The Sheriff (1971 TV Movie) User Reviews

A very interesting feature

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7/10 · 15 February 2009]

It's more a drama than a thriller. It takes place in a little California community, where white and black people cohabit in quiet. The sheriff is black. I was surprised, as far as this movie is not a Blaxploitation one. Too soon, I think. Because it began two or three years later. Some of the lead characters are black, but not all of them.

It's an anti racist tale. The sheriff - Davis - makes an inquiry into a rape affair. And the rapist is a white man - Ross Martin himself, the mighty Wild Wild West Arthemus Gordon. His character is nearly as good as the one he had in EXPERIMENT IN TERROR. A nasty one. A f...racist you want to be punished. The study of characters is very good, and the acting too.

It deserves to be watched. Really. In the credit, the name of the director - David Lowell Rich - is shown only at the end of the movie. Not usual.

Captivating Made-for-TV Movie

[Sparky48 · 8/10 · 27 December 2018]

An intriguing drama about a black sheriff who with the aid of his young white deputy attempt to convict a racist white insurance salesman charged with raping a black female college student. Acting legend Ossie Davis stars in the title role with Ruby Dee, his real life spouse, playing his wife.

Janet Wilder is the young black female who has been sexually assaulted, but because of the trauma of the experience, has minimal recollection of her perpetrator's appearance, but does recall that the assailant was a white insurance salesman. Sheriff Lucas, the California town's recently elected black sheriff, along with his deputy Harve, subsequently follows this lead and find a prime suspect in Larry Walters, a white insurance salesman who has been assigned to sell insurance policies to the town's residents. However, Walters denies that he committed the crime, and Lucas, Harve, and the town prosecuting attorney attempt to compile evidence to convict him.

The movie, released in 1971, effectively captures the generational conflict between young blacks and their elders during the late 60's and early 70's, with the former becoming increasingly frustrated with what they perceive as the latter's passivity and over patience toward America's long standing history of racial injustice. The sheriff's eldest son Vance, who happens to be close friends with Janet, resents his father's faith in the judicial system to bring about justice for Walters' egregious crime, and he along with Janet's father believe that extreme and more radical measures are the the only realistic way that justice can actually be served for Janet's sexual assault.

When watching the movie, you can't help but get the feel that it was a de facto pilot for a potential TV series. Given the strong performances delivered in the movie -- particularly by Ossie Davis in the lead role and his real life wife Ruby Dee in the supporting role as his spouse -- as well as its intense drama, "The Sheriff" certainly seemed to have all the essential elements to have become a hit 70's TV drama series. However, and presumably because it was the early 70/s, network execs probably feared that such a TV series with a black man in the starring role wouldn't have been accepted by the mainstream American viewing audience.

Nevertheless, "The Sheriff" is a compelling made -for-TV movie, with splendid acting performances and gripping drama that can still captivate viewing audiences today.

Additional note: I would like to mention that I disagree with the other reviewer that this movie is a "rip-off" of the 1967 movie "In the Heat of the Night," and contrary to what he asserts, there are minimal, if not any, similarities between the two films. Moreover, the setting of "The Sheriff," unlike "Heat of the Night," was a small California town, and not the South.

One thing I forgot to say nine years ago...

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7/10 · 6 March 2018]

This movie typical from the late sixties and early seventies is a sort of IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT rip off. It is so obvious in the southern town tale where a Black and White investigators pull their job together, facing the racist atmosphere of those countrysides. That's all what I wanted to add, sorry to have missed this resemblance between the Norman Jewison's feature and this one.

Timely back in 1971...and still today.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 29 May 2020]

As I watched "The Sheriff", I couldn't help but think that this made for TV movie was intended as a pilot for a potential television series. This happened a lot with made for TV films in the 1970s. The networks would air them and see how the public took to them. If they went over very well or some network exec loved it, they'd okay it as a series. I can only assume this one, though an excellent film, just didn't gain the traction needed to become a TV show or merit further movies.

Ossie Davis stars as Sheriff Lucas, a good cop who has a white deputy with whom he gets along just fine. However, Lucas is facing a huge case...one with strong racial components and it also hits very close to home. It seems some sleaze-bag raped his son's girlfriend...and Lucas needs to keep the girl's father and his own son from taking the law into their own hands. He also has to deal with his deputy's wife...a lady who is a racist.

In so many ways, this film seems inspired by "In the Heat of the Night"....and that's not a bad thing. But what really won me over was Davis' wonderful performance...strong, believable and inspiring. It would have made a great series!

"You know you boys been speeding."

[mark.waltz · 9/10 · 28 April 2021]

This TV drama grabs your attention instantly, not through the cruel injustice that happens to pretty black college girl Brenda Sykes, but with the aftermath of a chase of a stolen armed vehicle, ending with sheriff Clifton Davis's sharp retort when the perpetrators are forced out of it. He has a white assistant (Kaz Garas) home he gets along with perfectly even though Garas's wife (Lynda Day George) is obviously racist against him. When they learn about the rape, Davis and Garas go into overdrive to find the perpetrator, but unfortunately all sites can remember is that the man was a white insurance salesman.

The audience gets to see what happens up until the rape in great detail, with Sykes uncomfortable as she has to deal with salesman Ross Martin who is obviously ogling her. To say the character that Martin plays is absolutely vile is an understatement, even though nothing that he says indicates his intention. Sykes' father (Moses Gunn) is determined to bring the culprit to justice, and in this community that is racially mixed, it creates a lot of controversy which threatens its peaceful existence.

Talk about a film that exposes the subtle racism that isn't violent or blatant but silent. You can tell that Garas is against anything racist, upset with his wife when she doesn't even acknowledge Davis's presence when he brings her some fresh pheasant. Davis's real life wife, the legendary Ruby Dee, is fine support here as his wife, and Kyle Johnson as their son shows a cynicism over Davis's friendship with Garas, questioning his motives for being friendly to them. Lots of questions still being asked 40 years later dominate this script which is one of the best early TV movies.

I wonder if it would be proper behavior for Davis to question Martin Lee in front of a staff of his coworkers, rather a strong confrontation that would certainly make someone be defensive. John Marley is also quite good as the D. A. The script covers a lot of territory in just 75 minutes, showing the growing anger and making you understand where it is coming from because it shows how even good law enforcement can't get the law to work for them, and how the world was slightly changing as far as race relations but still had a million or more miles to go. This one is a classic that must be seen.