Murphy's Law

Jack Murphy is a Los Angeles police detective known for his abrasive methods and his willingness to use his gun. His life unravels when his ex-wife Jan and her partner are found shot dead with his own service weapon, and the evidence points squarely at him. Arrested by his own colleagues, he escapes custody and sets out to track down whoever set him up. Handcuffed to him during the escape is Arabella McGee, a young car thief who becomes an unwilling companion as he works to clear his name while both the police and a criminal organization are after him.

The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson, the nineteenth of the twenty-one features he directed in chronological order, following Firewalker and preceding Death Wish 4: The Crackdown. Charles Bronson plays Murphy, with Kathleen Wilhoite as Arabella, Carrie Snodgress as Joan Freeman, Robert F. Lyons as Art Penney, Richard Romanus as Frank Vincenzo and Angel Tompkins as Jan. Gail Morgan Hickman wrote the screenplay, Pancho Kohner produced, and the Cannon Group and Golan-Globus Productions backed the project on a budget of 6 million dollars. It went on to take about 10 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.9 from roughly 7,400 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.1 from around 180 votes.