Newman's Law (1974) User Reviews (9)

A Surprise Sprung From Television.

[tonypuma · 7/10 · 8 December 2004]

A nearly blind rental, the George Peppard vehicle "Newman's Law" impressed me more than I'd have imagined. It's a solid cop flick from the great days of cop flicks, and takes place in Los Angeles. Interestingly, the downbeat approach to it made me think San Francisco, yet without the trolleys and hills. This is a testament to the workmanship of the film- it's not about the glitz of LA, it's about the hard life of an 15+ year veteran detective on the job, still plugging away though getting old.

The most difficult part of the film is that there is a vibe of television drama to it that try as it might, it cannot shake free of. This is the first film directed by Richard T. Heffron, who also directed the well known Peppard show "Banacek". Something about the seriousness of the characters, even though a good effort was put forward to flesh out their personages, smacks of period cop show. Not to insinuate that period cop shows were particularly bad, just think that this film has a little bit more "Kojak" than it does "CHiPs".

The cast for this film was excellent. Peppard is not to be outdone, as Newman he's merely reserved and serious, a man of principles who will not tolerate graft or corruption. He is not a racist nor is he the ham-fisted violent cop so popular in film following "The French Connection." Roger Robinson, a black actor who is admittedly new to me, is excellent as his loyal partner Garry, who we see developed far beyond the basic black/white buddy-film aesthetic. Garry has a child and a wife(the stately Marlene Clark) and a life that is shown to contrast with that of Newman. Newman is the loner and Garry has it more together. Eugene Roche is a superior of the police, Abe Vigoda plays an accurate mafioso, Victor Campos is a great new recruit flatfoot, and actor/jazz saxophonist Mel Stewart is a crime boss. As you can see, many TV actors abound in this production.

It's got a good, darker-than-usual tone to it, similar to the excellent "Busting" of the same time period. Dimly-lit scenes and Peppard's excellent styles (he wears some very slick jackets in this) give "Newman's Law" some real power. One of the better, lesser-known cop flicks of the early 70s.

One tough and rigid cop

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 20 November 2020]

George Peppard and Roger Robinson play a pair of rugged and honest LAPD detectives who get themselves caught up in a world of corruption. It's his very integrity that brings Peppard down

Even like normal gratuities that police often get Peppard scorns. When he and Robinson sniff out a major drug dealing operation and a mafia kingpin is hooked the two get kudos.

But the bad guys aren't stupid and they set up Peppard with planted money and drugs. Even when he's offered a way out with honor reasonably intact he refuses. He just becomes a rogue and a lot of people go down.

Peppard's title character is compared to Dirty Harry and they sure have some of the same biases. But I get the feeling that Harry Callahan was a lot craftier than George Peppard's Newman.

Note in the supporting cast Eugene Roche as a cop who has some very bendable integrity and Teddy Wilson a dope pusher who is busted by Peppard and Robinson which starts the whole story off.

A Peppard film that should be better known.

A familiar cop drama, but not bad.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 4 March 2021]

George Peppard is good as Vince Newman, a grim L.A. detective who's somewhat unorthodox but also incorruptible. When he and his partner Garry (Roger Robinson, "Willie Dynamite") attempt to get the goods on a crime kingpin (Louis Zorich, "Fiddler on the Roof"), the bad guys try to get the hero out of the way by framing him for possession. But Newman is not to be denied in his quest for justice, or his determination to find out who on the force set him up.

Working from a script by Anthony Wilson, debuting feature director Richard T. Heffron ("Futureworld") gives us a fairly basic theatrical version of what a person might see on a TV cop show of the era - albeit with stronger violence. We've all seen heroes like Newman since - bachelor loners who are unambitious in their private lives. (TV dinners are the mainstay in Newmans' diet.) The nice touch in "Newman's Law" can work as a fore-runner to "Lethal Weapon", in that a contrast is provided between the two partners; Robinsons' character Garry is married and a father, and he's more of a stable influence. But he's very loyal to his partner, and only begins to get irked when Newman suggests that *he* may be the leak in the department.

