The film centers around Johnny Ryan (Clancy Brown), an honest cop working the 1940s New York City who...wait for it...doesn't play by the rules! After a protected witness takes a dive out of a hotel window, the District Attorney (J. Kenneth Campbell) recruits Ryan to tackle the local mob bosses (Robert Miranda, Paul Rossilli and Victor Argo) and weed out any corrupt cops. Before you can say The Untouchables, Ryan has assembled an eclectic squad that...sit down for this one...doesn't play by the rules! I'm sure the success of the aforementioned Brian DePalma flick is what got this pilot movie greenlit. Writer-producer Mark Rodgers had previously mined this territory with the mini-series The Gangster Chronicles (1981). Perhaps the most interesting thing about this is seeing perpetual bad guy Clancy Brown in a leading role as the good guy. Also interesting is Bruce Abbott of Re-Animator fame is his partner. Julia Campbell plays the showgirl that Ryan falls for. Teri Austin shows up as a prosecutor and that year she was also a regular on Cop Rock, thus ensuring this was the least embarrassing thing she did that year. Other familiar faces include Robert Prosky as a police captain; Romero alumni Eugene Clark (Land of the Dead) as a tough cop and Jason Beghe (Monkey Shines) as a drunk cop; and Roberta Findlay alum Christine Moore as a member of Ryan's team. Yes, the star of Lurkers and Prime Evil in a network television film, truly a step down. Made via Dan Curtis Productions, it looks really nice with lots of period detail, but is filled with cliches. Ultimately, this never made it to series and NBC dumped it on a Sunday night on July 29, 1990, snagging a 6.6 rating. However, it did have impact in one way as the big band score earned it an Emmy nod.
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sol121825 January 2008**SPOILERS** In an effort to get the top honcho's of the notorious NYC's Murder Inc. Mob organization Albert Anastasia and Frank Costello convicted and put behind bars the NYPD had in protective custody the one man willing to testify against them; Mob stool pigeon Louie Galvan.
As it turned out Galvan was guarded in a room on the top floor of the Astor Hotel by two dirty cop, Pete Howard & Ben Dougherty. The two cops allowed gangsters Steve Lombardi and "Tough Tony" Cardini to enter the hotel-room and throw the half-asleep witness out of the window and to his death on the street below. It soon becomes apparent that the only way to get to Anastasia and Costello is to somehow get someone to turn against them, like the late Louie Galvan, who's motives and whereabouts are unknown to them. That's where the newly formed Special and Super Secret Police Squad, answering only to NYC D.A Frank Hogan and the Mayor, comes into play.
The Special Squad headed by the brash and confident Det. Johnny Ryan doesn't start off too well in it's attempt to get the goods on New York City's top mobsters. Johnny making a complete jerk of himself goes off so half cocked in breaking the law that he was sworn to enforced that he almost ends up behind bars himself. Johnny doesn't only screw himself up but also screws up the investigation in bedding down Steve Lombardi's, Frank Costello's right-hand man, girl singer and dancer, at Lombardi's Havana Club, Eva Manion.
Johnny's macho but moronic attempt to intimidate Lombardi, for no other reason but to throw his weight around, also has a top possible witness crooked cop Ben Dougherty end up getting gunned down by Frank Costello's goons in an effort to shut him up. Pete Howard the other crooked cop involved in Louie Galvan's murder gets so drunk from the pressure put on him by Johnny's Special Squad that he's driven not only to drink, the guys been on the wagon for at least a year, but to the brink of suicide!
Even Johnny romancing the emotionally frail Eva Manion to get her to rat out her boyfriend Steve Lombadi ends up in disaster. Eva gets the hell beat out of her by Lmobardi who found out about her bedroom antics with the handsome but not that on the ball Johnny Ryan. Johnny finding out about what Lombardi did to Eva ends up himself getting booked and almost sent to Rykers Island, the NYC criminal holding pen,when he almost beat, in front of over a hundred eye witnesses, Lombardi to death at his Havana Club!
***SPOILER ALERT***In a way Johnny's rough stuff actions does bring results but only for the wrong reasons. Johnny ends up not only getting the by now battered Eva set up for a hit by the Frank Costello Mob but has the only two persons who can finger the Mob Boss, as well as his partner in crime Albert Anastasia, "Tough Tony" Cardini and the vengeful, for what Johnny did to him, Steve Lombardi iced. This all happens when the hit on both Eva and Johnny backfires with the key man, the big surprise in the movie, who set it all up suddenly gets religious, after for the first time in 30 years taking a drink on Sunday, and backs out on the deal!
You have to say one thing about Det. Johnny Ryan and that has to do with the luck, or Luck of the Irish, that he has all throughout the film. No matter what Johnny does he's always bailed out of the mess he created for both himself and those who have the misfortune to be around,Like Eva, or work with, like his late partner Larry Bryant, him!