A Brilliant Conflict

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Like the reviewer above me, I saw this when I was young and it returns to my thoughts often...it has a certain haunting quality to it that is hard to define. Powerful and evocative and yet very understated. There is an air of reconciliation for the generations here, after the turbulent and impassioned separation of the 1960s, just passed.No performances stand out in my mind...Matthew Cowles is believable as the small-town heavy, and Arthur Kennedy turns in a memorable performance in the twilight of his career.It's the eerie and unexplained presence of the young man...almost like a lost child, how the old couple summons him up from the crawlspace and just accept him as their surrogate child, that's always stuck with me and made this movie return to my thoughts again and again, after all of these years.

Ernest Kinoy adapted this bizarre story from a novel by Herbert Lieberman, concerning a young, unemployed electrician in a small town who returns to the last house he worked at--that of a friendly, elderly couple--and lives in seclusion in the basement. The couple, who have no children of their own, are initially disturbed to learn the kid has been sleeping in a damp, cramped crawlspace under their house...but soon they find themselves welcoming his appearances, fixing him dinner, buying him clothes, and giving him things to do. The local sheriff, and apparently some of the town residents, quickly find out about this unspoken arrangement between the wayward youth and his benefactors, causing all hell to break loose. For a TV-movie, this is pretty strong stuff, commendably given a matter-of-fact treatment which helps the plot unfold naturally (even if the material itself is unconventional). Unfortunately, Kinoy's teleplay goes awry in the third act, changing the personalities of its key players without warning and concluding on an absurdly melodramatic note. Otherwise, two-thirds of a good picture, and the performances are excellent all around.

I was pleased to see this old TV-movie was on DVD; we'd had the novel around the house when I was a kid, and I always wondered what this movie would be like. I just finished watching it a few minutes ago, and in my opinion, it's pretty much of a mess. If you're curious about these old 70s TV-movies, it's worth your time, but its brisk running time is actually one of the biggest problems. The plot moves so quickly, and so unrealistically, that some of it was almost laughable. It might be interesting to read the novel, as there MUST be more to this story than its choppy rendering here. It has that grainy, creepy early 70s feel (reminded me of "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" in that way), but don't rent/buy it expecting much, or I think you'll be very disappointed.

I saw this movie when I was 18 and never forgot it. It is a shame that it is not shown in re-runs. It was absolutely unforgettable. One of the most powerful short films I ever saw, for being a made for TV movie.It was so relevant to the times,the end of the Hippie culture. It also played on the generation gap conflict that was part of the 60's and early 70's.The characters draw you in because they are so real and believable. If they ever tried to redo it, they would have to find really convincing actors for the parts. I encourage everyone to try to find a copy of this film, it ranks up with Duel.They made some really good short made for TV films in that series.