Law of the Land (1976)

Jim Davis is Denver Sheriff Pat Lambrose, and he finds himself searching for a serial killer after a pretty prostitute is slashed to death with a saber.

He and his deputies — half-breed Tom Condor, longtime lawman Andy Hill and wannabe rancher Brad Jenson — wind up with plenty of suspects.

There’s a cowpoke named Quirt (Don Johnson), who just happened to be in the whorehouse when the woman was killed.

There’s a cavalry lieutenant named Hollinger who had arranged to meet with the same prostitute that very night and was spotted leaving the whorehouse.

And there’s a black former slave named Jacob, new in town and spotted leaving the scene of an attempt on the life of another prostitute.

Now Lambrose has an added responsibilities: guarding prostitute Jane Adams (Barbara Parkins) in case the killer returns to finish the job.

It doesn’t help that Jane doesn’t trust the law in Denver. Heck, she can’t even find a church to bury her dead friend because of the way her friend made her living.

Don Johnson as Quirt, a drifting cowboy who winds up becoming one of Pat Lambrose’s deputies in Law of the Land (1976)

Jim Davis as Denver Sheriff Pat Lambrose, trying to solve the brutal murder of prostitutes in Law of the Land (1976)

Review:

Clearly a pilot for a series that wasn’t made, this telefilm sure doesn’t lack for characters or subplots.

In addition to those already mentioned, there’s a wannabe deputy named Dudley who’s always trying to impress the sheriff.

And Brad has a worrisome wife named Selina who really wishes he’d hang up his badge and start ranching full time.

So while Davis is top-billed, there are plenty of younger cast members to share screen time with.

In fact, his young deputies — they wind up including Don Johnson as Quirt — were the focus of the film’s publicity.

The result is better than lots of 1970s TV Westerns, even if you are able to figure out whodunit earlier than you should in a really well done whodunit.

Barbara Parkins as Jane Adams, unsettled by the community’s lack of caring over the death of her friend in Law of the Land (1976)

Cal Bellini as Tom Condor, a half-breed deputy working under Sheriff Lambrose who has cornered his man in Law of the Land (1976)

Directed by:
Virgil Vogel

Cast:
Jim Davis … Sheriff Pat Lambrose
Don Johnson … Quirt
Cal Bellini … Tom Condor
Nicholas Hammond … Brad Jensen
Glenn Corbett … Andy Hill
Charles Martin Smith … Dudley Buford
Darleen Carr … Selina Jenson
Barbara Parkins … Jane Adams
Georganne LaPiere … Lila
Patti Jerome … Dutch Annie
Moses Gunn … Jacob
Andrew Prine … Travis Carrington
Jim McMullan … Lt. Hollinger

Runtime: 100 min.

Glenn Corbett as Andy Hill, questioning Jane Adams in hopes of solving the string of murders in Law of the Land (1976)

Charles Martin Smith as the sometimes bumbling Dudley Buford, hoping to become a deputy under Sheriff Lambrose in Law of the Land (1976)

Memorable lines:

Quirt, thrown in jail on suspicion of murder: “Relax? You stand in these boots you were in such a hurry to yank off my feet and see if you can relax?”

Sheriff Pat Lambrose to one of his deputies: “Never had a killer like this before, Tom. Girls cut like that. Not knowing if he’s gonna kill again. No way to stop him. Got me spooked.”

Deputy Andy Hill: “I’d like to ask you some questions.”
Jane: “I’m not in a talking mood, mister.”
Deputy: “Don’t you want us to catch her killer?”
Jane: “Will that bring her back? Will that get her a pine box and a few kind words from anyone in this hell-hole you call a town?”

Jane: “You never gave me an answer as to why a deputy.”
Tom Condor: “I thought about being a lawyer. But there’s no way the whites would trust the Indian half and no way the Indians could afford the white half.”

Jane, on how she wound up working in a brothel in Denver: “I was brought up to be a decoration on a man’s arm. Then a war came along and ripped most of those arms off.”

Nicholas Hammond as Brad Jenson, trying to keep the details of a horrific murder from his wife Selina in Law of the Land (1976)

Darleen Carr as Selina Jenson, trying not to fret over the danger her deputy husband faces in Law of the Land (1976)

Jim McMullan as Lt. Hollinger, the cavalry officer who had fallen in love with the prostitute who is murder in Law of the Land (1976)

Moses Gunn as Jacob, the former slave who travels with Carrington, a man he helped raise in Law of the Land (1976)

Andrew Prine as Travis Carrington, the newcomer to Denver helping design plans for a new church in Law of the Land (1976)

Georganne LaPiere as Lila, the prostitute whose murder is just the latest in a chain of such killing in Law of the Land (1976)

Barbara Parkins as Jane Adams and Patti Jerome as Dutch Annie, reacting to the death of a fellow prostitute in Law of the Land (1976)