The story is certainly quite watchable, and Heffron keeps it moving forward more than adequately. The excellent score is by Robert Prince ("Squirm"), and the impressive cinematography by Vilis Lapenieks, a TV veteran whose credits include 'Kojak' and 'Toma'. The main draw is a large supporting cast full of familiar faces: Eugene Roche ("Foul Play") as Newmans' boss, Gordon Pinsent ("Away from Her") as the district attorney, Abe Vigoda ('Barney Miller') as a mafioso, Michael Lerner ("Barton Fink") as the D.A.'s associate, Victor Campos ("Scarface") as a uniformed cop, and Mel Stewart ('Scarecrow and Mrs. King'), David Spielberg ("Christine"), Teddy Wilson ("Cleopatra Jones"), Kip Niven ("New Year's Evil"), Richard Bull ('Little House on the Prairie'), and Stack Pierce ("Vice Squad"). The radiant Marlene Clark ("Ganja & Hess") is cast as Garry's wife. Through it all, Robinson exudes confidence and reliability, while Peppard is given one touching character detail in that he visits an invalid father in a nursing home.

While room is left for some humor, overall the effect of "Newman's Law" is a sober one. Wilson, Heffron, and company aren't afraid to have things end badly for any of their characters. And the action scenes are capably handled, with the standout being an assault on Peppard that turns into a shootout inside a department store.

Six out of 10.

This certainly ain't ADAM-12 or DRAGNET!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 5 May 2021]

"Newman's Law" was a movie originally intended as a pilot for a television series...a series that was never to be. It seems that George Peppard had just finished filming his "Banacek" series and was looking for another TV project. And, after seeing the film, I can understand why the networks passed on it. After all, the movie was about an L. A. cop...and played NOTHING like "Dragnet" or "Adam-12", series that glorified policework AND tried to portray them realistically. Instead, it was more like "Serpico" and "Dirty Harry"....pretty potent stuff for TV.

VInce Newman (Peppard) is a detective working the Narcotics Division. He and his partner just uncovered a big crime...with a dead man, a thief and a whole lotta illegal drugs. But the best part is that the mobster Falcone is implicated in all this and now the D. A. has enough evidence to have him extradited to the US to face charges. In order to muddy the case, the mob starts paying off cops and making it look like Newman is on the take. Now this set-up really makes no sense--he and his partner just located the biggest stash of drugs the department ever confiscated and he helped the case against Falcone...and now suddenly every cop seems to believe he's dirty?! This just didn't make a lot of sense. But then, this is an action-oriented script and believability didn't seem high on their agenda.

This show would never play well if it was made today. It's not the violence level but the glorification of vigilante style police work and a complete disregard for the Bill of Rights (such as Newman working over folks he arrests as well as shooting up the mobster's compound for kicks). In other words, the show seems to say that the best way to fight evil is to ignore the law and bust heads....or worse.

The bottom line is that this is a movie featuring lots of shooting, things exploding and the like...with very little in the way of realism or characterization. I especially had to laugh at the execution scene at the nursing home...it was utterly ridiculous and made "Dirty Harry" look like the height of realism!

Personal favorite Peppard Flick

[realesteverinlife · 10/10 · 13 April 2021]

Personal favorite Peppard film. It's such a dark flick. Newman lives in a world that is completely against his existence. It becomes abundantly clear that Newman is fighting a losing battle as the movie progresses. No matter what he does or how he moves the world is against him. The loner we know in Peppard is stuck in a word where more than anything he needs a friend. I love the way Peppard carries himself given the circumstance. Yes things are dark. Yes I wish this world was better, but I'm here and I'm going to make the best of it. I'll always love him for doing that.

A film with tough guys!

[RodrigAndrisan · 8/10 · 22 October 2019]

A good action movie very well interpreted by absolutely all the actors. I immediately recognized Abe Vigoda, Tessio from The Godfather, (born to play mobsters with such a face) because most of the other actors are not well known. Except for the main role, of course, seen by me in many good films as well, Mister George Peppard: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Operation Crossbow, The Blue Max, Damnation Alley, The A-Team. I knew also Michael Lerner from a few other films, in which he always play the same type of character.

Bang-up 70's cop film

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 24 November 2020]

Honest straight-arrow cop Vince Newman (adroitly played with right-on world-weary conviction by George Peppard) has both his job and integrity threatened after he uncovers an international drug ring that several high-ranking police officers are involved with.

