The Black Marble
Joseph Wambaugh won the 1981 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his screenplay for this movie.,Philo Skinner: Don't tell me what's possible, you bitch! I warned you, I'm gonna start cutting on your Vicky, do you hear me, woman?,Featured in Sneak Previews: Take 2: Going to the Movies (1980),Ochi chyornye
(Dark Eyes)
Written by Florian Hermann and Adalgiso Ferraris,This adaptation of the Joseph Wambaugh novel (scripted by the author himself) is an offbeat, poignant combination of romance and crime drama set in L. A. Robert Foxworth ("Syriana") is wonderful as A. M. Valnikov, an L. A. P. D. detective with a drinking problem who's been transferred from homicide to robbery. The delightful Paula Prentiss ("The Parallax View") is Natalie Zimmerman, a fellow detective who's very unhappy to be newly partnered with this guy. But the more she comes to know him, the more she likes him. They are a true odd couple: she's a cynic and he's an utter romantic who was troubled at having to deal with the dark side of human nature.

Meanwhile, a hard-luck dog groomer named Philo Skinner (a typically marvelous Harry Dean Stanton ("Alien")) is desperate to pay back a loan shark, so he kidnaps Vicky, the champion Schnauzer belonging to Madeline Whitfield (Barbara Babcock, 'Hill Street Blues'), and holds the dog for ransom.

"The Black Marble" is highly offbeat, original, and affecting not only as it charts the progress of the Valnikov / Zimmerman relationship, but as it explores the idea of people who often seem to get the short end of the stick. Its characters are by and large engaging and worth getting to know: for one thing, Valnikov is very proud of his Russian heritage. It's also touching the way that Valnikov reaches out to lonely people like Madeline, and the way he desperately hopes to avoid being as cynical as his late former partner was. Skinner, meanwhile, is so pathetic that as an antagonist you can't really hate him too much. Even when he does occasionally hurt or maim an animal, you can tell that it eats him up inside.

The first-rate ensemble also includes John Hancock ("The Bonfire of the Vanities"), Raleigh Bond ("Pennies from Heaven"), Judy Landers ('Madame's Place'), Pat Corley ('Murphy Brown'), Michael Dudikoff ("American Ninja"), Lou Cutell ("Pee-wee's Big Adventure"), and Anne Ramsey ("The Goonies"), with cameo roles for Christopher Lloyd and James Woods, who'd been in the film version of "The Onion Field" previously.

"The Black Marble" receives deft direction from "The Onion Field" director Harold Becker, and is nicely shot (by Owen Roizman) and scored (by Maurice Jarre). It's an appealing story that has been somewhat forgotten over time, but is worth seeking out for interested viewers.

Eight out of 10.,