David Janssen growls his way through this movie, playing an initially hard-assed cop who is ordered to investigate what seems like the obvious suicide of an internationally renowned priest. Susannah York plays a nun friend of the priest from South Africa who doesn't believe he'd commit suicide. Strangely, she always seems to appears in soft focus. The relationship between the two gradually becomes smoother and gentler, as he begins to believe that it may have been murder after all, and not suicide. There are some brief shots of Alcatraz, the Japanese Tea Garden, North Beach, Coit Tower and the Bridge itself appears briefly but the majority of the movie is set indoors. It's definitely a TV Movie story, but the decent performances make up for the lack of impetus in the investigation. The final scenes bring the action up to speed as the killer is confronted at night on a typically foggy Golden Gate Bridge. Janssen's fellow detective has to get past his fear of heights in order to save Susannah York from a drop of 200 feet or so. At the conclusion, the two protagonists say their farewells, and it's nice to see the affection they have for each other grow. Janssen appears to have mellowed in the last few days by getting to know someone decent, and not the usual cops and criminals he usually associates with. A surprisingly schmulzy ending aboard the plane could have been left out. Janssen's cat is named Dirty Harry after one of the city's better known hard-assed cops.
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hriff999 May 2005
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Both Susannah York and David Jansen are underrated screet performers. York had a bit more success on the big screen, while Jansen did better on TV with the Fugitive. This tight little mystery comes out of nowhere and takes you for a decent ride through the streets of San Francisco. And the secondary plot of the romance between Jansen and York works very well; although there were a 100 ways it could have gone wrong. The dress scenes are particularly good. A good, old-fashioned cop movie. Check it out.
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XhcnoirX7 April 2017When a priest falls to his death from San Fransisco's Golden gate bridge, it is ruled a suicide. But nun, and close friend, Susannah York doesn't believe it. Crusty police detective David Janssen gets assigned to her, to get her off the police department's back. He can't convince her of the suicide, so they start a routine investigation. He also starts to get suspicious, and as they are digging they uncover a potential serial killer, as well as feelings they each thought incapable of.
A made-for-TV thriller that wasn't given permission to shoot on the bridge itself. So cheap studio sets were used. But it doesn't really matter, David Janssen ('Richard Diamond, Private Detective', 'The Fugitive') and Susannah York ('They Shoot Horses, Don't They?') are great and have excellent chemistry. This was one of Janssen's last movies, he died soon after this movie was released, but he's great, he basically plays an older, more worldweary version of his iconic Richard Diamond character, only this time the one-liners are more cynical and blunter. And watch out for a cameo by Dirty Harry dressed up as a cat :)
Director Walter Grauman ('The Untouchables') and DoP Jack Swain ('Cannon') were TV veterans and it shows. There's nothing spectacular about the movie's directing or looks, but it's professional and effective, and because of having to use sets for the Golden Gate bridge, they turn it into a bit of an advantage by accentuating the claustrophobic, eerie qualities of a bridge covered in fog. The climax is brief but satisfactory, however the epilogue is overly sugary. All in all tho, I was pleasantly surprised. Recommended. -
bnwfilmbuff29 April 2017Good made-for-TV thriller involving the murder of a visiting priest Regis Cordic on the Golden Gate Bridge that everyone but his nurse Susannah York believes is a suicide. Nun York's resolve causes the San Francisco police to assign a defiant David Janssen to investigate. Janssen and York display wonderful chemistry working together to unravel the crime which eventually allows their characters to soften and let their hair down. There's a fair amount of overacting by Janssen and his boss Tim O'Conner but York is perfect in her role. The lack of run time doesn't allow any of the supporting cast to have their characters get developed. It's a good story though and there's great suspense as the movie builds to the climax. However, the saccharine ending was over the top and spoiled the realism of the rest of the movie. Nevertheless, it's still recommended especially for fans of Janssen and York.
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egabbehe19 May 2008I truly love this movie! I remember clearly watching it on TV in 1979 when it came out.....I was completely absorbed in it and it seemed completely believable! It is really a love story of two kind people who find joy in each other's company, even though they are an improbable pair, a nun and a gruff "cop." David Janssen and Susannah York are very real, and their story is almost a fairy tale in its simplicity. Its charm is in the dialogue. I can watch this movie repeatedly. It led me to research David Janssen. I was sorry to read that he died in 1980. The cat named "Dirty Harry" probably related to David's friendship with Clint Eastwood. Highly recommended movie for romantics.
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mark.waltz28 July 2022Due to speak at a Catholic convention in San Francisco, a priest is pushed off the Golden gate bridge when he insists on getting out of the car and walking across. This nonsensical opening is explained by the fact that years ago while the bridge was being built, his brother was killed falling off of it. Young nun Susannah York insists on remaining in San Francisco even though she's ordered to return back to her convent, certain that he did not commit suicide. She joins forces with detective David Jansen (who did not want to be assigned to the case), and before long has replaced the habit with designer fashions from Market Street shops and is sparring with him in a way that indicates that they've fallen in love.
