Greg Powell is a disturbed ex-con who recruits Jimmy Smith (aka Jimmy Youngblood), a petty thief, as his partner in crime. Powell panics one night when the two of them are pulled over by a pair of cops for broken brake-lights. Powell decides to kidnap the cops and Smith, as always, reluctantly goes along with Powell’s crazy scheme. The group drives out to a deserted onion field in Bakersfield, California and one officer is shot while the other escapes. The remainder of the film explores the nature of the American justice system, as well as the devastating psychological effects of this event and the trial on the surviving officer.

The Onion Field (1979)
  • Rating: (2,150 votes)
  • Tagline:What Happened In The Onion Field Is True. But The Real Crime Is What Happened After. »
  • Runtime:122 minutes
  • Director: Harold Becker
  • Country:USA
  • Actors:
    Det. Karl Francis Hettinger
    John Savage
    Gregory Ulas Powell
    James Woods
    Jimmy Lee 'Youngblood' Smith
    Franklyn Seales
    Det. Ian James Campbell
    Ted Danson
    Det. Sgt. Pierce R. Brooks
    Ronny Cox
    Dist. Atty. Phil Halpin
    David Huffman
    Jailhouse lawyer
    Christopher Lloyd
    Helen Hettinger (as Diane Hull)
    Dianne Hull
    Chrissie Campbell
    Priscilla Pointer
    Greg's woman (as Beege Barkett)
    Beege Barkette
  • Genres:Crime, Drama
  • Producer:
    Walter Coblenz
    producer  
  • Plots: Greg Powell is a disturbed ex-con who recruits Jimmy Smith (aka Jimmy Youngblood), a petty thief, as his partner in crime. Powell panics one night when the two of them are pulled over by a pair of cops for broken brake-lights. Powell decides to kidnap the cops and Smith, as always, reluctantly goes along with Powell's crazy scheme. The group drives out to a deserted onion field in Bakersfield, California and one officer is shot while the other escapes. The remainder of the film explores the nature of the American justice system, as well as the devastating psychological effects of this event and the trial on the surviving officer. Written by Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>
The Onion Field
  • User's comment:A powerful movie. by PWNYCNY

    Ted Danson usually is found jokin' and schmoozin' in sit-coms. But there's no jokin' or schmoozin' in this movie. Here, Mr. Danson plays a police officer who is brutally murdered by two no-account thugs while his partner, completely terrified, looks on and does nothing and then is methodically hunted and only by sheer luck escapes. Remember, the two thugs actually kidnap and terrorize not two hapless civilians, but two police officers armed with their weapons. The message of this movie to me is clear: if this can happen to two police officers, it can happen to anyone, so beware. This is a powerful movie, not only because of the story, which is intense and provocative, but also because of the acting, which offers chilling portrayals of two psychopathic criminals who offer no apologies for their wanton and heinous acts and of an emotionally shattered police officer who is experiencing a nervous breakdown secondary to post-traumatic stress exacerbated by his overwhelming feelings of guilt over having done nothing to save his partner's life. This movie also shows how the criminal justice system reduces this act of terrorism to the level of being just another case as the case drags on for years in the courts. Indeed, the tragedy and terror of the event soon becomes eclipsed by the sheer mountain of legal paperwork it generates in the courts. This is a great movie which is based on an excellent book, which in turn is based on an actual event.


  • Quotes: Det. Karl Hettinger: You feel like another piece? Det. Ian Campbell: Nah, I just got my weight below 200. Det. Karl Hettinger: At least you're tall enough to carry it. Married life's making me feel like an avocado with feet.
  • Also known as: Anthropokynigi sto Los Angeles (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title), Assassinato a Sangue Frio (Brazil), Belalilar kampi (Turkey - Turkish title), El campo de cebollas (Spain), El crimen en el campo de cebollas (Uruguay - alternative title), Hagymaföld (Hungary - imdb display title), Il campo di cipolle (Italy), Mord am Zwiebelfeld (Austria), Mord im Zwiebelfeld (West Germany), O Crime em Campo de Cebolas (Portugal), Patruljebil 6-Z-4 svarer ikke... (Norway - imdb display title), Poliisiauto 6-Z-4 ei vastaa (Finland), Polisbil 6-Z-4 svarar inte (Finland - Swedish title), Tueurs de flics (France),

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