The Take

Super-tough, super-cynical product of the Nixon era in which it is futile to worry overmuch about such hair-splitters as whether our hero is a bent cop playing good or vice versa. Hartford-Davis' direction is all flash, laced with a couple of this'll knock 'em dead-type shock cuts and an introductory countdown to the shootout that threatens to be never-ending. Lovers of bizarre relics from the great age of pop will relish Frankie Avalon in a small part as a punk gangster screaming 'Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!' to our hero in a police cell. As the cop, Billy Dee Williams, who may be remembered for a soulful performance in Lady Sings the Blues, is plainly misused.