''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 Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

drug dealer A drug is any chemical substance A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by ...

s and the

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

. The film is also known as ''Code Name: Zebra'' (US) and ''Commando Zebra'' (Italy). A sequel by Joe Tornatore with

Mike Lane Michael V. Lane (January 6, 1933 – June 1, 2015) was an American actor and professional wrestler. Biography Lane's size (height 6'8" or 2.03 m, weight 275 lbs or 125 kg) led him to work in the King Bros. Circus boxing tent and wre ...

, also named ''Code Name: Zebra'' followed in 1987.

Plot

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 The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

flashbacks with a patrol being ambushed by the

Vietcong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

, and the resulting firefight. The leader of the

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

veterans is a man known simply as the

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

who was their

platoon leader {{unreferenced, date=February 2013 A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth militaries and the United States Marine Corps, US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This pers ...

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 The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

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

as Carmine Longo *

Richard X. Slattery Richard Xavier Slattery (June 26, 1925 – January 27, 1997) was an American character actor in film, theater and television. Slattery appeared in such films as '' A Distant Trumpet'', '' The Boston Strangler'', '' Walking Tall'', '' The No Merc ...

as Charlie DeSantis *

Rockne Tarkington William Rockne Tarkington, Jr. (May 14, 1932 – April 5, 2015) was an American stage, film and television actor. Career Born in Junction City, Kansas, Tarkington began his career as a stage actor, and made the transition to television with g ...

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

External links

* * * * * *
Zebra Force at Letterboxd
1970s crime action films 1976 directorial debut films 1976 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 {{1970s-crime-film-stub