The Old Man Who Cried Wolf

In this made-for-TV movie, Edward G. Robinson G. Robinson is a retired furniture dealer. He visits his old friend, Sam Jaffe, who runs a candy store in run-down San Pedro. Jaffe has a thousand dollars he wants to get to his sister in Poland. He wants to know if Robinson can help it get it to her without the cops taking it. Then a large Black man comes into the store, beats Jaffe with a rubber hose. When Robinson comes to, Jaffe is dead, and the police say it was a heart attack. No one will believe Robinson, not even his adoring son, Martin Balsam. Instead, they think he is going senile, and call in psychiatrist Edward Asner, who takes him to the hospital for observation. But Robinson is not losing his mind. He is right, and the world begins to close in around him.

There's a fabulous cast of old-time actors in this movie supporting Robinson, including Ruth Roman and Jay C. Flippen. Robinson gives a heartbreaking performance as an old man, losing his way physically but not mentally. I had many an elderly relative like this at the time this movie was made, and it's spot on. It one of the reasons that Robinson was a performer I would watch if he announced he was going to read a phone book.

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.

The fundamental theme in this film is so flawed that it is not a particularly good movie...and it's a shame as I love Edward G. Robinson and really wanted to love "The Old Man Who Cried Wolf".

When the story begins, Emile (Robinson) goes to visit an old friend he hasn't seen in many years, Abe (Sam Jaffe). However, a man comes into Abe's shop and beats him with a rubber hose and steals the $1000 he'd been saving to send to family back in Poland. Now here's the part that just didn't ring true. Emile is beaten as well and when he awakens the police immediately assume that Abe died of natural causes and there was no attacker. At the same time, a really annoying neighbor woman vehemently denies anyone else had been there and says that Abe never had $1000 in cash. How would she know this since she wasn't there?! Yet, inexplicably the entire case is chalked up to an old man losing his faculties...even though he never had a history of mental impairment. Plus, the intensity at which the nasty neighbor insisted nothing happened is very suspicious in and of itself. Yet, oddly, folks assume Emile is confabulating this story. It just defies common sense and essentially ruined the film. Why should he have to prove he ISN'T demented and why does everyone ignore him?!

So is there anything about this film worth seeing? Well, Robinson's performance is quite good as he was the consummate professional. But it's also so very sad that he wasn't given a better written story. Provide REAL reasons for folks to not believe Emile or at least build up to this better. Instead, it seems as if part of the story is missing...like they forgot to explain why people didn't believe Emile. Fortunately, this was not his final film as it would have been sad if this was his final film considering his terrific battery of work.

I have watched this movie a long time ago, but i have a vivid memory of it. It was often mentioned as an example for how a thriller should be made. This is TV at his best - it will not get any better. Everything is perfect - plot, direction, and what a performance by Robinson, Balsam and the rest! Robinson shows that he was capable of much more than playing mob bosses. Balsam is one of the most underrated character actors of his time. I can hardly count all the movies he was in, and in every single one he delivered a solid performance. I earlier days "The old man who cried wolf" was considered a classic and aired often. Sadly i never saw it on VHS or DVD. I also did not hear that it was aired lately on any major TV Station.