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1970       Christopher St John

Because George Lattimer (CHRISTOPHER ST. JOHN) is a cop, the other members of the Washington, D.C. black community despise and mistrust him.

George also is a husband and father. He is unable, however, to communicate his frustration to his wife, Viola (FLORENCE ST. PETER), whose main concern is the welfare of their two children, especially their teenaged daughter, Valerie (ALMERIA QUINN), with whom George spends too little time.

Having a family does not prevent George from having an affair with a struggling club singer (PAULA KELLY) who is hip enough to put up with George's "uptightness."

George's patrol car partner is white. Bobby Gelman (LEONARD KURAS), whose pressing problem is money, resorts to accepting bribes, despite George's put-down. Tension exists between the two policemen, but essentiál1y they like one another. Both, however, are unusual cops and a far cry from the accepted image of American policemen.

George's relationship with his superior officer, Captain Walsh (JOHN ALDERSON), is another matter. Walsh represents all that is wrong with the police. The beefy

Walsh is a corrupted, greedy, insensitive official who does not believe in making waves or tampering in any way with the established system, including its racist aspects, which he condones.

The one white cop for whom George feels deep attachment is Tim Cassidy (PATRICK McVEY), now farmed out to pasture at a home for the aged following 35 years on the force.

When he goes to visit Tim at the home, he brings along a bottle of bourbon, and the two become inebriated. George, seeking Tim's counsel, receives the man's bitter remorse instead. Tim makes a grand gesture, however, when he presents George with a gun that his wife gave him, the last of his valued possessions.

Throughout his daily existence, George finds himself caught up in a violent world. He collars a white drunk (TIGER JOE MARSH) who calls him "nigger" and waves a knife in his face. He is manhandled as a suspected trouble-maker by a white cop because he is black. He helps break up a riot between hard-hats and young radicals and both sides hurl the same racial epithets at him. He arrests a pair of black drug-dealers and is told off for being a "nigger pig." His car is almost sideswiped by a careless white cabbie (ALLEN GARFIELD) who claims it was George's fault and calls him a "black bastard." Even the white pusher (JOHN McMURTRY) whom George waylays for selling pills to his daughter spits the word "nigger" at him following the bloody beating George gives him.

On top of everything George's mother dies and he refuses to attend her funeral in his hometown of Waterville, Alabama. Instead, as he does to escape all his problems, George retreats into his fantasy world in which he is the first black astronaut to go to the moon. In his fantasy, Walsh is the project's commanding officer, Bobby is a fellow astronaut, and Tim is an astronaut who has to be dropped from the project because of his age and failing health.

His fantasy includes a visit to his hometown, where he once again sees his mother (BEATRICE WEBSTER), and a stay in a hospital, where, while re~ covering from his moon flight, he orders a beautiful blonde nurse (INGEBORG SORENSEN) to strip and climb into bed with him, which she does.

George's real existence comes into focus following a harsh argument with Viola, who explodes when he tells her he wants to quit the force. He decides to desert his family and run off with his mistress. Going to the club to get her, he becomes involved in a hassle with the club owner (JERRY JONES), which leads to a knock-down, table-smashing brawl with the club's giant bouncer (WILLIE HARRIS).

George wins the fight and leaves with his girl, only to discover that her fears and needs are the same as Viola's, and that he is accomplishing nothing by running off with her. The police notice George's reckless driving and two patrol cars give chase, but he eludes them. He then dumps the girl out of the car and returns home.

The next day he tells Viola that he has gotten himself "together" and that night joins Bobby on the graveyard shift. While inspecting part of his beat on foot, George delves into his fantasy. He sees himself riding in an open car, flanked by Tim and Bobby, covered with confetti and receiving the plaudits of his hometown and the President of the United States (RICHARD M. DIXON).

He also sees himself cut down by an assassin's bullet.





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CAST

George Lattimer .......................... Christopher St. John
Black Chick .......................... Paula Kelly
Viola Lattimer .......................... Florence St. Peter
Bobby .......................... Leonard Kuras
Captain Walsh .......................... John Alderson
Tim Cassidy .......................... Patrick Mcvey
Nurse Swenson .......................... Ingeborg Sorensen
Hip Passenger .......................... Ron Douglas
Valerie Lattimer .......................... Almeria Quinn
George'S Mother .......................... Beatrice Webster
African Dancer .......................... Essie Mcswine
Club Owner .......................... Jerry Jones
Bouncer .......................... Willie Harris
Man With Knife .......................... Tiger Joe Marsh
Dope Dealer .......................... John Mcmurtry
Bus Driver .......................... Raymond O'Keefe
Rookie Policeman .......................... Brian Cutler
Men In Bar .......................... Hedgemon Lewis, Kenneth Norton
Pot Peddlars .......................... Damu King, Jl-Tu Cumbuka
Nurse .......................... Marilyn Wirt
Young Hooker .......................... Angela Seymour
Policeman .......................... Joe Tornatore
Walsh'S Secretary .......................... Ann Mason
Reporters .......................... Maria Lennard, Mayrita Varna, Dan Roth, Arnold Dover
Balloon Thrower .......................... June Fairchild
Hard-Hat .......................... Cliff Emmich
Girl Rioter .......................... Pamela Whorf
Allen Garfield .......................... As The Taxi Driver
Richard M. Dixon .......................... As The President




Technical Credits


Executive Producer .......................... Joe Solomon
Associate Producer .......................... Richard Kobritz
Produced, Written And Directed By .......................... Christopher St. John
Music By .......................... J. J. Johnson
Production Supervisor .......................... Richard Kobritz
Assistant Directors .......................... Arthur Levinson, William Morrison
Production Assistant .......................... Raymond Green
Script Supervisor .......................... H. Bud Otto
Director Of Photography .......................... Richard Kelley, A.S.C.
Camera Operator .......................... Louis Schwartz
Sound Mixer .......................... Barry Thomas
Gaffer .......................... Glenn Knight
Key Grip .......................... John Mcdonald
Property Master .......................... Syd Greenwood
Special Effects .......................... Tim Smyth
Make-Up .......................... Maurice Stein
Costumes .......................... Eddie Marks
Set Director .......................... Robert Signorelli
Art Director .......................... Norman Houle
Casting Director .......................... Pearl Kempton
Editor .......................... Mike Pozen
Titles And Opticals .......................... Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
Post-Production Supervisor .......................... William Martin







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