2 years after THE UNTOUCHABLES did an episode about "Mad Dog" Vincent Coll, came this gripping low-budget thriller. Sure, they got pretty much ALL the details wrong. Sure, 95% of the people in front of the cameras and in back of them had incredibly-SHORT careers. But on the other hand, aside from headliner John Davis Chandler, you also had terrific spotlights for Telly Savalas (the tough cop who gave Coll too MANY chances), Vincent Gardenia (who makes Dutch Schultz seem more civilized than he probably was), and a very young Jerry Orbach (who tortures over whether to stick with his lifelong "friend", OR, help the cops PUT HIM DOWN. There's even a wordless cameo by Gene Hackman in his screen debut, as a uniformed cop.
There's also the loud, powerful, in-your-face score from Stu Phillips, whose work I know from countless things, including McCLOUD, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY. Its nice to know some people made it out of this piece of obscurity and had long, successful careers.
Hey, I gotta hand it to the people who made this film for the simple fact that THEY MADE THIS FILM. And, it's watchable! That in itself is quite an accomplishment, no matter how you look at it.
For comparison, try watching this and the 1959 UNTOUCHABLES episode with Clu Gulager as Coll and Lawrence Dobkin as Shultz. Or, check out the 1981 mini-series, THE GANGSTER CHRONICLES, that had David Wilson as Coll and Jonathan Banks as Schultz (my personal favorite). My Dad always said that show had the MOST-authentic casting he'd ever seen for all the real-life characters involved. I always remember in that version of events, Coll & Schultz were the only 2 gang leaders who refused to sign the Atlantic City 'peace treaty' between all the major gangs-- and Coll got rubbed out soon after.
A quick Google search reveals there's also several other film versions of Coll's story. Hey, why not watch 'em all and compare?
There's also the loud, powerful, in-your-face score from Stu Phillips, whose work I know from countless things, including McCLOUD, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY. Its nice to know some people made it out of this piece of obscurity and had long, successful careers.
Hey, I gotta hand it to the people who made this film for the simple fact that THEY MADE THIS FILM. And, it's watchable! That in itself is quite an accomplishment, no matter how you look at it.
For comparison, try watching this and the 1959 UNTOUCHABLES episode with Clu Gulager as Coll and Lawrence Dobkin as Shultz. Or, check out the 1981 mini-series, THE GANGSTER CHRONICLES, that had David Wilson as Coll and Jonathan Banks as Schultz (my personal favorite). My Dad always said that show had the MOST-authentic casting he'd ever seen for all the real-life characters involved. I always remember in that version of events, Coll & Schultz were the only 2 gang leaders who refused to sign the Atlantic City 'peace treaty' between all the major gangs-- and Coll got rubbed out soon after.
A quick Google search reveals there's also several other film versions of Coll's story. Hey, why not watch 'em all and compare?