This story was later remade into a feature film, Beyond the Reach (2014) starring Michael Douglas and Jeremy Irvine.
Based on Robb White's 1972 novel, "Deathwatch", in which the hunted man is actually forced to run around in California's Mojave Desert naked.
One of two 1974 TV-movies where Andy Griffith plays against type, as a rich villain, both taking place in the rural desert and involving a murder that a younger man is initially manipulated to cover up: the other is Pray For The Wild Cats.
The source novel is loosely based on (or inspired by) the short story The Most Dangerous Game in which a crazy hunter hunts a human in a desolate era. The Most Dangerous Game became a number of movies and adaptations on the big and small screens.