Directed with utmost taut efficiency by Richard T. Heffron, with a compact script by Anthony Wilson, an absorbing story that unfolds at a constant pace, nice use of various seedy locations, crisp cinematography by Vilis Lapenieks, a gritty downbeat tone complete with an uncompromisingly grim ending, a groovy dissonant bluesy'n'jazzy score by Robert Prince, a vivid evocation of a certain plausibly drab'n'seamy workaday reality, and a few exciting and expertly staged action set pieces (a shootout in a sprawling department store in particular seriously smokes in no uncertain terms), this shamefully neglected little pip totally hits the supremely funky'n'cynical 70's cop movie spot.

The sound acting by the capable cast further keeps this picture humming: Roger Robinson as Newman's loyal partner Garry, Eugene Roche as shifty superior Reardon, Gordon Pinsent as eager D.A. Jack Eastman, Abe Vigoda as fearsome mobster John Dellanzia, Michael Lerner as wormy lawyer Frank Acker, Louis Zorich as slippery Mafia capo Frank Lo Falcone, Victor Campos as decent flatfoot Peter Jimenez, Mel Stewart as tough drug kingpin Quist, Teddy Wilson as sniveling pusher Jaycee, Marlene Clark as Garry's sweet wife Edie, and Pat Anderson as foxy model informant Sharon. Well worth a watch.

Solid second tier '70s cop movie

[pmtelefon · 8/10 · 28 December 2020]

"Newman's Law" is not one of classic cop movies of the 1970s but it's still a good one. The second half of this movie, when Newman goes to war, is really good. I don't know how it happened but I saw this movie in the theater (Floral Park, NY) when I was nine years old and my brother was seven. We saw it by ourselves as part of a double feature with "My Name is Nobody". I took me decades to see it again. The only scene that I remembered was the "rent a camera" scene. I wonder why? "Newman's Law" is a well acted, good looking movie. I'm glad that I caught up with it. Honorable mention: the very good DVD commentary by Peter Tonguette.

Peppard's "Dirty Harry"

[zardoz-13 · 8/10 · 22 July 2013]

Richard T. Heffron's unrated and seemingly forgotten crime movie "Newman's Law" is George Peppard's take on "Dirty Harry." Peppard plays a straightforward, blue-collar, undercover sergeant who polishes his shoes, puts on his spectacles when reading is required, and checks up on his father in a nursing home. He is as saintly a cop as you can imagine, and he is dealing with not only a ruthless mafia chieftain and his own department. Like most 1970s police procedural, you have a corrupt cop on the take concealed somewhere in the action. "Newman's Law" provides us with two dirty cops. The first one emerges early on after our heroes make a major narcotics bust, while the second one remains dormant until the finale. Vincent Newman (George Peppard of "Operation Crossbow") and his African-American LAPD partner Garry (Roger Robinson of "Willie Dynamite") get lucky and make a major bust. They knock over some trashcans so that the trash litters the street. Interpreting this as a crime that requires investigating, the two enter the building and find a fortune hidden in the floor. One of the guys who comes out catches a bullet when he tries to flee the scene of the crime. Newman wounds him in the leg, but somebody uses blunt force trauma and kills him. Newman is brought up on charges after the Internal Affairs Division finds a bag of narcotics in his small, modest apartment. A three-time loser and full-time liar points the finger at Newman, but our hero doesn't serve any time. Contrived, predictable, and grim right down to the end, "Newman's Law" doesn't contain any car chases or major stunts. Director Richard Heffron and "Banacek" scenarist Anthony Wilson have created a serviceable but flat-footed thriller with an ending that comes as a relief more than a catharsis. Not only does Vincent's partner go down leaving a wife and son to fend for themselves, Vincent checks out himself after a home invasion shoot-out, but he takes down the villains. Peppard delivers his usual clench-jawed performance and incorporates interesting little touches to his character. The sprained ankle during an introductory foot chase is an example. "Newman's Law" is nothing outstanding either as a police potboiler or a Peppard movie. Nevertheless, it is the kind of movie that is difficult to like despite its excellent location photography and gritty action. Indeed, you've got to love uncompromising tough guy cop thrillers that refuse to pull their punches to enjoy this solid if unsavory mix of heroics and authenticity. I cannot imagine anybody wanting to watch this movie for fun and games, because there is nothing remotely charismatic about it.