Strictly average movie

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This movie could have been made today; it withstands the test of time. It's about a man who wants to take revenge on a woman who aborted their child. The movie is also about the hypocrisy of the woman who is living a lie, trying to conceal a past which includes illicit sex, pregnancy, and abortion, the latter so that she could get end the relationship with the guy who wants the baby and wants to marry her. After she dumps him she marries a local up and coming politician and gets pregnant and this time gives birth. The movie is about how the first guy cleverly re-injects himself into her life through her husband and then plots to get her to kill her own baby which to him is perfectly logical because if she could kill his baby, then why not her husband's? Of course, problems ensue as the tension between the guy and the woman becomes obvious and soon she has to confess her past to her husband and the husband is loving and supportive and it's just a matter of time before the guy gets his just deserts, which is quick and violent. The movie's premise works because the guy does have cause to be angry and the story is set before Roe v. Wade, when getting an abortion was (and still is) a serious matter, not only morally but legally, and when the right of a woman to control her reproductive options was not yet fully established as a matter of law. Hence she really had no one to turn to with which to discuss her issues, especially the police, since abortion was a criminal act. As for the guy, he has no one to turn to for support either, knowing what his ex-girl friend had done. This movie dramatizes why the decision to have an an abortion has to be treated entirely as a medical matter. The alternative, to treat it as a criminal matter, just creates more problems, especially in the area of conflict resolution. Carol White gives a powerful performance as the woman and Scott Hyland's performance is compelling as the guy whose mind becomes twisted by righteous indignation, with tragic consequences.

After the man she's been seeing turns out to be mentally (and financially) unstable, Cathy aborts his baby and moves on with her life. She eventually marries a political hopeful and once again finds herself pregnant. While shopping for a crib, she sees her former flame, Kenneth, working as a department store Santa. He spots her too, but the real bad news for Cathy is that he notices she's carrying another child. Bad news for her and her baby, but would Kenneth resort to killing a child as vengeance for the death of his own?Mark Robson (The Seventh Victim, Valley of the Dolls) directs this morbid little gem, a film with some rather potent subject matter, particularly for the time it was made. Melding the incredibly touchy subject of abortion with a psycho-suspense storyline, Robson crafts an effective film full of bizarre mood and situations. As Cathy becomes more and more guilty over what she did, we see how it works into her psyche, and images as simple as toys yapping on a table take on a rather perverse feeling that gets under the viewer's skin. Robson knows how to utilize such elements to their maximum effect, though never in an overly graphic manner. The use of subtlety and implied horror goes a long way here.As Kenneth, Scott Hylands is one of the creepiest nutcases you'll see. He has the most unnerving eyes, and a rather blank glare that truly makes one feel uncomfortable. The scene where he learns of the abortion is downright chilling. He puts Cathy through some real psychological torment, one of the standout moments being a nasty surprise he leaves under her car. Carol White plays Cathy, and she's fine in the role, but I find her character to be quite unlikable due to her incessant bitchiness.This is a great film, well acted, well directed... The climax is quite thrilling as well. This is not your typical psycho story, and it is really quite unique in it's storytelling. Disturbing and effective, I highly recommend this one.

A surprisingly potent and strangely disregarded psycho-stalker picture marked by taut direction and capable performances, it is also benefited by its lovely San Francisco location filming. The story is uncomplicated, if somewhat derivative...girl aborts the child of her estranged lover, remarries, and becomes pregnant again. The first lover, now quite clearly a dangerously unbalanced nutcase, shows up to settle the score. A briskly paced little nail-biter which occasionally goes a wee bit over-the-top, DADDY'S GONE A-HUNTING is ripe for a much-deserved reinvestigation.6.5/10

I suppose Right-to-Life supporters will find a workable premise in this film for their political agenda. Another reviewer has noted that and this requires no further comment. However, this film did stick in my mind after having seen in in '69. The only actor of note was Paul Burke who was the young cop in TV's Naked City. I found myself wondering who were Scott Hylands and Carol White? Truth is, after having refreshed my viewpoint visiting this site, I still bring up little memory of them beyond this film. The film itself is an interesting story of a young ne'er-do-well who lives on the edge (his only productive activity is trying to build a Rube Goldberg arrangement to condition his cat not to eat his bird) who gets dumped by his live-in love who aborts his kid. She goes on to marry Paul Burke, handsome, successful and our kinda guy. Later, the dumped boyfriend strangles the doctor (with his stethoscope, of course) and kidnaps the ex-girlfriendie's kid. It goes on from there with a decent thriller ending, showing that you don't mess with mothers. All in all, not a bad film for an evening's viewing, albeit I, like the first reviewer, have serious reservations about the mixed message of choices women make about their bodies. But, that's a discussion topic for another time and place...