646f9e108c Seattle undercover narc Jackie Parker (Stevens) is out to bust the drug smuggling ring commanded by Philip Bianco (Danova). Watchable enough vehicle for starlet Connie Stevens in which she plays Jackie Parker, an undercover detective determined to bust a dope smuggling ring. Among the sordid characters surrounding her are Philip (Cesare Danova) and Claudia Bianco (Marlene Schmidt, the directors&#39; wife), and creepy goons Carl (William Smith) and Nicky (John Davis Chandler).<br/><br/>Unfortunately, this viewer should disclose the fact that he watched the edited for TV version. Therefore, some of the apparently best stuff is nowhere to be seen. That would have added a little spice to what is a mostly unremarkable effort from writer / producer / director Howard Avedis, a busy filmmaker during the 1970s. However, two amusingly protracted chase scenes, one with Stevens going after Smith and one with her pursuing Danova, do make this worth a glance on a slow night. There&#39;s some very mild gore; one memorable sex scene ends with a guy getting harpooned in the back.<br/><br/>Connie is passably charming in the main role, even if she doesn&#39;t make the most convincing cop in the world. It&#39;s up to her excellent supporting cast to do the heavy lifting. Danova is solid, but it&#39;s the always reliable, veteran screen villains Smith and Chandler who are the most fun to watch. Norman Burton plays Connies&#39; boss; also appearing are Joyce Jameson, and stuntman Nick Dimitri (in a rare substantial acting role). Actor Greg Evigan makes his film debut playing likable stud Alan.<br/><br/>This viewer must say that he did dig that unexpected and rather abrupt ending.<br/><br/>EDIT: I&#39;ve since seen the R-rated version on Blu-ray, and while the T &amp; A in this version is appreciable, there&#39;s not really enough of it to make a big difference. Still, the movie remains fairly entertaining.<br/><br/>Six out of 10. As a first point, don&#39;t settle for the television edit of this film, which for many years was the only way to see it. Find the restored re-release version. Much of the fun was left out of the television edit, and can only be seen in the restoration.<br/><br/>Although the film credits a police technical adviser, the script doesn&#39;t seem to have paid much attention to him. When plausibility comes into conflict with wild plot twists or spectacle, plausibility rarely wins. But the writer- director is considerably bettera director; the scenes flow well, and the action scenes are always either thrilling or hilariously over the top.<br/><br/>The acting is a mix, and sometimes it&#39;s hard to tell a badly-acted scene with one where an actor couldn&#39;t overcome the writing. But when a scene is unconvincing, it&#39;s not bland, it&#39;s funny.<br/><br/>A lot about the film is pretty weak, but the spectacle of the chase scenes adds a lot to the quality of the film- making. Judging it on its meritsa police thriller, it&#39;s merely a &quot;5&quot;, fair. But the film&#39;s entertainment value is much higher than that, not just for the chase scenes, but for the laugh value of the film in scenes where it goes wrong. So for fun it&#39;s a &quot;9&quot;, excellent.<br/><br/>Finally, I live in the Seattle area. The film is full of Seattle scenery, vintage 1976. Picking out scenes of Seattle, and marveling at the changes in the city over four decades, is a special pleasure for anyone familiar with Seattle.<br/><br/><ul><li>- -</li></ul><br/><br/>Here&#39;s a spoiler-rich summary of the film&#39;s events (from memory, with help on character name from AFI):<br/><br/>The film begins with Carl, a hardened killer, disguiseda priest, bumping off a drug courier and traveling from Rome to Seattle with ten kilos of heroin hidden inside a fake ancient sculpture, a favorite McGuffin in 1970s crime films. Also aboard the plane is police detective Jackie Parker (Connie Stevens, who the movie poster calls &quot;Scorchy&quot;), who is trying to track the drugs and bust the smugglers. Other police meet Jackie at the airport, and each trails one of the suspects. The sculpture goes to Mary, an (apparently not too discerning) art collector. The dead courier&#39;s boss, Philip, learning of his man&#39;s demise, decides that Jackie (who, under covera private pilot, had befriended his wife Claudia) would be a perfect substitute courier.<br/><br/>Jackie and the smuggling bosses visit Mary to retrieve the sculpture to deliver it to a restoration specialist, who is actually the Carl, to restore the statue by removing the drugs under Jackie&#39;s supervision. Carl shoots an assistant who is no longer useful, and flees, with Jackie in pursuit in an appropriated dune buggy.<br/><br/>Thus begins the main spectacle of the film: a well-orchestrated, many-vehicle chase scene with some impressive stunts. When faced with a choice between plausibility and spectacle, the film chooses spectacle. When faced with a choice between strong-arm robbery and homicide, Carl chooses murder. The chase concludes with a motorcycle jump toward a Washington State Ferry.<br/><br/>A few scenes later, smugglers press Jackie into flying the drugs to the San Juan Islands. Her plane isn&#39;t ready for a while, so she has a romantic interlude at her Lake Union home (a property so expensive that a real cop probably couldn&#39;t even afford to rent it for a weekend). The romance is violently interrupted by Carl and his goon Nick, who make off with the heroin.<br/><br/>Jackie gives Philip and Claudia an update, and somehow everyone converges on the home of someone named Suzi. Lots of people start shooting and another big chase ensues. With the aid of a listening device, Jackie learns that the drugs are headed to a mansion owned by kingpin &quot;Big Boy&quot;.<br/><br/>Police stake out Big Boy&#39;s mansion, and Big Boy arrives by helicopter. A giant shootout ensues, and both the cops and the crooks demonstrate remarkable tactical incompetence. As villains start getting away, Jackie sets out in pursuit of Philip in a police helicopter that had arrived during the shootout. They face off at Gasworks Park, she catches him, he shoots her with her own gun, and he kills him with her back-up gun.
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