They Call It Murder

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.

Quite many of these obscure cable-television thrillers from the early 70s are really, really good. "They Call it Murder" is even better than good. As far as yours truly is concerned, this is a downright great thriller with a captivating & puzzling plot, a fantastic ensemble cast, and a mystery climax that would even cause Agatha Christie herself to nod her head with approval. I don't want to reveal too much about the plot, but it starts with a dead body in the pool of a wealthy but eccentric family, and it ends with the utmost twisted and convoluted insurance scams you'll ever witness. The cast this modest little TV-thriller managed to gather is truly impressive, and they are all giving away stellar performances in roles that seem very fitting. Jim Hutton as the persistent DA, Lloyd Bochner as the insufferable upper-class attorney, Ed Asner as the somewhat doofus Chief of Police, Leslie Nielsen as the arrogant patriarch (who talks with a bizarre Irish accent that makes him sound like a Leprechaun), Michael Pataki as the small-time crook, and the stunningly beautiful Jessica Walter as the quiet widow with a dark secret. The latter will always remain one of my favorite actresses thanks to her glorious roles as the psycho in "Play Misty For Me", and Lucille Bluth in "Arrested Development".

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.

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

Do we have a misleading system here? I'm talking about this "weighted vote" process. Guess I'll have to read up on that. Other ratings don't often sway me. But I am, at least, curious about opposing viewpoints. So, after I thoroughly enjoyed They Call It Murder, I investigated its low "weighted" evaluation because it's so different from my own. Imagine my astonishment when I saw NO overall bad comments, and more than five times as many positive votes as negative ones. Now that I've further trivialized opinions, here's mine: I highly regard this film; consider that many familiar faces herein perform quite capably; and am thankful for the four-minute concluding summation because the script was too intelligent for me, as is often the case when I try to follow a thoughtful mystery. Henceforth, "weighted" numbers will have even less significance to me; and, perhaps, they shouldn't be too terribly meaningful to you, either.