The Specialist

This was really a surprise for me. Knowing this was made by Crown International in the 70's, I expected a fun, sleazy good time. Instead I found this to be a stiff, talky courtroom piece, with little going for it other than Adam West uttering a couple of vulgarities and a fun title tune by Lou Rawls. I'd really like to see how this film was sold to audiences at the time, as it plays like an R-rated episode of MATLOCK. How did Crown International get theaters who were used to their mix of vans, cheerleaders and beach babes, to show a semi-serious drama about jury tampering? Beware....

I watched THE SPECIALIST as part of BCI Eclipse' Drive-in Cult Classics (featuring Crown International Pictures releases) on DVD. As I work my way through the multiple DVD sets, I am growing to like even some of the more melodramatic offerings.

Adam West stars as Jerry Bounds, counsel for the defense, in a case about a water company. Opposing counsel, Pike Smith, whose family built and controlled the town, is determined to have him disbarred before the case can go to trial.

THE SPECIALIST is story of sexual impropriety, courtroom tactics; and, backstabbing politics. Yet it maintains a lively, upbeat tone throughout. Never taking itself seriously, the lurid story unfolds at a steady pace, without being overwrought.

I really enjoyed the funky score, which is "right on" for the times. It really kept the movie moving. Moreover, the Lou Rawls theme song was great.

A surprise treat was the appearance by Alvy Moore, who played Hank Kimball in the Green AcresTV show. As Bailiff Humbolt, he manages to use the same homespun folksiness he did on TV, using terms like "hanky-pank" and "hot-diggity-dog." Even if he tried, he could not appear creepy despite trying to seduce the sultry and enticing Londa Wyeth (played by Ahna Capri).

THE SPECIALIST is a fun diversion; and, an unusual offering from Crown International Pictures; but, I didn't like the ending at all.

The Specialist is another release from B-movie producers Crown International Pictures. It's about the unethical relationship a lawyer develops with a female juror assigned to a case he is working on. Unbeknownst to him, she is a plant who has been hired to have an affair with him under the instructions of the opposing lawyer in the case. She is the specialist of the title, a professional seductress / femme fatale.

This one features Adam West, the TV Batman, in the central role. It's a film with considerably more promise than delivery. As while the basic set-up is quite good, the execution is very underwhelming. It's sort of part courtroom drama, part thriller and part comedy, without ever really focusing on any particular genre enough to do it justice. It's probably a bit too talky for its own good too and, overall, it doesn't ultimately deliver very much. It does however have an unexpectedly decent funky soundtrack which wouldn't have sounded out of place in a Blaxploitation flick and it also features an unexpectedly nihilistic ending which some people seem to hate but which I though was the best, and most distinctive, individual aspect pertaining to the movie overall.

After his best corporate client switches to another attorney named "Jerry Bounds" (Adam West), a powerful lawyer by the name of "Pike Smith" (John Anderson) seeks out a private detective named "Alec Sharkey" (Howard Avedis) for help in this matter. To that effect, not only does Sharkey agree to monitor his rival's movements, but he also suggests that they hire a beautiful female named "Londa Wyeth" (Ahna Capri) to lure Jerry into a compromising position to subsequently destroy his law practice. For his part, Jerry does everything he can to stay faithful to his wife "Elizabeth Bounds" (Marlene Schmidt) but Londa is a professional and she knows how to seduce a man. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that at first, I thought this movie was a light-hearted action film, but things changed rather abruptly around the midpoint, and everything became quite serious after that. It didn't flow together very well at all. Throw in a an extremely weak script and the final product wasn't that good and I have rated it accordingly. Below average.

This movie......it tries to be an intriguing thriller regarding local politics but it mostly is sitting around and waiting for the plot to get going which it seems to never do. The story isn't interesting enough on its own to have so little action keeping the viewer engaged and there is very little action. I know they show production stills of Adam West in character pointing a gun but I can't remember much besides vague footage shot in a planned suburban community and a court.

Frankly, the only scene I remember clearly since last seeing this is a slow-motion shot of a window being broken. That's about it. It's lousy and best not remembered much more clearly than I am remembering it now. This came out shortly after Chinatown was a big hit. At its heart that was a story about corruption in local politics like this movie but they have nothing else in common.