The Black Marble was adapted from Wambaugh's novel, which was clever, fresh, funny and compelling. The movie contained none of the above. Harry Dean Stanton's acting was the only saving grace to this movie that went absolutely nowhere from start to finish. Poor acting and painfully slow dialog made this "B movie" appear to last six hours. A true yawn-fest from start to finish. No need to add spoilers to this review as everything that took place was both corny and predictable. Considering Wambaugh was responsible for classics such as the Onion Field and The New Centurions, The Black Marble will be remembered as Wambaugh's Black Plague.

The only thing wrong with this movie was the way they handled it upon release. I'm not into Wambaugh cop films, but this was different. Good performance from Robert Foxworth and a lovely, nuanced one from Paula Prentiss (who was NEVER nominated; believe it or not). These are some messed up folks in L.A. in 1980 from different culture, but good cops. Harry Dean Stanton is perfect as the dog-napper, but this flick has a rhythm. You never really know where this film is going; all the Ukranian background of Foxworth and Prentiss' patience with this troubled over-worked mess of a guy, patiently works a semi-romantic tinge to this strange cop film. It's a 7 out of 10 for sure.

This movie has all the signs of a film that sat on the shelf for a while. When The Onion Field came out, this made Wambaugh (and James Woods) hot again, and they decided to release it -- that's my guess. Look at Woods, in the pre-stardom, almost extra role of the Fiddler.The reason is simple. Robert Foxworth stinks it out. He delivers such a soft center in the role, the proceedings are even difficult to understand.The other problem is that the dialogue is long long, pointless and drawn out. The action crawls along a foot a minute while the characters make small talk.Paula Prentiss is fine, as is Harry Dean Stanton. But sometimes movies don't always jell, and this one sure doesn't either.

IMO, this is one of the most underrated films ever. I love most of Joseph Wambaugh's cop stories and this one was sheer delight. From the opening scenes, when the drunken Robert Foxworth is shown swaying back and forth at a religious ceremony, until Harry Dean Stanton ends up in a Mexican hospital with his genitalia mutilated by a Doberman Pinscher, it's just one long belly laugh after another. The only jarring note in this otherwise splendid comedy is Foxworth's mental flashbacks to murdered children. I think this is one of the few movies I've seen where the screen version of a story surpasses the original book.