A pair of ex-con punk brothers are mugging people and terrorizing others to keep them quiet, which make it hard for the police to charge them. This doesn't stop tough, old, grizzled Detective Dan Madigan from rousting them on petty misdemeanors to try and keep them off the streets at least for a night here and there, even if it does come under the heading of "police harrasassment". While this is going on, he's saddled with a new partner, fresh out of college with a degree is Sociology, who thinks "new-fangled" methods like communication and "encounter groups" may be able to help at least one of the brothers.
MADIGAN had to be the most "different" of all the NBC Mystery Movies series. Filmed entirely on location (at the insistence of lead actor Richard Widmark), it's like a tougher, grittier version of McCLOUD with nearly all of the humor surgically removed. I came in a bit late, but for most of the 1972-73 season, it became one of my favorite shows, despite how deadly-serious it often was. Re-watching this episode, it feels like it stepped out of a time warp. On the one hand, the attitude of his partner screams of the era it was made more than anything on any other Mystery Movie series, while the look and style seems at least 20 years ahead of its time. A shame that like too many of the series that came after the initial 3, it didn't last. In an interview in TV GUIDE at the time, when asked what he thought the show's chances were, Widmark replied, "All I know is, whenever I like a show, it only lasts one season." He called that one right.
What a cast! Richard Widmark (KISS OF DEATH, THE ALAMO, JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS) is "Dan Madigan", a cop who claims to hate his job, but keeps doing it because it's the only thing he knows, and, he's so good at it. I always remember being shocked when I got around to seeing the 1968 feature film MADIGAN, and found he was married in it, and, more, got KILLED at the end. This episode mentions he's divorced, and, as for the other thing, I guess he "got better". The nerve of whoever was responsible for taking a DEAD character and reviving him for a TV series.
Ronnie Cox (ROBOCOP) is "Norman Fields", the all-too-sensitive college boy with the way-too-long hair who isn't sure he's made the right career choice, tries to reach the younger mugger (and his sister), and oddly lies to his parents about what his older partner does on his time off.
Murray Hamilton (JAWS) is "Charlie Kane", Dan's ex-parter who's moved up to a desk job, and understands him better than anyone else. Hamilton replaced James Whitmore from the 1968 film, and while I know they only made 3 episodes set in New York City, it's very odd that Hamilton didn't come back for the other 2.
William Prince (THE GAUNTLET) is "Mr. Fields", Norman's father who asks Dan to "watch over" his son.
Tony Lo Bianco (THE FRENCH CONNECTION) is Joe Lakka, a scum if there ever was one, who mugs and terrorizes old people, but also brutalizes his own brother to keep him in line. Suffice to say, things don't end well, but he really had it coming.
James Sloyan (BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY) is Tommy Lakka, the annoying younger brother who does whatever his older sibling tells him to, no matter how much trouble it means.
Earle Hyman has a brief part as "Detective Clark", who we see at the grimy precinct house. He later appeared in 40 episodes of THE COSBY SHOW!
Ann Wedgeworth is "Angie", the waitress Dan is friendly with. She later appeared in 99 episodes of EVENING SHADE!
I strongly suspect the location used for the police precinct was the SAME one that appeared in both the 1968 MADIGAN film and the 1968 COOGAN'S BLUFF. I found it interesting at the time that MADIGAN and THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO debuted the same month, and both featured grizzled old detectives partnered with young college boys (on the other show it was Karl Malden & Michael Douglas). STREETS ran 120 weekly episodes; MADIGAN, a mere 6 tv-movies. So it goes.
At the moment, the series is available as bootlegs from OnesMediaFilms. The prints, taken from French copies (with the important credits altered to read in English) are a bit too dark and grainy, but at least they're watchable. I really wanted to upgrade from my own videotapes recorded off The CBS Late Movie in the early 80s, when they skipped my favorite episode, "The London Beat". But I would really love it if Visual Entertainment Incorporated (VEI), who put out the boxes of McCLOUD, McMILLAN & WIFE, and THE SNOOP SISTERS, would get aorund to doing MADIGAN, HEC RAMSEY, COOL MILLION, and the other later NBC Mystery Movie series.
