The Marcus-Nelson Murders

Plot
Lt. Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) believes that a black youth who confessed to the murder of two white girls was beaten and coerced by his police interrogators and is innocent of the crime.

Based on the 1963 Wylie-Hoffert murders, the brutal rape and murder of two young professional women in Manhattan, this is the 138-minute pilot episode with Ned Beatty, Marjoe Gortner and Roger Robinson. It differs from later shows (set in 1963-1966, different colleagues, precinct building, and a car never used later). Music score composed by Billy Goldenberg.

Trivia

 * The film is based on an actual case known as the "Career Girl" murders that happened on 28 August 1963. It was the date on which 'Martin Luther King Jr.' delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech, as mentioned in the film.
 * After Telly Savalas died, the movie was shown again for the first time in nearly 20 years, this time with a short clip of Telly and the words "Dedicated to the memory of Aristotle 'Telly' Savalas 1920 - 1994" at the end of the show.
 * Telly Savalas' real-life brother George Savalas appears in this film, but playing a different character to the Det. Stavros character he would play throughout the later Kojak TV series.
 * In this pilot film, the lead character's name is spelled "Kojack" (with a "c"). The "c" was taken out when "Kojak" became a series.
 * After the great success of this TV movie and the subsequent "Kojak" series, the author of the original book, Selwyn Raab, pointed out with some acerbity that, in real life, the uncovering of a gross injustice had been the work of crusading journalists, not police officers, adding that he had never met a real-life cop like Theo Kojak.
 * Marlon Brando was interested in playing Kojak but the network vetoed him.
 * "The Marcus-Nelson Murders" was originally written as a theatrical film but no studio wanted to produce it due to its negative portrayal of the police force.
 * This feature length pilot, would bear little resemblance to the regular show, owing to the accurate but decidedly bleak portrayal of police and political corruption.
 * This feature length TV film includes several scenes filmed in New York. The "Kojak" show would be shot largely on the "Universal" backlot.
 * With being cast as Theo Kojak, Telly Savalas managed to break away from playing villains for a while.

Cast

 * Marjoe Gortner as Teddy Hopper
 * José Ferrer (Credited as Jose Ferrer) as Jake Weinhaus
 * Ned Beatty as Det. Dan Corrigan
 * Allen Garfield as Mario Portello
 * Lorraine Gary as Ruthie
 * Roger Robinson as Bobby Martin
 * Harriet Karr as Cindy
 * Gene Woodbury as Lewis Humes
 * William Watson as Det. Matt Black
 * Val Bisoglio as Det. Jacarrino
 * Antonia Rey as Rita Alvarez
 * Chita Rivera as Josie Hopper
 * Bruce Kirby as Sgt. Dan McCartney
 * Robert Walden as Mr. Fisher
 * Robert Fields as Asst. D.A. Goodman
 * Carolyn Nelson as Melissa Karr
 * Lloyd Gough as Inspector MacNeill
 * Lynn Hamilton as Arless Humes
 * Lawrence Pressman as Cabot
 * John Sylvester White as Inspector Hoffstetter
 * Paul Jenkins as Al Stabile
 * Helen Page Camp as Mrs. Hopper
 * Ellen Moss as Lynn Peyser
 * George Savalas as Jack Deems
 * Alan Manson as Sgt. Roberts
 * Fred Holliday as Sgt. Topf
 * Henry Brown (Credited as Henry Brown Jr.) as Abe Humes
 * Joshua Shelley as Mr. Sack
 * Patricia O'Connell as Marge Corrigan
 * Alex Colon as Roberto Timoteo
 * Ben Hammer as Judge DeKana
 * Tol Avery as Justice Redding
 * Bill Zuckert as Judge Mathews
 * Elizabeth Berger as Jo-Ann Marcus
 * Lora Kaye as Kathy Nelson
 * Steve Gravers (Credited as Steven Gravers) as Irwin David

Uncredited

 * Belinda Beatty, Wesley Gale, Bob Harks, Fred Ottaviano and Robert Riesel as Detectives
 * James J. Casino as Courtroom Spectator
 * Sig Frohlich as Courtroom Reporter
 * Louis Guss as Bailiff
 * Martin Luther King as Self (archive footage)
 * Byron Morrow as Judge Wallace
 * Hank Robinson as Juror
 * Jaime Sánchez as Timoteo's Brother
 * Judith Woodbury as Woman Being Questioned