It's a real shame they no longer make anthology drama, because it gave movie stars the chance to stretch their wings and try different things. Audie Murphy, stuck in Westerns for the majority of his career, plays something genuinely different - a psycho in a contemporary thriller. He's a young man who attaches himself as a home handyman to elderly Thelma Ritter. He torments her, isolates her, and winds up killing her dog. (It's kind of like a cheap version of The Servant).
Since Murphy was reputed in life to be something of a psycho, it's not surprising to find him all too believable. But he needed more careful handling, I think - he's allowed to go too crazy too soon. Maybe people were more trusting back then, and they kind of cover it by having him claim to have known Ritter's dead son, but he is very wacko very early. The material lets him down, although it has pedigree - it's based on a play by Mel Dinelli which had been filmed. It feels as though it lacks logic.
It's really weird to see Murphy appearing as himself at the end smiling, saying goodnight and nice words about Ritter and Ford after just having murdered Ritter in the show (albeit off screen). Ritter is good as always and Michael J Pollard pops up in the support cast.
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