Warning Shot
Encyclopedia
Warning Shot is a 1967
movie about a police sergeant who kills a man in self-defense while on a stakeout
. He must clear his name when the gun pulled on him disappears. It is based on the novel 711 - Officer Needs Help by Whit Masterson
.
David Janssen
stars as the accused officer, with supporting performances from Ed Begley
, Keenan Wynn
, Joan Collins
, Stefanie Powers
, Sam Wanamaker
, George Grizzard
, Carroll O'Connor
, Steve Allen
, Eleanor Parker
, Walter Pidgeon
, George Sanders
and Lillian Gish
.
Baseball stars Sandy Koufax
and Don Drysdale
signed to appear in this movie during their 1966
holdout, but never made it onto the screen when both agreed to contracts with the Los Angeles Dodgers
. Filming took place between the third and fourth seasons of Janssen's television series The Fugitive
. The script was written by Mann Rubin, who had authored the "Fugitive" episode "A Taste of Tomorrow", while the film was directed by Buzz Kulik
with a jazz score by Jerry Goldsmith
. It was released by Paramount Pictures
.
Valens is in trouble with his department, specifically Roy Klodin, his captain. It doesn't help that Valens is still carrying the memory of having once been shot while on duty. He is placed under suspension by the force while a prosecutor named Sanderman with a grudge against trigger-happy cops files manslaughter charges against this one.
Setting out on his own to clear his name, Valens meets resistance from many including Ruston's financial adviser, Calvin York, and the doctor's alcoholic and flirtatious widow, Doris Ruston. Also unwilling to be of help to Valens is the doctor's nurse, Liz Thayer, who knew Ruston only as a humanitarian who made many trips to Mexico to unselfishly aid people in need. The controversial cop's lone defender in public is acerbic television personality Perry Knowland, who turns out to be doing so only to increase his viewership (upon learning this Valens acidly tells Knowland, "Be against me, I'd feel cleaner").
Even the elderly lady whom Dr. Ruston often came to visit, Alice Willows, speaks only with devotion to the doctor, who was very kind to her beloved dog. Valens tries in vain to find some reason why Ruston would have been skulking in the fog near the apartments and brandishing a gun.
Among the few offering a sympathetic ear are his estranged wife, Joanie, and another apartment resident, Walt Cody, a playboy pilot. Cody volunteers to fly Valens down to Mexico to see first-hand why Dr. Ruston commuted there so often. Complications arise when a dead body is discovered in Ruston's ransacked office, obliging Valens' partner, Sgt. Ed Musso, to try to place his friend under arrest.
Valens has only a few more hours to solve the mystery. The trail leads to a cemetery, where, once again, Valens must decide whether to pull the trigger on someone who is pointing a gun directly at him.
1967 in film
The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
movie about a police sergeant who kills a man in self-defense while on a stakeout
Stakeout
Stakeout is a 1987 film directed by John Badham and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Madeleine Stowe, Aidan Quinn, and Forest Whitaker...
. He must clear his name when the gun pulled on him disappears. It is based on the novel 711 - Officer Needs Help by Whit Masterson
Whit Masterson
Whit Masterson is a pen name for a partnership of two authors, Robert Allison “Bob” Wade and H. Bill Miller . The two also wrote under several other pseudonyms, including Wade Miller and Will Daemer....
.
David Janssen
David Janssen
David Janssen was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive , the starring role in the 1950s hit detective series Richard Diamond, Private Detective , and as Harry Orwell on Harry O.In 1996 TV Guide...
stars as the accused officer, with supporting performances from Ed Begley
Ed Begley
Edward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
, Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
, Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
, Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart.-Early life:...
, Sam Wanamaker
Sam Wanamaker
Samuel Wanamaker was an American film director and actor and is credited as the person most responsible for the modern recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London...
, George Grizzard
George Grizzard
George Cooper Grizzard, Jr. was an American actor of film and stage. He appeared in more than 40 films, dozens of television programs and a number of Broadway plays.-Life and career:...
, Carroll O'Connor
Carroll O'Connor
John Carroll O'Connor best known as Carroll O'Connor, was an American actor, producer and director whose television career spanned four decades...
, Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
, Eleanor Parker
Eleanor Parker
Eleanor Jean Parker is an American screen actress. Her versatility led to her being dubbed Woman of a Thousand Faces, the title of her biography by Doug McClelland.- Early life :...
, Walter Pidgeon
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
, George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
and Lillian Gish
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
.
