Madigan
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Movie Reviews of Madigan
Movie Review: 60's police drama...
Summary: 2 Stars
New York City detectives Madigan (Richard Widmark) and Bonaro (Harry Guardino), mess up making a routine arrest, allowing a murderer (Steve Ihnat) to escape. This sets the stage for a look at the activities of the NYPD over a three-day period, while the two detectives try to recapture their man. "Madigan" follows two loosely connected story lines, one the pursuit of the fugitive, and the second involves the activities of the Police Commissioner (PC), played by a prim Henry Fonda. This separation of focus, keeps the movie from reaching it's full potential, as the story elements related to the PC are banal and distract from the chase. There is almost no personal interaction between Madigan and the Commissoner to connect the two stories, and keep the movie's focus tight. While the detectives follow leads to the killer, the PC deals with corruption, accusations of misconduct, and his own moral hypocrisy.
The film does boast a top-notch cast, including Inger Stevens, James Whitmore, Michael Dunn, Don Stroud, Susan Clark and Sheree North. Ihnat is particularly effective as the vicious killer on the run. Stevens is luscious as Madigan's attention starved wife. And Clark is the Commissioner's adulterous young mistress. "Love", Hollywood style is wonderfully realistic, matching the young with the old. Widmark (54) is paired with Stevens (34), and Fonda (63) with Clark (28).
"Madigan" is dated, and may not be well received by today's audience. What was gritty action back then, is tame by today's standards. But if you are into the late 60's, you will probably enjoy the many familiar faces found here. Brought to you by the same people who did the NBC Mystery Theater, and programs like Colombo, McCloud, McMillian, and Banacek.
Movie Review: Clunky '60s dialogue and music
Summary: 2 Stars
I read many reviews of this 1968 Don Siegal opus and all were enthusiastic. I like Dirty Harry from Siegal, but was extrememely disappointed with this film. It feels like a pilot for Sunday Mystery Movie (of course the nudity in one of the first scenes ruled that out), and it never got better. The parallel stories of detecitve Richard Widmark trying to find a criminal who had made him look the fool, and the moral dilemnas faced by Henry Fond (the police commissioner) never come together. In fact, I never understood why these two characters were in the same film. In one scene where they meet at a black tie social affar, the dialogue and acting between the two are so uncomfortable, I actually laughed out loud. In fact, that is my big gripe with the whole movie. There seems to be so much unmotivated conflict and unexplained resolution, I was left, at best, confused. Why Henry Fonda lets one of his best friends off the hook after he learns he is "on the take" is unresolved. Why Madigan has such a temptestuous relationship with his wife (Inger Stevens) is likewise unmotivated. I just felt the scriptwriters had two or three story lines and strung them together. I know life is filled with many parallel stories and events. These just don't seem to have anything to do with each other. And if that weren't enough, Don Costa's bombastic score constantly calls attention to itself, actually distracting me from the movie. All in all, my wife and I were left flat and we did not care about any of these characters, even after the surprise ending.Movie Review: Dated Melodrama
Summary: 2 Stars
Madigan was a critical success at the time (late 60's). It was not a box office success. It has the look and feel of another Don Siegel movie ( "The Killers". Meant to be a TV Movie. Madigan even continued as a series of TV Movies). Over time it has not aged all that well. The Don Costa score is way overblown and very dated. It was considered to be gritty and realistic at the time. After not having seen it for about 30 years, it came as quite a shock to see that it now plays like a parody of the era. The print however is in great condition.Movie Review: Surprisingly horrible
Summary: 1 Stars
I picked this DVD up never having seen the movie. I figured 1968...Henry Fonda...Richard Widmark...how bad can it be? Well I found out - pretty darn bad.
There is nothing even remotely interesting about this "hard-hitting" crime/drama film. The score is insipid ("dated" is being too polite), the acting is surprisingly weak, and the storyline is disjointed and loaded with irrelevant "filler". It is almost as if the writers said "Hey this is 1968 so we need a little adultery, a little nudity/sex, a little racial tension, a little comedic relief, and oh yeah, and I guess we need some sort of a plot too". Another reviewer pointed out that this was put out by the same folks that did the Columbo/McCloud etc. all mini-series', but the "formula" that made those shows so successful is the very same formula that makes this movie sink to the bottom. It just doesn't work and just makes the whole film have a silly, "Mod squad" feel to it. (Wait, I take that back. The Mod Squad was better than this).
One would think even with the criticisms mentioned, the quality of actors would somehow be able to redeem the film in some way. Nope. Keep in mind that at around this time, Henry Fonda's acting career as lead man and head biller was at the beginning of the end. To whit, Widmark takes the top "role" as Madigan while Fonda plays the by-the-book, "level-headed" police commissioner. To me it seemed the actors were almost caricaturing themselves - Fonda symbolizing the quiet, reserved and balanced "intellect"....Widmark the street-smart, tough-as nails veteran who often "steps out of bounds".....Whitmore the ever-present "father-figure" (does he ever play any other role?). The whole thing was so predictable, except for how bad it actually was. There, it even surpassed my own expectations. Avoid wasting money on this movie and if you want 1960's crime-melodrama, stick to Dirty Harry and Death Wish. They may be "dated" too but at least they are still enjoyable to watch.