A STEP OUT OF LINE- 1971 TV-Movie released April/May 2013 Peter Falk, Vic Morrow (1 Viewer)

[Bob Gu]

The memorable 1971 TV-Movie, A STEP OUT OF LINE was released a couple of months ago by CBS Home Entertainment as a DVD-R.

It's 96 minutes and is about law abiding poker buddies who decide to take "a step out of line," by robbing a currency exchange vault, to solve their money problems.

It stars: Peter Falk, Vic Morrow, Peter Lawford, Jo Ann Pflug, Tom Bosley, and John Randolph as the detective obsessed with their capture.

I just found and ordered it this morning so I don't know what it looks like. It's available at, importcds.com amazon.com and oldies.com.

You can get a list of other CBS HE MODS at oldies.com by choosing DVD and typing CBSTV into the site search.

 

[Professor Echo]

This was a great film, one of the best TV movies ever made and with a fantastic cast.

Bob, please report on the quality once you have watched it. Thanks.

 

[Bob Gu]

I have received and watched the A STEP OUT OF LINE, DVD-R.It's a good caper movie. It's worth seeing, especially to see the odd, but effective, acting combo of Peter Falk, Vic Morrow, and Peter Lawford.(I think Falk is wearing his Columbo raincoat. And if you look quick you will spot Vic Morrow's stunt double from COMBAT!, in the last few scenes.)The print is not eye-popping by BARNABY JONES S-1 standards, but it is clean, with clear excellent detail and nice color. The movie was filmed on location in San Francisco and has some great views of the city, especially the cityscapes looking out from Tom Bosley's high-rise office.The film is 96 min. and listed as 96 min. at IMDB. But I have a Haliwell's Film Guide from 1976, which includes TV-Movies, that lists A STEP OUT OF LINE as being 100 min. If it were time sped it would be 96 min. but it didn't seem or sound timesped to me.The ending of the movie is very abrupt. Maybe they were being arty. But maybe something is missing. My memory is that John Randolph's detective character had more scenes. But I may be mis-remembering. I saw the original 1971 broadcast of A STEP OUT OF LINE and maybe a rerun at some point later or not, so I may be thinking of a different caper movie. So I can't swear that any scenes are cut/missing.I still enjoyed revisiting this movie. At the time, during the next school day there was a lot of talk about under what conditions somebody would take a step out of line.1971 was good year for Falk, Morrow, and Lawford. According to IMDB, A STEP OUT OF LINE aired on Feb 26, 1971. The second COLUMBO movie, "Ransom for a Dead Man", premiered on Mar 1, 1971 with the Columbo NBC MYSTERY MOVIE series starting on Sept 15, 1971. Vic Morrow's Quinn Martin pilot TRAVIS LOGANA was broadcast on Mar 11, 1971 and Peter Lawford's ELERY QUEEN pilot, "Don't Look Behind You", aired on Nov 19, 1971.

 

[Neil Brock]

Only other couple of movies I saw on there that are notable are Killer By Night with Diane Baker, Robert Wagner and Greg Morris, which I've never seen, and Quarterack Princess, with Helen Hunt, which I have seen and actually have on tape from 1984 when it aired.

 

[Vahan_Nisanain]

Neil, a question I have for you (and this related to Vic Morrow):

I've been wanting to know: What do you think about the Twilight Zone Movie scandal, in which John Landis illegally had two children work overnight, and his directions that led to their deaths and Morrow's death? Is Landis an idiot? Did Landis really intend to kill Morrow?

The fact that Landis showed up uninvited and unannounced at Morrow's funeral, and gave something that sounded more like a promotional plug for the film than an actual eulogy, leads me to believe that, yes, Landis was an idiot, and that he planned on killing Morrow.

 

[Professor Echo]

No, Landis had no premeditated plan to kill Morrow, it was all the result of a tragic accident, one that could have been prevented if not for Landis' massive ego and blatantly reckless, selfish behavior. To that end he was ultimately responsible for the entire accident, the blood was on his hands, but he got off without so much as a slap on the wrist because Hollywood juries are star struck. After the case ended, Landis even had the gall to invite the jurors to his home for a barbecue party.

I've encountered Landis at several events in LA and I avoid him like the plague. At times when he has tried to engage me in conversation, I ignore him without any courtesy whatsoever. As far as I'm concerned, he got away with murder.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

I haven't watched or purchased one of his films since. Vic Morrow was a childhood hero (Sgt. Saunders) and Landis is forever a classless asshole (and a murderer).

 

[Bob Gu]

Ran across a YouTube video with Tom Bosley telling a Peter Falk story about A STEP OUT OF LINE.