La pattuglia dei dobermann al servizio della legge

An early entry in the glory days of TV movies that stands well alongside other TV movies on the era. Well acted, very well edited and scored and most importantly written and directed by Frank De Felitta. It ages pretty well and of course has real dog attacks rather than CGI junk animals. For some reason this quality of TV production died out almost entirely in the 1980's when all the elements of craft that this film has vanished really until X Files and other shows brought back film type story telling to TV.

The story unfolds very well and is believable and involving, this should be on DVD and certainly is among the handful of memorable TV movies of any era, it's like a very good episode of the Hitchcock series or Thriller--the Boris Karloff series. Someone at Univeral get this out on DVD like it deserves. This movie will having you making sure you're home before any store closes. James Brolin sweats and suffers with the best of them.

This review is murky because the last time I saw it was when it aired in the 70's. James Brolin in a department store facing man-eating security dogs. The movie scared me more than if the store had mannequins that came to life. I will not give away the ending or key parts. There are plenty of suspenseful moments. Remember this was in the days predating cellphones and electronic security systems. Brolin's character was s.o.l. The things Brolin does to ward off the dogs rivals that of MacGuyver. ABC needs to package this and other movies-of-the-week as a DVD compilation. As an adult, I'm still afraid of scary dogs.

Back in the 1970's it seemed haunted houses, evil marauding cars, or in this case, Doberman pincher's were always trying to take a bite out of the frequently cast James Brolin. As previous comments have already stated, Brolin is "Trapped" after hours in a Macey's-type department store and must evade attack dogs left to guard the premises. What makes this such a great setting is the way he cleverly employs items among the wares inside to try and get himself out of trouble. For example, a fishing rod from the sporting goods section becomes (if memory serves) a means of reaching a set of keys dangling between him and the snarling animals. What doesn't work all that well however is a subplot in which Brolin's ex-wife (Susan Clark) and daughter are set to leave his life with Clark's new husband (Earl Holliman), a real third wheel of a character who simply complicates the dynamic of the tale. It should have just been concerned with Brolin's attempts to survive so he can return to his worried family. Despite that plot intrusion it's still a very entertaining suspense melodrama, energetically directed by 70's best selling author, Frank De Felitta, ("Audrey Rose") who shows a real flare for this material. While he did undertake a few additional directing assignments, (most notably "Dark Night Of The Scarecrow" in 1981), De Felitta worked very infrequently in the director's chair. A shame really as he shows such promise here he might well have become as famous a movie director as he is an author.

The set-up for this early 70's made-for-TV thriller is simplistic but efficient and much more frightening than any horror movie revolving on zombies, vampires or immoral ax-wielding psychopaths could ever be. The situation where the male protagonist finds himself trapped in may not be likely to happen any time soon, but it's definitely not unthinkable. Being the victim of a robbery, Chuck Banner is left behind in the restroom of a big shopping complex. When he regains consciousness, the store is closed down for the weekend and severely trained guard dogs stand between him and the exit doors. His only hope for rescue is his ex-wife and daughter, with whom he was supposed to meet at the airport, but by the time they figure out where Chuck is stuck, it might be too late. Movie scripts don't get any more rudimentary than this, but "Doberman Patrol" nevertheless guarantees a mere 90 minutes of suspense and thrills, largely thanks to James Brolin's strong performance as the man in peril as well as to the impressively trained dogs. The beautiful and athletic animals are very menacing and definitely fulfill their "guarding" duties. The search for Chuck on the outside is interesting to follow as well, with his ex-wife and her new husband being surprisingly likable and identifiable characters. The subject matter and the limited cast of characters don't exactly lend themselves to gory situations, but in this case the tense and claustrophobic atmosphere and stellar performances suffice. Recommended!

Trapped is better than you might expect. After all, it's an early 1970s TV movie starring James Brolin, so it doesn't exactly sound like an undiscovered masterpiece.

The story tells of a man who recovers consciousness following a mugging in the toilets of a large department store. When he comes round, the store is closed and he finds himself trapped overnight, having to evade the vicious doberman dogs that patrol the store.

It's a reasonably tense offering. Inevitably, the thinness of the story results in occasional tedious patches, but in fairness the film contains more than its fair share of taut moments. It's the kind of thing that could happen to anybody, so in many ways the audience is able to identify with the hero and place themselves in his position. I spent much of the film wondering how I would cope under the same circumstances. The scenes involving dog attacks are quite well filmed, without being too graphic or grisly.. I like this film.... it's definitely worth trying to catch.