Plot: A mad killer is murdering the mafia bosses of Chicago. Jim Dela is the cop investigating the crimes and thus gets into contact with Vickie Benedetto who is the wife of Vince, a psychotic man who hates his father’s mafia past.
After the passing of Louis Gossett Jr. the other day I wanted to look back on one of his underappreciated made for television movies, Keeper of the City. This is more of a thriller than an action movie but there are several killings and it gets quite tense at times too.
Gossett Jr. plays Detective James Dela; a good cop who is a little lonely trying to find company in some of the women who cross his path.
Anthony LaPaglia steals the show as the son of a mob boss called Vince Benedetto; he sees his city being destroyed by the Mafia so he believes he is doing the Lord’s will by becoming a vigilante to cleanse the streets.
I’ve always found LaPaglia to be an understated actor and he plays Vince to perfection. You can tell early on that he is a little broken and it doesn’t take long for him to completely unravel and become totally unhinged.
Like I said, this is hardly action-packed but it has a great story and the performances are all better than you’d expect for a TV movie. It’s nice to see a young Tony Todd have a decent role too.
Overall, Keeper of the City is an entertaining made for television action thriller with first rate performances from Louis Gossett Jr. and Anthony LaPaglia. It’s not exactly packed with action but there’s enough to keep you engaged for the 90 minute runtime.
