The 1971 'Donut Shop Murders' apparently inspired this two-part installment of "Police Story". While the IMDB trivia doesn't say so, it also likely inspired the "Hawaii Five-O" episode, "One Big Happy Family"...though the "Hawaii Five-O" episode was sanitized a bit more and there were no rapes in the episode. What were the Donut Shop Murders? Well, apparently a family of serial killers had gone through many states, robbing, murdering and, in some cases, raping donut shop waitresses. Estimates are that they killed 23 people...though the exact number is unknown. In 1988, one of the two people convicted of these killings, rapes and murders committed suicide in prison. Pardon me if I don't cry about this man.
In this first episode, familiar character actors Ed Lauter, Lou Frizzle and Robert Carradine play members of a hillbilly blended family of six. They have traveled across America, robbing, murdering and raping. Now they are in the Los Angeles area doing god-awful things once again. One of them (Lauter) robs a grocery store and then shoots a cop in the head at point-blank range after the policeman hesitates to shoot him. Now this part of the show didn't make much sense. They capture him and have many eye witnesses and they know he stole a bail bondsman's car the day before...and they release him for 'lack of evidence' because he won't confess! This really confused me and left me thinking that in this part of the show, the writing let down a bit. Even if he wasn't the right guy, they seemed to have more than enough reason to keep him incarcerated. Later, after his release, the rob, rape and murder yet another young donut shop employee...and the episode ends...and is followed by part 2 the following week.
Aside from the part where they released the obvious perpetrator, it was a very good episode...one worth seeing and one that makes you want to see part 2.
In this first episode, familiar character actors Ed Lauter, Lou Frizzle and Robert Carradine play members of a hillbilly blended family of six. They have traveled across America, robbing, murdering and raping. Now they are in the Los Angeles area doing god-awful things once again. One of them (Lauter) robs a grocery store and then shoots a cop in the head at point-blank range after the policeman hesitates to shoot him. Now this part of the show didn't make much sense. They capture him and have many eye witnesses and they know he stole a bail bondsman's car the day before...and they release him for 'lack of evidence' because he won't confess! This really confused me and left me thinking that in this part of the show, the writing let down a bit. Even if he wasn't the right guy, they seemed to have more than enough reason to keep him incarcerated. Later, after his release, the rob, rape and murder yet another young donut shop employee...and the episode ends...and is followed by part 2 the following week.
Aside from the part where they released the obvious perpetrator, it was a very good episode...one worth seeing and one that makes you want to see part 2.