The Onion Field (1979)

6.4	Listal rating
6.9	IMDB rating

Directed by

Harold Becker

Starring (View all)

John Savage

Det. Karl Francis Hettinger

James Woods

Gregory Ulas Powell

Franklyn Seales

Jimmy Lee 'Youngblood' Smith

Ted Danson

Det. Ian James Campbell

Ronny Cox

Det. Sgt. Pierce R. Brooks

David Huffman

Dist. Atty. Phil Halpin

Christopher Lloyd

Jailhouse lawyer

Dianne Hull

Helen Hettinger

Written by

Joseph Wambaugh

(book)

Eric Roth

uncredited

Cover art, photos and screenshots

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88 votes

Amazing Underrated Obscure Bizarre Films PART 3 (50 items)
list by JayTrotter

Published 2 years, 4 months ago

10 comments

22 votes

Watched in 2012 (222 items)
list by Maary

Published 1 year, 4 months ago

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Dear Cinema Diary - Vol 3 E6 - June 2012 (39 items)
list by jaytoast

Published 11 months, 3 weeks ago

18 comments

8 votes

The Evolution of Christopher Lloyd (87 items)
list by Bad☆Alice

Published 1 year, 5 months ago

1 comment

7 votes

The evolution of James Woods (59 items)
list by Aprakadabra

Published 1 year, 3 months ago

1 comment

View all The Onion Field lists (6 more)

The film focuses on an actual 1963 event in which Los Angeles Police Department detectives Karl Hettinger and Ian Campbell were kidnapped by criminals Greg Powell and Jimmy Smith (aka "Jimmy Youngblood") and taken to an onion field near Bakersfield, where Campbell was shot and killed and Hettinger managed to escape.

Release date : 8 July 1980
UPC: 027616879035

Murder (3), Pawnshop (2), Gift (2), Suicide Attempt (2), Thief (2), Robbery (2), Police (2), Prison (2), Trial (2), 1979 (2), Drama (2), Shoplifting (2), Crime (2), Korea Veteran (2), Wrist Slitting (2), Loss Of Son (2), Jail (2), Interrogation (2), Auto Theft (2), Kidnapping (1)

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garfield2710 added this to a list 6 months, 3 weeks ago

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Dear Cinema Diary - Vol 3 E6 - June 2012 (39 movies items)

" So, the tag line for the film is this "What Happened In The Onion Field Is True. But The Real Crime Is What Happened After." The 'real crime' they are talking about is the number of court cases that happened after the murder. From the tone of the film I can only infer that the director and writer are of the opinion that the legal system has become corrupt and ineffective. I found this films slanted and rather naive view on the court system a little boring. Yes, people who are tried and sent"