NIGHT CHASE (TV) (1970, USA, 95m, NR) ***
Crime, Drama
dist. CBS (USA); pr co. Cinema Center 100 Productions; d. Jack Starrett; w. Marvin A. Gluck (based on a story by Collier Young); pr. Collier Young; ph. Fred J. Koenekamp (Colour | 1.33:1); m. Laurence Rosenthal; ed. Carroll Sax; ad. Albert Heschong, William Smith.
cast: David Janssen (Adrian Vico), Yaphet Kotto (Ernie Green), Victoria Vetri (Beverly Dorn), Elisha Cook Jr. (Proprietor), Joseph V. De Santis (Old Fisherman), Richard Romanus (Young Fisherman), Mel Berger (Jumbo), Karen Carlson (Vico’s wife), John Carter (Capt. Walker), Laurie Main (Tout), Edward Faulkner (Patrolman), Stafford Morgan (Bus Driver), William Katt (Marine Private).
Kotto plays a taxi driver who is hired to drive Janssen, a fugitive criminal, to the Mexican border and ultimately forms an unlikely friendship with his passenger. Largely played as a two-hander between two excellent actors, the story holds your attention through their performances rather than the tension in the story. The film suffers from being too long to sustain its premise and introduces too many familiar situations in which Kotto initially looks to escape his captor. Starrett maintains a low-key approach to his direction and this gives the two stars adequate room to display their acting chops.
