Family of Cops *** (1995, Charles Bronson, Angela Featherstone, Sebastian Spence) – Classic Movie Review 10,662

The 74-year-old Charles Bronson stars as old cop Paul Fein in director Ted Kotcheff’s 1995 Family of Cops, the first of a series of three highly competent TV movie crime thrillers.

A well cast Bronson heads a solid ensemble as the veteran police commander of the Milwaukee Police Department who has to try to clear his youngest attorney daughter, Jackie (Angela Featherstone), of a wrongful charge of murdering a prominent millionaire businessman.

Britain’s Simon MacCorkindale co-stars as the victim and there are good parts for Lesley-Anne Down as his sexy widow, plus Daniel Baldwin and Sebastian Spence as Bronson’s policemen sons Ben and Eddie, and Barbara Williams as his Bronson’s public defender older daughter Kate. A good, busy script by Joel Blasberg and director Ted Kotcheff’s expert work make it very watchable and generally fairly compelling.

It is followed by Family of Cops II: Breach of Faith (1997) and Family of Cops III: Under Suspicion (1999).

The cast are Charles Bronson, Angela Featherstone, Simon MacCorkindale, Lesley-Anne Down, Daniel Baldwin, Sebastian Spence, John Vernon, Barbara Williams, Kate Trotter, Caroline Barclay, Kim Weeks, Blu Mankuma, Cynthia Belliveau, Miguel Fernandes, Réal Andrews and Heather Gordon.

Family of Cops is directed by Ted Kotcheff, runs 90 minutes, is made by Alliance Communications Corporation, CBS Entertainment Production, Joel Blasberg Company and Cramer Company, is released by CBS (1995) (US) (TV) and Trimark Pictures, is written by Joel Blasberg, is shot by François Protat, is produced by Robert Lantos, Douglas S Cramer and Peter Bray, and is scored by Peter Manning Robinson.

It followed Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994), Bronson’s last cinema feature.

Family of Cops is Bronson’s final work before his death on 30 August 2003, aged 81.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,662

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