Mitchell

Told to lay off a case involving an attorney who shot an intruder in his home, headstrong police detective Mitchell ignores the order -- and proceeds to get tangled up in an investigation that connects the lawyer (John Saxon), the head of an import racket (Martin Balsam) and a scheme to unload a million-dollar cache of stolen heroin. Joe Don Baker, who made a name for himself as club-wielding sheriff Buford Pusser in the drive-in classic Walking Tall and whose later credits include a notable role in 2013's Mud, plays the title role in an action film that's gained a following among connoisseurs of guilty pleasures. At the center of all the action, of course, is Mitchell, giving as good as he gets in pell-mell sequences involving shootings, brawls, car chases, suicidal dune buggy jousts and a rappel from a police helicopter onto the racketeer's speeding getaway boat. Linda Evans and Merlin Olsen are also in the cast.

• action
• drama