The Onion Field (film)

The Onion Field is a 1979 American crime drama film directed by Harold Becker, written by Joseph Wambaugh that is based on his 1973 true crime novel of the same title. The film stars John Savage, James Woods, Franklyn Seales and Ted Danson in his film debut.

Hettingers eyewitness account leads to the arrest of the two men, who are tried and convicted of firstdegree murder. While they languish on death row, Powell and Smith learn how to exploit the legal system and after a series of appeals their sentences are reduced to life imprisonment following a court decision abolishing executions in California. Meanwhile, Hettingers physical condition and emotional state slowly deteriorate as his failure to act more aggressively on the night of the incident is questioned by those in authority and his fellow officers. Wracked with guilt and remorse, he experiences nightmares, impotence, weight loss, kleptomania, and thoughts of suicide.The film was shot on location in Valencia, Los Angeles, Maricopa, and Taft in California. A courtroom of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County was used for the trial scenes. The jury panel was taken to an onion field in Valencia to inspect it as a replica of the scene of the crime. ........

Source: Wikipedia