Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

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.

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!

Businessman Chuck Brenner (a strong and engaging performance by James Brolin) gets mugged and knocked unconscious in the bathroom at a department store. When Chuck comes to, he finds himself locked inside the store with a bunch of ferocious Doberman guard dogs. Writer/director Frank De Felitta, who also wrote the superior supernatural shocker "The Entity," relates the arresting story at a snappy pace and does an adept job of creating plenty of sweaty, nerve-wracking suspense. Fred Mandl's agile cinematography and Gil Melle's primal, robust, throbbing score greatly enhance the white-knuckle tension. Brolin excels in the strenuous and demanding lead role: Scared and delirious, suffering from severe blood loss (one of the vicious canines bites his leg) and fending off those pesky pooches with either a chair or a flaming mop, Brolin has you rooting for him every harrowing step of the way. Moreover, the supporting cast likewise contributes solid work: Susan Clark as Chuck's bitter estranged ex-wife Elaine, Earl Holliman as Elaine's patient, practical new hubby David Moore, Robert ("Trouble Man") Hooks as smooth, helpful police Sergeant Connaught, and Tammy Harrington as Chuck's adorable little daughter Carrie. An excellent nail-biter.

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.