L'Enquête impossible

If you like movies about dusty, small southern towns that are hiding a crime/mystery/secret, then this one's for you! It has all of the elements to keep you watching. Centered around the police chiefs of the town and serial killer, over a long period of time. Psssst....The men who play the police chiefs are all great actors.

Chiefs was one of the best mini-series of the 80s, it's the story of a town in the deep south state of Georgia. It's seen through the eyes of a leading citizen and civic booster Charlton Heston. And it's the story of 3 police chiefs in different eras of the 20th century.

In fact when the series opens Delano, Georgia has grown so that the place needs some local law enforcement. So Heston and the other town fathers create a position of police chief and in a contest between two local farmers Wayne Rogers and David Carradine. Rogers is selected. Early on he's killed and the wrong man is identified as the killer.

The second chief story has an abused kid in a white trash family who has grown up with hate and rage and bigotry. Brad Davis wins the acting honors in this series with his portrayal. But whatever else he is Davis has a good police instinct and it costs him his life and the town thinks he just up and left town.

Things come full circle when Billy Dee Williams becomes the third chief and discovers and solved what the first two chiefs gave their lives for.

Chiefs is a flawlessly cast production. What terrible secret did Delano have? I think it was best said about another infamous southern town Scottsboro, Alabama. If what happened in that railroad car with those young black men and two white women had happened a bit down on the railroadd track some other small Alabama town would have the infamy.

Heston is almost destroyed by the revelation of events. All his hopes and dreams for his town have been smashed because everyone will think of the terrible events that took place there.

Chiefs is simply outstanding. I hope it's broadcast again or comes out on DVD.

This is definitely one story I wish someone would either release on DVD or show on television again. This is a wonderful story that shows is a wonderful look at how life was in the south as shown through the eyes of three generations of police chiefs. Wayne Rogers is great in his role as the first chief, Will Henry Lee, and Brad Davis is great as the racist chief Sonny Butts. However, Billy Dee Williams gives an outstanding performance as Chief Tyler Watts (aka Joshua Cole), the chief who manages to break the case that had been dogging the town for years. Also, Keith Carradine plays the perfect killer in Foxy. His portrayal of the maniacal serial killer really gave you the impression that he had a dark side. But the performance that really surprised me was Charleton Heston as town founder, Hugh Holmes. Normally, I'm not the biggest fan of Mr. Heston, but he turned out an outstanding performance as the man who is the tie to the three generations of police chiefs. This mini-series is definitely a classic.

I first watched this movie when it debuted on television in 1983, I was 19 years old. My whole family would get together each night for the ac- casion. I have to say, that even though the movie was quite long, it grapped at you for more and with that, it was well worth to watch. It has got to be the best "Chief" movie of all times. I loved it then and still feels the same for it now in 2004. I use to rent this movie to show other people who didn't get the chance to see it, and they all felt it was the best thing going. Even 21 years later, it's still the best thing going. I strongly recommend "CHIEFS" to all those who has not seen it. I applause all the characters especially Charlton Heston, what a great man. This is a must see.

I still place Stuart Woods's "Chiefs" among the best police dramas ever written. Since I learned that a TV adaptation of the book was made, I've always wanted to see it, and, a few months ago, I finally bought the DVD release of the series. I actually did not expect much, but what I received surprised me - and it was a positive surprise. The series is an excellent adaptation of the novel and manages to do it justice, which is a rarity... as is the fact that very little of the book's plot is omitted. Certainly, some of the details - such as Will Henry's growing obsession with the mysterious murders, and the technical sides of his investigation - have to be treated superficially, but every important subplot and aspect of the book is present in the film; consequently, the series manages to be just as thrilling and involving as the novel. Amusingly enough, the credits on the box of the DVD misled me slightly - I assumed Charlton Heston, Keith Carradine and Billy Dee Williams would be playing the three chiefs, chronologically; of course, this is not the case.