The Mad Bomber (1973)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The Police Connection (1973) *** (out of 4)A Los Angeles cop (Vince Edwards) is trying to track down a mad bomber (Chuck Connors) but he hasn't any witness or evidence. This all changes when the bomber attacks a hospital at the same time a rapist (Neville Brand) attacks a woman. The cop figures if he can catch the rapist he can then find out who the bomber is.Bert I. Gordon will always be remembered for his "big" movies like THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN, VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS and THE CYCLOPS but this film here is very far from them. In fact, I must say that this here is the best movie I've seen from Gordon and it's a real shame that he didn't continue making movies like this. If you know the director then you know he followed this up returning to his "big" roots with THE FOOD OF THE GODS and EMPIRE OF THE ANTS.I was really shocked at how entertaining this film was and especially in its uncut form. Gordon made a career out of "safe" movies but that's certainly not the case here as it earns its R-rating. The violence is quite graphic at times but what really stands out is the sleaze factor. You've got all sorts of full frontal nudity as well as some kinky moments dealing with a subplot of the rapist. Not only do you have some great explosions that shows off the action but the rape scenes are also filmed quite well for this period.The performances here are another major plus. Edwards is extremely good and believable as the cop who will stop at nothing to bring down the bomber. Brand gets the sleazy role as the rapist and he does an extremely effective job with it. His character is certainly lower than dirt and Brand's performance just makes you feel how dirty this guy is. I was also very impressed with Connors who was flawless in the role as the bomber. This guy has several mental issues and I thought the actor perfectly captured all of this.The film, also known as THE MAD BOMBER, was apparently really cut down for its television and video release so you certainly want to make sure that you're watching the uncut version. The sleaze and action factor are quite high and that makes this Gordon's best picture.

I've just seen on Google Video what-according to the other comments I've read-was the edited version of The Mad Bomber. Chuck Connors plays the title character who's trying to avenge his daughter's death from a drug overdose on the city of Los Angeles. Vince Edwards is the cop trying to stop him. And Neville Brand is the rapist who witnesses Connors at the mental hospital he sneaks into. Supposedly there were actual scenes of nudity, graphic rape, even more intense explosions. What I saw seemed sufficient. While there are some slow spots such as Brand's having to identify Connors through various face recreations with Edwards in the police headquarters, there is enough tension to keep things going. Writer, producer, director Bert I. Gordon does seem a bit heavy-handed in his approach and many of the minor characters are mostly stick figures for plot contrivances. Still, fairly good performances by Connors, Edwards, and Brand. Update:6/23/13-I just watched on YouTube one of the cut scenes from this movie, a scene when the Brand character is watching film of a nude woman doing flirty poses that he gets off on. The rating stays.

One of the more solid selections from the Bert I. Gordon roster, "The Mad Bomber" is the heartwarming tale of a man spiraling into insanity who decides that the sinful world needs to be punished through serial bombings. Chuck Connors plays this part well, but it's Neville Brand's show all the way as a pathetic scumbag rapist who holds the key to stopping the T.N.T maniac. Fairly terse low-budgeter is quite grueling at times, and deserves more substantial notoriety. A flick likely to turn up on a local TV "Late, Late, Late Show", though possibly missing some of the more graphic moments. Still, worth a look and recommended.5.5/10

Released in most cities by Jerry Gross company Cinemation as POLICE CONNECTION in 1973, this violent action film centers a man (Chuck Connors) who's daughter overdosed on drugs. So he plants bombs on places that did him wrong and the only person who witness him is a psycho rapist/killer (Brand).Vince Edwards play a mean cop who is on the trail of the bomber and the rapist. This film is on over 10 different video labels under the original title THE MAD BOMBER, but all of them are TV print. You are missing out on a gruesome human explosition, rape scene, nudity, and even Brand doing the nasty by himself!!! Very sick film, suprised Bert I. Gordon who made lots of classic Sci-fi made this.