The Marcus-Nelson Murders
The Marcus-Nelson Murders is a 1973 TV-movie written by Abby Mann from a book by Selwyn Raab, directed by Joseph Sargent, and starring Telly Savalas, Marjoe Gortner, José Ferrer and Ned Beatty. The police procedural film, which aired on The CBS Thursday Night Movie on March 8, 1973, served as the pilot for the subsequent television series Kojak, although in this version Savalas' character's name is spelled "Kojack".
The supporting cast features Chita Rivera, Bruce Kirby, Tol Avery and Robert Walden; and the plot of the film was based upon the true story of the sensational 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case dubbed by the media as the "Career Girls Murders," in which two working women were raped and murdered. The opening and closing titles of the film emphasize that it was a fictional account of the events that led to the creation of Miranda Warning by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1966. The TV-movie's running time is 2 hours and 17 minutes.
Cast
- Telly Savalas - Lt. Theo Kojack (Kojak in the series)
- Marjoe Gortner - Teddy Hopper
- José Ferrer - Jake Weinhaus
- Ned Beatty - Det. Dan Corrigan
- Allen Garfield - Mario Portello
- Lorraine Gary - Ruthie
- Roger Robinson - Bobby Martin
- Harriet Karr - Cindy
- Gene Woodbury - Lewis Humes
- William Watson - Det. Matt Black
- Val Bisoglio - Det. Lou Jacarrino
- Antonia Rey - Rita Alvarez
- Chita Rivera = Josie Hopper
- Bruce Kirby - Sgt. Dan McCartney
- Robert Walden - Maurice Fisher
- Tol Avery - Justice Redding