MADIGAN had to be the most "different" of all the NBC Mystery Movies series. Filmed entirely on location (at the insistence of lead actor Richard Widmark), it's like a tougher, grittier version of McCLOUD with nearly all of the humor surgically removed. I came in a bit late, but for most of the 1972-73 season, it became one of my favorite shows, despite how deadly-serious it often was. Re-watching this episode, it feels like it stepped out of a time warp. On the one hand, the attitude of his partner screams of the era it was made more than anything on any other Mystery Movie series, while the look and style seems at least 20 years ahead of its time. A shame that like too many of the series that came after the initial 3, it didn't last. In an interview in TV GUIDE at the time, when asked what he thought the show's chances were, Widmark replied, "All I know is, whenever I like a show, it only lasts one season." He called that one right.
What a cast! Richard Widmark (KISS OF DEATH, THE ALAMO, JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS) is "Dan Madigan", a cop who claims to hate his job, but keeps doing it because it's the only thing he knows, and, he's so good at it. I always remember being shocked when I got around to seeing the 1968 feature film MADIGAN, and found he was married in it, and, more, got KILLED at the end. This episode mentions he's divorced, and, as for the other thing, I guess he "got better". The nerve of whoever was responsible for taking a DEAD character and reviving him for a TV series.
Ronnie Cox (ROBOCOP) is "Norman Fields", the all-too-sensitive college boy with the way-too-long hair who isn't sure he's made the right career choice, tries to reach the younger mugger (and his sister), and oddly lies to his parents about what his older partner does on his time off.
Murray Hamilton (JAWS) is "Charlie Kane", Dan's ex-parter who's moved up to a desk job, and understands him better than anyone else. Hamilton replaced James Whitmore from the 1968 film, and while I know they only made 3 episodes set in New York City, it's very odd that Hamilton didn't come back for the other 2.
William Prince (THE GAUNTLET) is "Mr. Fields", Norman's father who asks Dan to "watch over" his son.
Tony Lo Bianco (THE FRENCH CONNECTION) is Joe Lakka, a scum if there ever was one, who mugs and terrorizes old people, but also brutalizes his own brother to keep him in line. Suffice to say, things don't end well, but he really had it coming.
James Sloyan (BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY) is Tommy Lakka, the annoying younger brother who does whatever his older sibling tells him to, no matter how much trouble it means.
Earle Hyman has a brief part as "Detective Clark", who we see at the grimy precinct house. He later appeared in 40 episodes of THE COSBY SHOW!
Ann Wedgeworth is "Angie", the waitress Dan is friendly with. She later appeared in 99 episodes of EVENING SHADE!
I strongly suspect the location used for the police precinct was the SAME one that appeared in both the 1968 MADIGAN film and the 1968 COOGAN'S BLUFF. I found it interesting at the time that MADIGAN and THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO debuted the same month, and both featured grizzled old detectives partnered with young college boys (on the other show it was Karl Malden & Michael Douglas). STREETS ran 120 weekly episodes; MADIGAN, a mere 6 tv-movies. So it goes.
At the moment, the series is available as bootlegs from OnesMediaFilms. The prints, taken from French copies (with the important credits altered to read in English) are a bit too dark and grainy, but at least they're watchable. I really wanted to upgrade from my own videotapes recorded off The CBS Late Movie in the early 80s, when they skipped my favorite episode, "The London Beat". But I would really love it if Visual Entertainment Incorporated (VEI), who put out the boxes of McCLOUD, McMILLAN & WIFE, and THE SNOOP SISTERS, would get aorund to doing MADIGAN, HEC RAMSEY, COOL MILLION, and the other later NBC Mystery Movie series.