I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

An action-packed slog

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

I watched it on a french channel years ago. I searched for it since. And was finally rewarded. What a film. I don't know any movie about retirement homes for elders. I guess there are somewhere. And I am not sure they would be better than this one. OK, every one thinks of ONE FLEW OVER A COCOO NEST, that took place in an insane asylum. OK, Milo's Forman's film is more magnificent. Speaking of it, Kirk Douglas played it on stage, back in the seventies. So may be that explains why he accepted this TV feature. Elizabeth Montgomery is here as her best as the evil female manager, as Louise Fletcher was in ONE FLEW...The opposite characters between Douglas and Montgomery are tremendous. A poignant and painful story which my father was particularly sensitive about before he himself went to a retirement home...Unless to say that he was not excited to go to it.

Kirk Douglas plays the title role in made for television film Amos, a film where he finally transitions into playing senior citizens which he would do the rest of his career. Who knows, at 96 he might yet have another role in him.After losing his wife and home in a tragedy, Douglas is forced into a nursing home run by Elizabeth Montgomery. The sweet and wholesome Samantha Stevens gives way to Nurse Ratched's mentor Daisy Dawes. She runs the home with a corrupt iron hand. She encourages the staff to be cruel and vicious to the residents if they make a complaint. The infirmities of old age are truly explored in this film. Douglas is a former athletic coach and presumably in good shape. But even he's a victim of the staff and Montgomery.Such familiar faces as Pat Morita, Ray Walston, and Dorothy McGuire are other residents who Douglas sacrifices for to bring them respect and justice.Abuses of senior citizen homes was a hot topic back in those times and Amos was both timely and entertaining. Kirk was great in the part, but the real revelation in this film was how evil Liz Montgomery could play.

Kirk Douglas is Amos Lasher, a man who's married and retired and enjoying home life. That is, until he has a car accident, which kills his wife, left him with a broken hip and with little to no money to pay for an operation, recovery, etc. He lost his house and has to go to a rest home for recovery. Little does he know, t.l.c. is the last thing on the mind of Head Nurse Daisy Dawes, played by Elizabeth Montgomery, who plays her role to the hilt. And, Ms. Montgomery gets a very fulfilling send-off for the viewer to enjoy. Fans of Ms. Montgomery, myself included, will love her performance and wish more of her TV movies and work can be found on DVD. I had to find this on VHS. On a entertainment level, this is a very good movie with great actors who know their business, including Ray Walston and Dorothy McGuire. But, the movie takes its entertainment from an otherwise very sobering subject matter, which may be too disturbing and real for some people watching, especially when the viewer might have a parent in a rest home, subjected to such treatment. If you can watch a movie about a rest home, then this is one to see, which is similar to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which was produced by Michael Douglas, the son of Kirk Douglas, the star of this. Kirk's Amos Lasher is a survivor and a fighter and will not go quietly....

AMOS was a surprisingly effective TV-movie which owes a lot to ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, but stands on its own as competent little shocker. Kirk Douglas, who ironically starred in CUCKOO'S NEST on Broadway, plays the title role here, a cantankerous senior citizen who finds himself committed to a senior citizens facility that is run by an iron-fisted nurse (Elizabeth Montgomery)who Amos suspects is over stepping the bounds of her authority by physically abusing the clients and robbing them of their life savings. Stanley Gordon West's strong teleplay is an asset,but what makes this film sizzle is the cat and mouse game between Amos and the head nurse, who Montgomery bone-chillingly brings to life in one of her best performances, burying her Samantha Stephens image forever. Strong support is also provided by screen veterans Dorothy McGuire, Pat Morita, and Ray Walston but it is the Emmy-nominated performances by Douglas and Montgomery that are the main selling points here. It's no CUCKOO'S NEST, but it is an entertaining second cousin.