The Zebra Force
| The Zebra Force | |
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 Can the end justify the means? When It's Revenge...All Hell Breaks Loose! | |
| Directed by | Joe Tornatore |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | |
| Music by | Charles Bernstein (as Charles Alden) |
Production company | Pac West Cinema Group |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Zebra Force (Codename: Zebra, USA title) is a 1976 American film directed by Joe Tornatore. The film is about a group of Vietnam War veterans who declare war on Los Angeles drug dealers and the Mafia. The film is also known as Code Name: Zebra (US) and Commando Zebra (Italy). A sequel by Joe Tornatore with Mike Lane, also named Code Name: Zebra followed in 1987.[1] The websites Letterboxd and The Grindhouse Database list this movie as belonging to the vetsploitation subgenre.[2][3]
Plot
[edit]The film opens with a raid on an illegal casino performed by a group of blacks with automatic weapons. The audience discovers the perpetrators are white disguised as blacks. The story moves to a Vietnam War flashbacks with a patrol being ambushed by the Vietcong, and the resulting firefight. The leader of the vigilante veterans is a man known simply as the Lieutenant who was their platoon leader and disfigured in the action. Recuperating in a hospital he regroups the survivors for a series of escalating raids to not only to enrich themselves, but to wipe out organised criminal gangs involved in illegal gambling and narcotics distribution.
The main protagonist of the film is Carmine Longo, a Mafia enforcer sent to meet with local chief to discover who performed the action. The two are assisted by a corrupt Los Angeles Police Department detective sergeant. Their suspicion falls on their only known suspects, a gang of drug dealing black criminals who deny their involvement. Longo schemes to eliminate them through their police contact who will set up a drug deal where they can be killed by the police.
Cast
[edit]- Mike Lane as Carmine Longo
- Richard X. Slattery as Charlie DeSantis
- Rockne Tarkington as Earl Lovington
- Timothy Brown as Jim Bob Cougar
- Glenn Wilder as Lieutenant Dan
- Anthony Caruso as Salvatore Moreno
- Stafford Morgan as Sergeant Stangman
- Clay Tanner as Lieutenant Claymore
- Tony Cristino as Willie
- Mario Milano as Peter
- David Ankrum as Art
- Buddy Ochoa as Larry
- Patrick Strong as Nick
- Bernard Tierman as Ernie
Notes
[edit]- ^ "Code Name Zebra (1987) - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ "Vetsploitation. List by Jarrett". Letterboxd. 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
- ^ "Category. Vetsploitation. From The Grindhouse Cinema Database". The Grindhouse Cinema Database. February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
External links
[edit]- The Zebra Force at IMDb
- The Zebra Force is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- The Zebra Force at Rotten Tomatoes
- Codename: Zebra at Rotten Tomatoes
- ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› The Zebra Force at AllMovie
- ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Code Name: Zebra at AllMovie
- Zebra Force at Letterboxd
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- 1976 films
- 1970s crime action films
- 1976 directorial debut films
- American crime action films
- American vigilante films
- 1970s English-language films
- Films about veterans
- Films scored by Charles Bernstein
- Golan-Globus films
- Vietnam War films
- 1970s American films
- English-language crime action films
- 1970s crime film stubs
- 1970s American film stubs