Warning Shot (1967)
100 mins | Melodrama | January 1967
Cast:
David Janssen, Ed Begley, Keenan Wynn [ More ]Director:
Buzz KulikWriter:
Mann RubinProducer:
Buzz KulikCinematographer:
Joseph BirocEditor:
Archie MarshekProduction Designers:
Hal Pereira, Roland AndersonProduction Company:
Bob Banner AssociatesDirector Buzz Kulik’s hand appears in a close-up shot of a milkman’s hand depositing a milk bottle on “Sgt. Tom Valens’s” doorstep, according to a 12 Apr 1966 DV brief.
Warning Shot was announced in the 8 Mar 1966 DV as the first of a multiple-picture deal between actor David Janssen and Paramount Pictures, and the debut feature film for television producers Bob Banner Associates. The 30 Mar 1966 LAT cited a production budget of $2.5 million.
The 17 Mar 1966 DV announced that Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, star pitchers for the Los Angeles Dodgers, had been cast as a “detective sergeant” and a “tv commentator,” respectively. Koufax and Drysdale committed to the film in the wake of failed salary negotiations with the Dodgers, who were scheduled to start their season on 11 Apr 1966, the same day shooting was set to begin. Actor-coach Jeff Corey was hired to coach the baseball players, as noted in a 28 Mar 1966 DV news item, which also indicated that rehearsals had begun that day.
Principal photography commenced as scheduled on 11 Apr 1966, when DV reported that Koufax would be replaced by John Garfield, Jr. (making his feature film debut), and Drysdale by Jerry Dunphy, after the baseball players had reached an agreement with the Dodgers and returned to the team. Filming took place on location in Los Angeles, CA, with the exception of a courtroom set built on a soundstage at the Paramount studio lot, the 10 May 1966 DV noted. The Los Angeles Police Department provided technical assistance, according ...
Director Buzz Kulik’s hand appears in a close-up shot of a milkman’s hand depositing a milk bottle on “Sgt. Tom Valens’s” doorstep, according to a 12 Apr 1966 DV brief.
Warning Shot was announced in the 8 Mar 1966 DV as the first of a multiple-picture deal between actor David Janssen and Paramount Pictures, and the debut feature film for television producers Bob Banner Associates. The 30 Mar 1966 LAT cited a production budget of $2.5 million.
The 17 Mar 1966 DV announced that Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, star pitchers for the Los Angeles Dodgers, had been cast as a “detective sergeant” and a “tv commentator,” respectively. Koufax and Drysdale committed to the film in the wake of failed salary negotiations with the Dodgers, who were scheduled to start their season on 11 Apr 1966, the same day shooting was set to begin. Actor-coach Jeff Corey was hired to coach the baseball players, as noted in a 28 Mar 1966 DV news item, which also indicated that rehearsals had begun that day.
Principal photography commenced as scheduled on 11 Apr 1966, when DV reported that Koufax would be replaced by John Garfield, Jr. (making his feature film debut), and Drysdale by Jerry Dunphy, after the baseball players had reached an agreement with the Dodgers and returned to the team. Filming took place on location in Los Angeles, CA, with the exception of a courtroom set built on a soundstage at the Paramount studio lot, the 10 May 1966 DV noted. The Los Angeles Police Department provided technical assistance, according to the 3 Jan 1967 DV. Shooting concluded around 23 May 1966.
A news brief in the 23 Nov 1966 Var stated that Whit Masterson’s 1965 source novel, 711—Officer Needs Help, was scheduled to be reprinted under the film’s title by Popular Library, to coincide with theatrical release.
The following actors were listed as cast members in DV items published between Apr and May 1966: Fredric Villani; stand-up comedian Dave Barry; Claude Stroud; Pat Jones; Kathy Patterson; Susan Little; John Mitchum; Robert Osterloh; Grant Woods; Walter Maslow; Jason Wingreen; Mike Mahoney; Gigi Michel; Mimi Dillard; Jackie Andre; Bobbi Jordan; Sheila Cave; Phil Chambers; Dorothy Abbott; Lanetta Wahlgren; and Oscar Perkins in the role of a “blind panhandler.”
While on the lookout for a psychopathic killer, detective Sgt. Tom Valens spots a man running across the grounds of a housing development and orders him to stop. Instead, the man draws a gun, and Valens shoots him in self-defense. The dead suspect turns out to be a highly respected doctor, James B. Ruston, well-known for his philanthropic efforts on behalf of the Mexican people in Baja California. Because no trace of the slain doctor's gun can be found, Valens' story is discredited in the press, and he is accused of being a trigger-happy cop who murdered an innocent man. Suspended from field duty, he has only a short time to clear himself before being prosecuted on manslaughter charges. Desperate, Valens returns to the housing development and visits Alice Willows, an elderly patient of Dr. Ruston's, who tells him of the doctor's weekly visits and the little presents he always brought for her dog. While there, Valens also encounters two other tenants--Walt Cody, a commercial airline pilot who seems sympathetic to his plight, and a dead model, the victim of an illegal abortion. Then Valens calls on Ruston's nurse, Liz Thayer, and learns that the doctor had recently been receiving large dividend checks from his broker, Calvin York. A short time later the nurse is found murdered, and an attempt is made upon Valens' life. Deducing that somehow there are connecting links between these facts, Valens recalls something Miss Willows said about burying her dog with all of Dr. Ruston's little presents. Calling upon Walt Cody for help, Valens unearths the dog's tiny coffin and finds the missing gun--a toy wooden pistol filled with heroin. Realizing that both Ruston ...
While on the lookout for a psychopathic killer, detective Sgt. Tom Valens spots a man running across the grounds of a housing development and orders him to stop. Instead, the man draws a gun, and Valens shoots him in self-defense. The dead suspect turns out to be a highly respected doctor, James B. Ruston, well-known for his philanthropic efforts on behalf of the Mexican people in Baja California. Because no trace of the slain doctor's gun can be found, Valens' story is discredited in the press, and he is accused of being a trigger-happy cop who murdered an innocent man. Suspended from field duty, he has only a short time to clear himself before being prosecuted on manslaughter charges. Desperate, Valens returns to the housing development and visits Alice Willows, an elderly patient of Dr. Ruston's, who tells him of the doctor's weekly visits and the little presents he always brought for her dog. While there, Valens also encounters two other tenants--Walt Cody, a commercial airline pilot who seems sympathetic to his plight, and a dead model, the victim of an illegal abortion. Then Valens calls on Ruston's nurse, Liz Thayer, and learns that the doctor had recently been receiving large dividend checks from his broker, Calvin York. A short time later the nurse is found murdered, and an attempt is made upon Valens' life. Deducing that somehow there are connecting links between these facts, Valens recalls something Miss Willows said about burying her dog with all of Dr. Ruston's little presents. Calling upon Walt Cody for help, Valens unearths the dog's tiny coffin and finds the missing gun--a toy wooden pistol filled with heroin. Realizing that both Ruston and his broker were part of a narcotics ring, Valens accuses Cody of being the contact to fly the heroin to every large city on the Pacific coast. Trapped, Cody draws a gun and shoots. But Valens is only wounded, and he fires two rapid shots which knock Cody into the dog's open grave.
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