L'homme qui crait au loup

This is a heart-rending story that would have been almost unbearable if it were not for the exceptionally poignant performance of Edward G. Robinson as an old man getting caught in a web of urban corruption. Sam Jaffe's brief but equally upsetting performance is on the same level, and it's like a nightmare of helplessness of old age. At the same time, a character like this wouldn't fit anyone but Robinson - he made many such characters before, but they all mount up to this one, lost in a world that because of his old age refuses to take him seriously or even believe him, since he alone knows the truth but can't understand it or make it credible, since it is too evil for human understanding. Even his son (Martin Balsam) ultimately fails him, while the end comes as a surprise, since it should have turned another way. It's a great story, all the characters are excellent, and the events and circumstances of this asphalt jungle of a hostile city environment are quite typical of 1970 - that's how the world was in those days, with psychiatry as the infallible authority of human life. Although it is very late, this is still a noir and one of the very darkest as such. When you try to settle after the film you feel very old and lost, like the too convincing old honest Robinson.

The only thing worse than to be a child and be disbelieved that you have witnessed a crime which has put your life in danger is to be an old man in the same situation. A tour de force performance by Robinson might just be the highlight of his later career. Balsam is excellent as the son. Asner does a good turn as a bureaucrat, and Percy Rodrigues is totally chilling in his portrayal. A great paranoia flick.

Edward G. Robinson stars an elderly man who pays a visit to his lifelong Polish friend at his neighborhood candy store--but, just as they are discussing the $1000 his friend has saved up, a black man with a rubber hose walks in and beats the shopkeeper to the ground. Robinson attempts to intervene, but he gets whacked on the noggin, too; when he finally comes around, surrounded by strangers and a police officer, his friend has died (of an apparent heart attack) and the $1000 is missing. Run-of-the-mill ABC-TV movie-of-the-week from executive producer Aaron Spelling is cheaply-rendered and has no payoff. The veteran star, ever the consummate professional, manages a solid performance; however, with this teleplay (by Luther Davis), the job couldn't have been an easy one to swallow. Robinson's condescending family refuses to believe his story about the robber with the hose (they want him under a doctor's care), while the police mock him and an alleged witness (Naomi Stevens, who can't read a line without overacting) hysterically throws Eddie G. Out of her apartment (I was surprised she didn't scream "rape!" just for kicks). We're spared no horrors: Robinson is even attacked by a laughing group of schoolchildren, who do everything but point their fingers at him. With Walter Grauman's direction hammered home, the movie is all on one ridiculous, melodramatic note.

Personally, I love movies about old people, and particularly when starring acclaimed and extremely experienced veteran actors/actresses in the autumn of their careers. It might just be my impression, but it always feels like these ageing stars try extra hard to give stellar performances in their last films, as if they need to prove they are still as capable and talented as they were 40-50 years ago. I always use "The Whales of August" or "The Straight Story" as example, but I might as well add "The Old Man Who Cried Wolf" to the list, since Edward G. Robinson is stupendous here in one of his final lead performances.

Robinson was about 77 or 78 when depicted the role of 70-year-old Emile Pulska (usually actors are older than the characters they play, but here it's the other way around); - a wise and respectable man of Polish origin living in New York. One day, he witnesses how a black mobster beats his best friend Abe Stillman to death with a rubber stick, and Emile himself gets injured as well. When he regains consciousness, everybody claims that Abe died from a heart-attack and that Emile fell and hit his head. Emile clearly remembers what he saw, but nobody believes him. The police and eyewitnesses believe that the old man suffers from overactive imagination, and even his loving son and daughter-in-law begin to doubt their father's sanity and seek psychiatric help. Emile is strong and stubborn, though, and escapes from whatever mental clinic to seek out the truth.

This entire TV-movie revolves solely around the brilliantly charismatic performance by Robinson. That's not bad, of course, but it could have been even better if the script was more elaborated, and if more time and effort had been put in the unraveling of the murder plot, the background of several fascinating supportive characters and the backgrounds of both Abe and Emile. Now, with a running time of barely 72 minutes, everything feels rushed, and the ending comes abrupt and leaves far too many questions unanswered. Gradually, the plot of the film shifts from Emily trying to discover why his friend got murdered, to Emily having to persuade the entire city of New York that he's not a useless, senile and paranoid senior citizen. That's a missed opportunity and a shame, really.

Edward G. (Emile) is an old codger going about friendly business as he drops by to say "Hi" to fellow old codger Sam Jaffe (Abe). Well, someone doesn't like Jaffe too much, turns up and puts an end to Jaffe and his life journey. Eddie G. is a witness so takes a blow as well but he survives. When he awakes, his pal is dead and there is a network of witnesses who remember things differently. We, as the audience, know that he is telling the truth surrounding the demise of his friend. Can he get his message across?

This is the 70's so, thankfully, the restrictive film legislative codes have been lifted and evil can now triumph. The soundtrack is cool in a nostalgic way and the film ends memorably. I have to admit to being disappointed but it is definitely not the note expected. That's what makes it memorable and that's the dilemma..

The film leads us through the movements of an old guy being chased which gets annoying because guess what…… he falls over….Eeeurgh!.... Corny…..!! But this might just save the old guy. There isn't much more to understand or follow up in terms of character study. There are good guys and there are bad guys. We just go with the Eddie G flow.