The Blue Knight (film)
| The Blue Knight | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action Crime Drama Thriller |
| Based on |
The Blue Knight by Joseph Wambaugh |
| Written by | E. Jack Newman |
| Directed by | Robert Butler |
| Composer(s) | Nelson Riddle |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Lee Rich |
| Producer(s) | Walter Coblenz |
| Location(s) | Los Angeles |
| Cinematography | Michael Margulies |
| Editor(s) |
Marjorie Fowler Samuel E. Beetley Gene Fowler Jr. |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Lorimar Productions |
| Distributor | NBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | November 11 – November 14, 1973 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | The Blue Knight |
The Blue Knight is a 1973 made-for-TV film based on Joseph Wambaugh's 1973 novel The Blue Knight. It gave rise to the 1975 TV series also named The Blue Knight. It ran originally on NBC TV in November 1973, was directed by Robert Butler, and starred an all star cast headed by William Holden as Police Officer Bumper Morgan. The additional cast includes Lee Remick, Anne Archer, Sam Elliot, Joe Santos, and Vic Tayback. The film was a four-hour series.
The film follows one week in the life of 20-year LAPD veteran Bumper Morgan, who is scheduled to retire. Before he leaves, he must work on the murder of a prostitute in one of LA's far corners. Along the way, he must grapple with vicious thugs, his fellow officers who feel mixed on his leaving, and his woman who wants him to leave the streets behind.
Holden said he was surprised to be cast as Morgan, as he thought Ernest Borgnine or Rod Steiger would have been preferred. Shooting took seven weeks.The Blue Knight was filmed as a four-episode miniseries of 100 minutes each for the US market and a 100-minute theatrical film for European markets. It was one of the first miniseries on American television.
The first episode aired on November 11, 1973, and continued over the course of the next three days.The Blue Knight received positive reviews. Jay Sharbutt of the Associated Press praised the miniseries' realism and wrote that readers "ought to catch this show". Rick Du Brow of United Press International wrote that the miniseries' length allows it to unfold slowly and create a "cohesive dramatic atmosphere", unlike typical TV shows.Time Out London, in a retrospective review of the theatrical cut, called it "seminal stuff" and wrote that it is more interesting for its influence on following police dramas than its story.
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