L'idolo

This film is said to be based loosely on the case of serial killer Charles Schmid. Schmid was born in Tucson, Arizona; Skipper is a native of the imaginary town of Darlington in the same state. He is only 23 but the oldest of his peers, preferring to hang around with high school kids. He is handsome and charismatic; the guys like him and the girls flock to him, he beds the latter freely but admits to a detective that he is bisexual. He drives a sports car but has no job, prefering to leech off his mother who runs a retirement home.

The film begins with the aftermath of a thrill kill, Skipper and his two co-conspirators burying a girl's body in the desert; it is told partially in flashback. It remains to be seen if he would have been content with the one murder - which he committed to see "what it feels like", but because three people can keep a secret only if two of them are dead, the truth soon leaks out, and he ends up committing two more, this time by himself.

It is difficult to classify this film, psychological thriller perhaps, or maybe catharsis.

Based loosely on real life killer, Charles Schmidt (sp?), the Pied Piper of Tucson, 'The Todd Killings' is a marvelous, underrated gem.

There is much to love about this movie. The cast are terrific. Most notable are the lead performances; Robert F. Lyons is truly outstanding, infusing his character with a giddy mix of indifference and charm. He manages to seduce the girls, impress the guys and squirm his way through a police interrogation with absolute ease.

Praise must go to the gorgeous Belinda Montgomery (Doogie Howser's mom). She looks thoroughly enticing and gives a soft, natural performance that looks like it was bathed in 70's sunshine.

Adding to the pleasure is the location shooting, making full use of what appears to be a small, sleepy Northern California town. One notable highlight being Skipper and Billy at a Jack in the Box restaurant - complete with an old-school JB clown logo and the menu displaying stupidly low prices (35 cents for a hamburger).

But this is no mere exploitation flick. The filmmakers have taken care with every detail and it shows. The relationship between Skipper and his Mom is perfectly addressed while she nobly attempts to defend him in the face of an angry mother accusing Skipper of hiding information on her daughter's whereabouts. Their two worlds are miles apart.

There is much to go on about here, but in the end, I simply can't recommend this film highly enough. This is the real deal.

Very cool 1970 character study of a pseudo-hippy turned serial killer. From the first 5 minutes, you know you're in for a treat. Barry Shear directs with real vigor, favoring tight close-ups and odd angles. There are many nice touches, particularly the swimming pool scene and the amazing opener. Robert F. Lyons gives a very funny, realistic performance as Skipper Todd; the big-fish-in-a-small-pond woman(girl!)izing hipster who is really the ultimate misanthrope. The scenes with his liberal, 'understanding' mother (who even unknowingly defends him against the mother of a girl he murdered!) are especially poignant. The movie is rife with political commentary also, for instance when Skipper's lawyer suggests he blame his killing spree on LSD and the fact that the kids in town still idolize him after he's found out. It features a tremendous script and great supporting roles from Barbara Bel Geddes(Vertigo), Gloria Grahame (The Big Heat) and a bit part from Michael Conrad (Un Flic, Hill Street Blues). Recommended.

Fictionalized portrait of real-life sociopath and killer Charles Schmid from Arizona (called Skipper Todd here, nicknamed "The Pied Piper of Tucson"), a 23-year-old dropout from reality who easily enchanted all the bored, feckless teenagers hanging out at the local high school and community swimming pool. Robert F. Lyons is quite persuasive as Todd, a seductive charmer who lives off his mother (Barbara Bel Geddes), who enables his freeloader lifestyle. Todd enjoys playing big brother and lover to the misfit kids in his stifling suburb (it feeds his ego) and, after killing a girl because he "had nothing else to do," he has no trouble getting a few of the teens to help cover up his crime. Richard Thomas is somewhat miscast as a hitchhiker Lyons takes under his wing (Thomas is intrinsically too bright to play this antisocial rube), but the supporting cast is excellent, particularly Bel Geddes, Gloria Grahame as Thomas' mother, Belinda Montgomery, Edward Asner, James Broderick, Holly Near and Michael Conrad. It's a technically assured picture, but one which is ultimately uneasy as a dramatic entertainment. Was it intended as a warning film? Rather, it's an exercise in glamorously dangerous narcissism: the disaffected youth too cool for society. ** from ****

Intelligent psycho drama inspired by "real life case histories", or rather, the story of an actual thrill killer named Charles Schmid Jr., a.k.a. "The Pied Piper of Tucson". A character who prefigured guys like Ted Bundy and Charles Manson, he is here named Skipper Todd, and is played by Robert F. Lyons. Skipper is a shiftless yet undeniably charismatic 23 year old man. The youths of the town of Darlington are completely enamoured of Skipper; he's one of those guys where the girls want to be with him and the boys want to *be* him. However, Skippers' outwards demeanour masks a dark side. And some of his associates are all too willing to help him cover up his crimes.

All things considered, I can see how some people would find this film off putting. It is a sleazy story, to be sure, but it's compelling in a very sobering way. It does have some pertinent things to say about the way that people can find themselves drawn in by the force of someones' personality, for good or bad. Skipper is a mostly cool, unflappable type who makes it through police interrogations without flinching. His mom (portrayed by Barbara Bel Geddes) largely puts up with a lot of his aimlessness, and his new acquaintance Billy Roy (a pre-'Waltons' Richard Thomas) regards him with awe.

Well photographed in Panavision by Harold E. Stine, with a powerful score by Leonard Rosenman, "The Todd Killings" serves as a rather picturesque depiction of rural California in the early 1970s. Performances are all right on the money, with a large number of familiar faces on hand: Belinda Montgomery, Sherry Miles, Holly Near, James Broderick, Gloria Grahame, Fay Spain, Edward Asner, Michael Conrad, William Lucking, Meg Foster, George Murdock, Harry Lauter, Eddie Firestone, Eve Brent, Jack Riley, and an uncredited Geoffrey Lewis.

The opening sequence is a grabber, and producer / director Barry Shear prefers to just plunge us into the action, saving all of the acting and technical credits for the final few minutes. Close-ups are used to good effect, and Shear gives us an honest, unflattering account of these turbulent times in American history and a memorable antagonist who's very much up front about his contempt towards the world in general.

Seven out of 10.