While there are definitely some great elements to this mystery, it doesn't come together and the fact that a romance erupts between the determine nun and the stubborn cop is never believable. The mystery part of the story is all right but convoluted, but the romantic elements are complete nonsense, leading to a conclusion that I found absolutely absurd and reduced my rating overall. Still, there are some great shots of the city by the bay, particularly a scene when they are up on Nob Hill and overlooking the view. York and Jansen do their best, but they can't escape the fact that much of it is absurd. I'm sure many Catholics were upset by the twist at the end, but I was more upset by the fact that the twist was absolutely unnecessary and should have ended with them saying goodbye. -
The Golden Gate Murders is a perfect vehicle for the late great actor David Janssen.I love this movie.It is the perfect made for television mystery to snuggle up in bed and watch.I just watched this movie again last night,and I enjoyed it as much as the first time that I saw it.David Janssen was wonderful.He was his usual grouchy ill tempered self in this role of the tough gritty police officer in San Francisco.On the other hand he was tender and vulnerable in his role as the man who fell in love with a beautiful nun that he was helping.The beautiful nun was played by Susannah York. I felt that Mr. Janssen and Ms. York had a wonderful chemistry in this movie.I love the setting of San Francisco for the location of the story.This is not a David Lean epic like Ryan's Daughter with Robert Mitchum.The Golden Gate Murders is a beautiful and lovely romance with a great cast and an unusual storyline.I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to lovers of romance and good stories.I have this movie.
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udar551 October 2013A mysterious creeper in a long robe and mask is tossing folks off the Golden Gate bridge. Det. Paul Silver (David Janssen) gets the case after a visiting priest from South Africa is the latest victim. Everyone wants to dismiss it as suicide, but Silver isn't so sure and is even more convinced by Sister Benecia (Susannah York), a nun who was traveling with the priest. She refuses to return home and instead stays with Silver as the two try to figure out if someone really is chucking folks into the Bay. This TV movie is quite a lot better than it seems to have any right to be. Director Walter Grauman is a longtime television vet and he gets great use out of San Francisco. Even better, there is a real rapport between the two leads and David J. Kinghorn's teleplay is actually quite touching at times when it comes to their budding relationship. Janssen was a TV movie staple at this point after various series (THE FUGITIVE, O'HARA U.S. TREASURY, HARRY O). Sadly, in just the few years since HARRY O ended in 1976, he definitely aged quite a bit. This originally aired in October 1979 and he passed away just four months later.
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David_Brown6 October 2013If you have ever seen a Janssen performance be it Richard Kimball ( "The Fugitive") or Harry Orwell ( " Harry O"), or even Arnold Rothstein ( "King Of The Roaring Twenties"), you know his characters always seem to suffer and suffer, and gets constantly beaten up and beaten down. His Detective Paul Silver is not much different then the ones that I mentioned, So it is nice to see him end up with Sister Benecia( Susannah York) at the end of the film ( keep in mind, it is Janssen so he has to go through a lot to do so ( I will not spoil it)). What I like about the film is how intelligent ( despite being tired of life) they were and how despite being of different Worlds ( he is a San Francisco Cop she is a South African Nun), they were able to get to know each other and work through their differences so that after solving the murder of a Priest together ( which was the plot device to bring them together), they end up together. The reality is that was the best possible conclusion, because neither Silver or Sister Benecia were happy with their lives, and they could not properly serve their chosen master( and although the entities are quite different ( San Francisco and God), servants were what they were). In addition, it is fair to say that God wants people to serve him to the best of our ability ( which is what they did by allowing the Priest to receive a proper burial ( by proving he was murdered), and by making the killer pay for his crime). The point was that God knows what the best thing is for people (even if we don't), and for Her its not to be a Nun anymore, because her heart is not in it like before, and his job is to "Protect And Serve" and having her around will allow him to fulfill the "Protect" part of his job better). Basically they needed each other and to become happy ( that is what the plane speech was all about). 10/10 Stars. A great way for Janssen's career to end.
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khunkrumark7 April 2019David Janssen overplays the grouchy bit, but it's still a wonderful and fitting sign off for one of TV's most memorable actors. (He died shortly after this film played. He was 48!)
He and the delightful Susannah York have great chemistry and this film is really all about them. Still perfectly watchable, even today. -
This was David Janssen's last film, and he makes a very tired impression from the start. Susannah York on the other hand plays a young nun in an interesting condition. She is certain that father Martin couldn't have jumped the bridge by himself or committed suicide, wherefore she refuses to leave San Francisco before the matter has been cleared, by which decision she risks her Catholic future as a nun. David Janssen plays the officer in charge who most reluctantly takes on the case of trying to convince Susannah that it was suicide, but as usual the officer runs into doubts. The story is interesting, you see more of the Golden Gate than almost in any other film and almost only in the dark, as all the Golden Gate murders occur in the dark. The music by Sol Kaplan gives the film a golden frame and enhances the romantic element. It is fairly enjoyable, although in the end the intrigue appears as more constructed for the effect than credible, but it's a long way there, and you will enjoy the journey.
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David Janssen as a seasoned, gruff detective with not much time or interest in finding out what happened to a elderly priest on the Golden Gate Bridge. As time rolls around and around he is accompanied by a young nun that does not believe that the priest jumped. This is really a budding love story between the two people. It is certainly a mystery and Janssen is wonderful in this part, eventually finding that there was a phantom creeping around pushing people off the bridge. I don't think that Janssen every got the admiration he deserved for his obvious ability to make people feel they wanted to help him be a better man. You still see the same vulnerability in his face and in his demeanor. As far as how people said he aged in this movie, I like him at this age. There is something so attractive about him here that you can believe that women of all ages would fall in love with him. A must watch for Janssen fans.