Blood Feud

I watched "Blood Feud" when it first aired, do not recall it being a made-for-TV special, it was so good. Robert Blake gives a first-rate performance, superior to that of Nicholson's somewhat too-studied take in "Hoffa." At one point Blake/Hoffa is making a call from a phone booth (yep, a booth, where the doors close) and his rage is memorable--not mere screaming...restrained enough to make it compelling. At least for one viewer.

Aside from "In Cold Blood," this likely is Blake's best film work. The supporting cast is superb: Aiello, Dennehy, Hendrikson, Borgnine, Ferrer. "Blood Feud" may have been a two-parter shown on consecutive nights. I would love to buy this movie but can't find it.

Speaking of Hoffa films, Stallone's "F.I.S.T." was a fine but unappreciated effort. It did lousy business; at the time nobody seemed to want to see "Sly" as anything but R. Balboa. And that title didn't help; sounds like another fight movie. But "F.I.S.T." is available and often appears on TV movie subscription channels, unlike "Blood Feud," which is better.