Baseball stars Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
and Don Drysdale
Don Drysdale
Donald Scott "Don" Drysdale was a Major League Baseball player and Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was one of the dominant starting pitchers of the 1960s, and became a radio and television broadcaster following his playing career...
signed to appear in this movie during their 1966
1966 in sports
1966 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* FIS Alpine World Ski Championships –** Men's combined champion: Jean-Claude Killy, France** Women's combined champion: Marielle Goitschel, France-American football:...
holdout, but never made it onto the screen when both agreed to contracts with the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
. Filming took place between the third and fourth seasons of Janssen's television series The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
. The script was written by Mann Rubin, who had authored the "Fugitive" episode "A Taste of Tomorrow", while the film was directed by Buzz Kulik
Buzz Kulik
Buzz Kulik was an American film director and producer. He directed 72 films and television shows, including several episodes of The Twilight Zone.-Selected filmography:* The Explosive Generation...
with a jazz score by Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
. It was released by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
.
Plot
Los Angeles police sergeant Tom Valens is on a surveillance stakeout near an upscale apartment complex when he is forced to defend himself from a mysterious figure who aims a gun at him on a foggy night. The trouble is, the dead man turns out to be a prominent physician and pillar of the community, Dr. James Ruston, and there is no gun to be found.Valens is in trouble with his department, specifically Roy Klodin, his captain. It doesn't help that Valens is still carrying the memory of having once been shot while on duty. He is placed under suspension by the force while a prosecutor named Sanderman with a grudge against trigger-happy cops files manslaughter charges against this one.
Setting out on his own to clear his name, Valens meets resistance from many including Ruston's financial adviser, Calvin York, and the doctor's alcoholic and flirtatious widow, Doris Ruston. Also unwilling to be of help to Valens is the doctor's nurse, Liz Thayer, who knew Ruston only as a humanitarian who made many trips to Mexico to unselfishly aid people in need. The controversial cop's lone defender in public is acerbic television personality Perry Knowland, who turns out to be doing so only to increase his viewership (upon learning this Valens acidly tells Knowland, "Be against me, I'd feel cleaner").
Even the elderly lady whom Dr. Ruston often came to visit, Alice Willows, speaks only with devotion to the doctor, who was very kind to her beloved dog. Valens tries in vain to find some reason why Ruston would have been skulking in the fog near the apartments and brandishing a gun.
Among the few offering a sympathetic ear are his estranged wife, Joanie, and another apartment resident, Walt Cody, a playboy pilot. Cody volunteers to fly Valens down to Mexico to see first-hand why Dr. Ruston commuted there so often. Complications arise when a dead body is discovered in Ruston's ransacked office, obliging Valens' partner, Sgt. Ed Musso, to try to place his friend under arrest.
Valens has only a few more hours to solve the mystery. The trail leads to a cemetery, where, once again, Valens must decide whether to pull the trigger on someone who is pointing a gun directly at him.
Cast
- David JanssenDavid JanssenDavid Janssen was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive , the starring role in the 1950s hit detective series Richard Diamond, Private Detective , and as Harry Orwell on Harry O.In 1996 TV Guide...
as Sgt. Tom Valens - Ed BegleyEd BegleyEdward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
as Capt. Roy Klodin - Keenan WynnKeenan WynnKeenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
as Sgt. Ed Musso - Sam WanamakerSam WanamakerSamuel Wanamaker was an American film director and actor and is credited as the person most responsible for the modern recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London...
as Frank Sanderman - Lillian GishLillian GishLillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
as Alice Willows - Stefanie PowersStefanie PowersStefanie Powers is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart.-Early life:...
as Liz Thayer - Eleanor ParkerEleanor ParkerEleanor Jean Parker is an American screen actress. Her versatility led to her being dubbed Woman of a Thousand Faces, the title of her biography by Doug McClelland.- Early life :...
as Mrs. Doris Ruston - George GrizzardGeorge GrizzardGeorge Cooper Grizzard, Jr. was an American actor of film and stage. He appeared in more than 40 films, dozens of television programs and a number of Broadway plays.-Life and career:...
as Walt Cody - George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
as Calvin York - Steve AllenSteve AllenSteve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
as Perry Knowland - Carroll O'ConnorCarroll O'ConnorJohn Carroll O'Connor best known as Carroll O'Connor, was an American actor, producer and director whose television career spanned four decades...
as Paul Jerez - Joan CollinsJoan CollinsJoan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
as Joanie Valens - Walter PidgeonWalter PidgeonWalter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
as Orville Ames