The set-up for this early 70's made-for-TV thriller is simplistic but efficient and much more frightening than any horror movie revolving on zombies, vampires or immoral ax-wielding psychopaths could ever be. The situation where the male protagonist finds himself trapped in may not be likely to happen any time soon, but it's definitely not unthinkable. Being the victim of a robbery, Chuck Banner is left behind in the restroom of a big shopping complex. When he regains consciousness, the store is closed down for the weekend and severely trained guard dogs stand between him and the exit doors. His only hope for rescue is his ex-wife and daughter, with whom he was supposed to meet at the airport, but by the time they figure out where Chuck is stuck, it might be too late. Movie scripts don't get any more rudimentary than this, but "Doberman Patrol" nevertheless guarantees a mere 90 minutes of suspense and thrills, largely thanks to James Brolin's strong performance as the man in peril as well as to the impressively trained dogs. The beautiful and athletic animals are very menacing and definitely fulfill their "guarding" duties. The search for Chuck on the outside is interesting to follow as well, with his ex-wife and her new husband being surprisingly likable and identifiable characters. The subject matter and the limited cast of characters don't exactly lend themselves to gory situations, but in this case the tense and claustrophobic atmosphere and stellar performances suffice. Recommended!

An early entry in the glory days of TV movies that stands well alongside other TV movies on the era. Well acted, very well edited and scored and most importantly written and directed by Frank De Felitta. It ages pretty well and of course has real dog attacks rather than CGI junk animals. For some reason this quality of TV production died out almost entirely in the 1980's when all the elements of craft that this film has vanished really until X Files and other shows brought back film type story telling to TV.The story unfolds very well and is believable and involving, this should be on DVD and certainly is among the handful of memorable TV movies of any era, it's like a very good episode of the Hitchcock series or Thriller--the Boris Karloff series. Someone at Univeral get this out on DVD like it deserves. This movie will having you making sure you're home before any store closes. James Brolin sweats and suffers with the best of them.

Back in the 1970's it seemed haunted houses, evil marauding cars, or in this case, Doberman pincher's were always trying to take a bite out of the frequently cast James Brolin. As previous comments have already stated, Brolin is "Trapped" after hours in a Macey's-type department store and must evade attack dogs left to guard the premises. What makes this such a great setting is the way he cleverly employs items among the wares inside to try and get himself out of trouble. For example, a fishing rod from the sporting goods section becomes (if memory serves) a means of reaching a set of keys dangling between him and the snarling animals. What doesn't work all that well however is a subplot in which Brolin's ex-wife (Susan Clark) and daughter are set to leave his life with Clark's new husband (Earl Holliman), a real third wheel of a character who simply complicates the dynamic of the tale. It should have just been concerned with Brolin's attempts to survive so he can return to his worried family. Despite that plot intrusion it's still a very entertaining suspense melodrama, energetically directed by 70's best selling author, Frank De Felitta, ("Audrey Rose") who shows a real flare for this material. While he did undertake a few additional directing assignments, (most notably "Dark Night Of The Scarecrow" in 1981), De Felitta worked very infrequently in the director's chair. A shame really as he shows such promise here he might well have become as famous a movie director as he is an author.

I saw this movie many years ago and have always wanted to see it again. It was very suspenseful, wish I could find it to buy. Great idea for a movie plot, man gets attacked in a men,s room of a department store, the guard doesn't realize someone is still in the store so the poor guy is stuck in a store with attack dogs... I would die. I love a good movie and years ago they had better "made for TV movies". I would recommend this movie, that is if you could find it any where to rent or buy, I haven't seen it on TV since the year it first viewed. Funny how some movies stay with you. If you liked Trapped you would like: "Night Terror" with Valiere Harper full of suspense. I love movies that make me jump, both of these did...