OUTRAGE is one of those long-forgotten American TV movies of the 1970 that turns out to be as tight and compelling as it ever was, and perhaps more so than it was on first release. It's a story of ordinary man Robert Culp, pushed to the limit by a neighbourhood gang of car-racing delinquents who proceed to make his and his family's life a misery after he crosses them at the film's opening.
What follows is a tit-for-tat portrayal of increasing violence as Culp finds himself going down the dead ends of the justice system and eventually takes the law into his own hands. Shades of the vigilante classic DEATH WISH, of course, although inevitably this story is less violent although still just as powerful. It's also more realistic, and Culp gives a better performance than Charles Bronson; this and his various villainous turns in COLUMBO remind us of what a very fine actor he was.
What follows is a tit-for-tat portrayal of increasing violence as Culp finds himself going down the dead ends of the justice system and eventually takes the law into his own hands. Shades of the vigilante classic DEATH WISH, of course, although inevitably this story is less violent although still just as powerful. It's also more realistic, and Culp gives a better performance than Charles Bronson; this and his various villainous turns in COLUMBO remind us of what a very fine actor he was.