I have read the book so many times I forgot how many, it was that good! I saw the TV movie when it first came out in the days before video staring William Holden and the TV show staring George Kennedy, Holden had the moxie that Wambaugh describe in his book but Kennedy had the build, Bumper Morgan weighing in at 275 pounds, the TV series was played down more than the movie was as far as attitude and Bumper way of thumping on people, but they were both excellent films and were way ahead of their time. You had to wait for Hill street Blues to come to TV before you got another true life cop show. Blue Knight was on TV in 1973 and 1975-76, Hill street did not come on tell late 80's I believe, that left a lot of years without good police shows on TV. now people are use to good shows with Law & Order and others but I remember a time when on a Saturday night at 7pm all you had to watch was Lawerance Welk, he-ha, and bugs bunny,! I choose the Bunny..

My friend & me were discussing old TV shows & she remembered a great detective/police show starring William Holden that she viewed back in the 70's. She couldn't remember the name of it so I told her I would go online & find out the show's name & the information for her, which I did at this site. She loved the show & watched it even though the series didn't last as long as she would have liked. She also said the show included a dog which was his companion. I did discover that the dogs name was Leo & that it was a Bulldog/Terrier mix. I noticed this information was not on the other comments & thought maybe some of the readers would enjoy knowing this. Thanks so much for this great site!

This movie was terrific in it's view of what police work was like at that time, before the handcuffs were put on the police more than they were on the criminals. Bumper Morgan was the kind of cop I trained under, and each of them, and he, were real characters. The most memorable line to me was, when Morgan (William Holden) told the State's Attorney, after screwing up in court and being asked why "Because I'm 50 lousy years old, and I just can't cut it anymore!" Only people who have been in law enforcement can understand the truth in that admission...... This is a wonderful movie on many levels. It shows how police work used to be done in another era, it may make some people realize that maybe it was better done that way, it may scare some people, and it truly sheds light on the dilemma that faces a man in the twilight of his chosen career. A stellar performance by Holden, who was in his twilight at the time it was filmed. Perhaps he brought more to the role than even he realized. His personal decline was mirrored in his portrayal of the kind of cop we all want when we are the victim, but never, ever want to face as the offender. Darkly brilliant !

I saw this mini series when it first aired back in the seventies before the days of the vcrs. The only time I ever saw it again was after it was cut down to a 90 min. TV Movie with most of the "bite" taken out of it. I think that it was this movie that made me realize how good an actor William Holden was. I certainly would like this entire min-series put on a DVD. I would buy it in a heartbeat.