Frank Garrick is a big game hunter, but he has a bad heart and is also mentally unbalanced. He unfairly blames Dan Lawton for his brother Tommy's death in Korea. When Dan visits, Frank proposes a stalking game using photographic rifles and trying to get a photo of the opponent. Dan gets $10,000 if he wins. Dan agrees and the game is on throughout the city, but Frank has secretly loaded his rifle with a real bullet. Also stalking Dan is Tommy's fiancé, Helen Leyden, who also blames Dan for Tommy's death. But, after picking up Dan in a bar, Helen falls in love with him after spending about two minutes of idle chit chat. Helen becomes Dan's ally in the game. Watch the movie to find out how it all turns out.
For awhile, I thought maybe I was watching another masterpiece from Coleman Francis. Anybody remember the classic "Red Zone Cuba?" But unlike Francis' movies, WTDS uses a few actual actors who do their best. Chuck Connors as Frank wears a grown out flattop haircut. He would become a TV superstar a few years later as "The Rifleman." Don Ross plays Dan. He would become a regular supporting actor on Jack Webb's "Dragnet" TV series in the 1960s. Underrated Regina Gleason plays Helen. She really emotes in a lot of her scenes and her overacting is quite noticeable here. In 1964, Regina was cited by an LA traffic cop for wearing sunglasses that were too thick! She fought the case in court, and after speaking with the DA, she got the case dismissed.
If you can tolerate the long pauses between the actors giving their lines, the bad script, the awful editing, and the unbelievable and impossible occurrences in WTDS, you might be able to sit through its 73 minutes. I did and i still live!
