemen were shot repeatedly as one of their killers screamed, 'He won't die. The pig won't die.' 'There is no time to think about things anymore, to analyze and understand', said Kotto, his voice weary and his eyes sad."
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