They Call It Murder

In what looks like a pilot for a possible television series Jim Hutton plays the District Attorney in a small southern California county who partners closely with County Sheriff Robert J. Wilkie in the investigation. Hutton is even in on the final shootout.

For Bob Wilkie sad this pilot wasn't picked up. Wilkie played dozens of bad guys in westerns and this would have been a career change for him.

A body is found in the pool where Leslie Nielsen resides with daughter-in-law Jessica Walter. Nielsen is in a wheelchair as a result of an accident where his son was killed several months earlier.

There's an insurance settlement in the offing. But the insurance company PI Vic Tayback smells a rat.

Of course the murder and the accident are linked but you watch the movie to see just how. I guessed the right perpetrator, but not the extent of the con that was being played, A few murders happen before the solution is found.

Also note good performances from JoAnn Pflug as a reporter and Nita Talbot who is an actress worried about keeping up with the younger women coming up in her profession.

There's also Ed Asner who is an obnoxious and bumbling city police chief. His role seemed superfluous to the story.

Might have made a good series.

This made for TV movie predates the Jim Hutton version of the Ellery Queen TV series by a few years. However, Hutton obviously used this role as his model for playing Queen in the series. He has a lot of fun with his role as DA and it is contagious. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Hutton as he appeared in virtually every scene as the relentless DA, investigating a murder that soon expands to even more homicides. This film is based on an Erle Stanley Gardner work and contains all of the elements of fine mystery writing which we would expect from Mr. Gardner. A good cast of names and faces familiar to TV watchers serves to keep up the interest and suspense as this excellent mystery unfolds. I would have preferred another actor in the role of the defense attorney played by Lloyd Bochner. But, I admit that I am nit picking here. I simply don't like Mr. Bochner since he plays every single role in exactly the same manner, smug and arrogant. Just once I would like to see him exhibit some semblance of warmth or humor. For me his performance was the only negative in this most enjoyable movie.

A man in a wheelchair, his widowed daughter-in-law, her mother and a cab driver find a dead body in the swimming pool. Complications of a missing murder weapon, evidence of a second weapon and a sleazy high-priced lawyer arise quickly.

The mediocre production values, plethora of B-List supporting cast and squishy ending testify that this was made-for-television. It has a very good plot despite that, and the mystery is on a par with a theatrical release.

I like Jim Hutton very much. That is what enticed me to watch this movie. He is here not quite as refined and at ease as he was when he appeared as: Ellery Queen but he is still quite fun.

I found Vic Tayback surprisingly good as a low-rent private detective. It was on a par with his role in: The Cheap Detective (1978).

I am sorry to say that the rest of the cast was quite disappointing. I expected much more from: Leslie Nielsen, Edward Asner and Nita Talbot but it was obvious that their hearts and minds were not in their role. They were all quite low-grade even for television.

I will split my rating to say that the story/plot/mystery are: 6.8/10 but the production values and most of the performances are: 3.2/10

This movie is available for viewing for free on the streaming channel: "The Film Detective". I do not know what sign-up or commercials that channel uses. I watched it on: Amazon Prime Video. The print was not very good.

It was like an episode of Columbo without already knowing the murderer and Columbo.

I love "made for tv" movies and old mystery shows. This one has it all. Great cast, brilliant camera angles, typical music for the time and decent script. Where in California was this filmed? The panoramic views are stunning! It's a shame this series never came to fruition.

Regarding the cast, Jim Hutton is pleasant as always. I can't count the number of tv movies Jessica Walters was in. She seemed to always play the villainess. Ed Asner's performance is the usual gruff sheriff. His Lou Grant series is still one of my all time favorites. I believe Jo Ann Pflug was on a game show or two but remember her most from tv movies.

This definitely one of the better pilots for an unrealized tv series.