The Onion Field (film)

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The Onion Field
Directed by	Harold Becker
Produced by	Walter Coblenz
Written by	Joseph Wambaugh
Starring	John Savage James Woods Franklyn Seales Ted Danson Ronny Cox Christopher Lloyd
Music by	Eumir Deodato
Cinematography	Charles Rosher Jr.
Editing by	John W. Wheeler
Distributed by	AVCO Embassy Pictures
Release date(s)	USA September 19, 1979^[1]
Running time	122 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Onion Field is a 1979 film adapted by Joseph Wambaugh from his novel of the same name, and directed by Becker.

The film's original music score was composed by Emir Deodato and was produced by legendary Hollywood producer, Walter Coblenz.^[2]

1 Plot
2 Cast and Crew
3 1980 Golden Globe Awards
- 3.1 Nominations
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Plot

Joseph Wambaugh's The Onion Field is based on a real 1963 case. L.A. plainclothesmen Karl Hattinger (John Savage) and Ian Campbell (Ted Danson) regularly investigate a pair of suspicious types, Greg Powell (James Woods) and Jimmy Smith (Franklyn Seales). Powell pulls a gun on the cops out of the blue, then forces them into a deserted onion field, where he kills Campbell in cold blood.

Hattinger manages to escape, and through his eyewitness account, Powell and Smith are arrested. But thanks to their knowledge and exploitation of the quicksilver legal system, Powell and Smith manage to evade prosecution for years. Meanwhile, Hattinger goes through hell on earth, tortured with guilt over the fact that he lived while Campbell died so ignominiously.^[3]

[edit] Cast and Crew

Actor	Role
John Savage	Det. Karl Francis Hettinger
James Woods	Gregory Ulas Powell
Franklyn Seales	Jimmy Lee 'Youngblood' Smith
Ted Danson	Det. Ian James Campbell
Ronny Cox	Det. Sgt. Pierce R. Brooks
David Huffman	Dist. Atty. Phil Halpin
Christopher Lloyd	Jailhouse lawyer
Dianne Hull	Helen Hettinger
Priscilla Pointer	Chrissie Campbell
Beege Barkette	Greg's woman
Richard Herd	Beat Cop