BY NICK ANEZ
Newman’s
Law,
the 1974 movie starring George Peppard, contains a revealing scene about the
central character. Sergeant Vince Newman of the LAPD comes home from a dangerous
but satisfying day’s work to his apartment. He is half-shaven and looks
exhausted. He avoids looking at his wedding photo, perhaps because it is
apparent that his wife has left him. His movements are sluggish as he takes a
frozen dinner out of the freezer. He makes his way to a chair, takes his shoes
off and slowly lowers his injured foot into a pale of hot water. Then he puts
on his glasses and starts to read the newspaper without much enthusiasm. It is
a lonely life for Newman. It is the penalty he must pay for being an honest
cop. At least he can feel proud of the bust he made earlier in the day that
could lead to the arrest of a crime lord. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know that
that the bust will set in motion a chain of events that will destroy him.
Universal released Newman’s Law without much fanfare. It deserved better promotion
because it is a unique film that stands apart from the numerous “honest lone
cop†movies that began with Bullitt
(1968) and reached its peak with The
French Connection and Dirty Harry (both
1971). The movie begins with an action-packed sequence as Newman and his
partner Garry arrest a drug dealer and uncover a huge stash of illegal
narcotics. While in the dealer’s apartment, Newman answers a phone call from a
man whose voice he identifies as crime kingpin Frank Falcone. District Attorney
Eastman and Newman’s superior, Lieutenant Reardon, express an eagerness to
finally nail Falcone with Newman as the chief witness. But something doesn’t
smell right to Newman. After he arrested the dealer, the perp seemed to think
that his arrest was a game and waved at Newman as he ran away. Then he seemed shocked
when Newman put a bullet in his leg. Newman is equally surprised when the dealer
dies while in custody. He begins to suspect that he is up against more than
Falcone’s mob. This is confirmed when cops from Internal Affairs find a sack of
illegal drugs in his apartment and arrest him. It is a perfect frame because it
not only gets Newman off the force and gets Garry reassigned but it terminates the
case against Falcone. Newman suspects that Falcone could not have arranged the
frame without the collusion of personnel in high positions of law enforcement.
But the plotters made one mistake; they have made Newman angry. And the movie
isn’t half over.
Vince Newman may on the surface sound similar
to his cinematic predecessors but he is quite different. Frank Bullitt, Popeye
Doyle and Harry Callahan had a certain degree of calculated charisma due to their
crowd-pleasing exploits as likeable maverick detectives who might just break a
few rules to get the job done. Newman has no charisma at all. He is not
particularly likeable and has a disagreeable disposition. He presents the
appearance of a cold, detached and sullen outsider. He only has two close
relationships. One is with Garry, whose happy family life with wife Edie and their
children contrasts with Newman’s isolated life. The second is with his ailing
father who is in a nursing home and can barely acknowledge his son’s presence.
Otherwise, Newman has no personal life. He devotes his life to his job. He believes
in justice and follows the rules that have been established by the bureaucracy
– until that same bureaucracy breaks the rules and turns against him. Newman’s
subsequent insolence provokes the wrath of his former superiors while his
actions invite a death warrant from Falcone.
As Newman’s
Law progresses, it becomes evident that Newman’s public persona is in part
a pretense to conceal his sensitivity which makes him susceptible to emotional
anguish. His vulnerability had previously been implied by his limp and his
glasses but it is confirmed when he is reduced to tears. This will ultimately foretell
his status as a loser along with his ultimate fate. Newman is not a loser
because of any inherent deficiency but because the surrounding corruption is so
pervasive. In a world in which conventional morality governs, a straight arrow
like Newman would be a winner. But he cannot win in an environment characterized
not only by rampant criminal activity and bureaucratic corruption but by legal
plea bargaining and moral compromising. The ending of Newman’s Law is downbeat. After losing everything that is
meaningful to him, Newman implements his personal law because the proponents of
official law have proven to be incapable or unwilling to enforce justice. This
leads to highly dramatic events.
Both the director and writer of Newman’s Law worked mostly in
television. The screenplay is by Anthony Wilson and was his only theatrical
feature. For the small screen, he served as executive producer or producer of
several television movies and many series while also writing numerous episodes
for various series. He created and wrote the pilot episode for George Peppard’s
series, Banacek, which ran from 1972
to 1974. Newman’s Law was released
six months after the last episode was telecast. Director Richard Heffron also
spent most of his career on the small screen and his credits include directing
four episodes of Banacek. So both
Wilson and Heffron probably had good working relationships with Peppard. Newman’s Law was Heffron’s first
theatrical film but he proved to be up to the task. His direction is efficient
and straightforward without any stylistic distractions. He displays a delicate
touch in certain scenes; for instance, he elicits sympathy for Newman by depicting
his kindness toward his father and by stressing his close relationship with
Garry. He is equally effective in staging the action set-pieces, including the
exciting climactic shoot-out in the supermarket and Newman’s subsequent retribution
against Falcone and his exposed collaborator.
George Peppard was one of the most underrated
actors of his era. After starring in several large-scale films in the mid-1960s
such as The Carpetbaggers (1964), Operation Crossbow (1965) and The Blue Max (1966), he made a series of
smaller films which highlighted his versatility. He played totally different
kinds of roles in movies such as P. J.
(1968), Pendulum (1969), The Executioner (1970) and The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972). As
Vince Newman, he projects all the facets of his character’s personality, from
his outward detachment to his inward warmth. He is convincing in the action
scenes and makes Newman a fearsome enemy of lawbreakers. He is equally
compelling in displaying Newman’s tenderness as well as his physical and
psychological fatigue. Peppard can convey inward emotions without saying a
word, his expressions at key moments signifying his feelings. For instance,
check out his suppressed anger when the crooked cops show him the drugs they
have obviously planted. Study his frustration when he cannot fire his
telescopic rifle at Falcone and his mobsters. Look at his expression of despair
combined with resignation in the last scene. This is one of many superb but unacknowledged
performances in Peppard's career.
In support, Roger Robinson is notable as
Garry, particularly in the scene in which he gradually realizes that his close friend
is accusing him of being a part of the conspiracy. Eugene Roche is so earnest as
Reardon that he is believable when offering support for Newman. Gordon Pinsent
as Eastman and Michael Lerner as Assistant D. A. Acker register strongly in the
scene in which a bloody Newman invades their elegant dinner party. Louis Zorich
strikes a sinister presence as Falcone and Abe Vigoda is familiar as Mafia
chieftain Dellanzia (and that’s not a dig at Vigoda). Mel Stuart stands out as
the drug dealer Quist while Marlene Cark is memorable in the second of her two
brief scenes as Edie. Victor Campos enters the film relatively late as Garry’s
new partner but his sincerity helps to make the final scene so poignant.
Newman’s
Law
is relatively unknown today, which is not surprising in view of its quick
departure from theaters in 1974, but it shouldn’t be. It is an exceptional police
drama which doesn’t fit the mold struck by other more famous police movies.
Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray is quite welcome and will hopefully ensnare a larger
audience for this movie, particularly since it is presented in a brand new 2K
master that makes it look like it was filmed yesterday. This release includes
audio commentary by film historian Peter Tonguette, a theatrical trailer and
four radio spots. It also includes trailers for two other George Peppard movies,
P. J. and The Groundstar Conspiracy, both of which Kino Lorber have recently
released in equally outstanding editions. Additional bonuses include trailers
for Richard Heffron’s I, the Jury, and
for Busting, a Peter Hyams-directed
drama which was released earlier in 1974 and also involves honest cops fighting
bureaucratic corruption.
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