KnotMissPriceless
Why so much hype?
Pacionsbo
Absolutely Fantastic
TrueHello
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Yash Wade
Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
HalfCentury
I've been working my way through the DVDs by timeless media. Man, they are great. Great because of Lee Marvin. I was expecting Marvin might have some work yet to becoming the Lee Marvin we know in Point Blank and The Killers. No way. He has tough guy cop done better here than it's ever been done. Someone mentioned that Marvin's Frank Ballinger challenged bad guys to escalate things with him. That's the perfect way to put it. The gun stays on the hip, Marvin gets in their face, reads them the facts and lets them absorb it. And then cuffs them. There are so many subtle things Marvin does here that make the tough guy work. It's maybe how he appraises the other actors. Like he's thinking " I'm listening, I'll tell you later if I believe you." Very stony. The material, in it's sketchy short form, deflates the magic of Marvin here and there but in a funny way. My favorite Police Squad type of moment has Marvin in a fistfight at the circus that starts a fire that burns the whole circus down in an apocalypse of panic and flames. Footage of some old big budget movie used as a backdrop. Very Frank Drebbin kind of unintended consequence. I recommend you get your own copy of Marine sniper turned actor kicking ass on TV
jonesy74-1
There's no way you could ever truly "get" "Police Squad" or any of the "Naked Gun" movies without seeing "M Squad." When you see "Police Squad" or "Naked Gun", you know it's satire, but satire of what? You realize it must be satire of old police dramas, but very pointedly, it is satire of THIS PARTICULAR police drama. They broke the mold on film noir police dramas with this one.This was no sissypants show. It was made for men who appreciated real men - the perfect vehicle for Lee Marvin as Frank Ballinger, tough Chicago detective. With his low-voiced police growl and tall lanky tough-guy look, he dealt with Chicago bad guys with frank talk, force and the point of his snub-nosed revolver.This show would have a difficult time airing today due to its lack of political correctness in the violence department. However, it would be fun to see another run on cable.
Kirasjeri
This show was so hard-bitten Ballinger almost got killed once having been pumped full of lead. When did Joe Friday ever get shot? It's a crime this adult drama has never been rerun.
TC-4
I remember M-Squad when it first came on. I was 15. Lee Marvin was a "no nonsense" cop much like Dan Matthews and Steve McGarrett. Lee Marvin was as good being good as he was good being bad. I think that Police Squad is based on this show. I have the original LP from the tv show that I bought 40 years ago and copied it and still play the tape in my car. The background jazz music was terriffic.
