They Only Kill Their Masters

It was better than it should have been. It seems like it was first slated as a movie-of-the-week but then an fading MGM figured to score some box office bucks with the gimmick of this being one of their last movies shot on a studio lot. Casting MGM veterans in small parts helped some but, this being a detective movie, Jim Garner has to carry it all the way. Which he does with his usual aplomb.

It's a movie of its time. It's a small-town murder mystery with a back story which might have come from a Playboy or Penthouse fiction piece; the type no major studio would have looked at just three years earlier (it was made in 1972), let alone in MGM's heyday.

Faults aside, this movie has its interesting plot twists ratcheting up what little tension there is, so I was hooked until the end. But a loose-end or two are never answered - where did the fresh water come from? And if it was from the bath tub, was any fluoridation found? What happened to Peter Lawford's girlfriend? In one scene she's waving hello with her generous bust; in the next - a crucial one involving PL's character - there's patently no trace of her nor does anyone ask. Eh?

Hal Holbrook and Katherine Ross form the remainder of the troika of leads; Holbrook as the county vet and Ross as his long-haired, long-legged assistant from New York. In other words, she's really there to become romantically involved with Garner's character (a cinematic must.)

Harry Guardino's county sheriff brings in his boys when things get tricky but to no any real effect except the last scene. Garner's character never feels the case slipping away from him or the noose tightening as with Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade in 'The Maltese Falcon.'

June Allyson has a cameo, bringing in yet another plot twist. A better screenwriter and/or director would have put her in more of the picture. Her brief presence lights up the screen far more than the rest of the cast combined - maybe she should have played the detective.

This is a cute little movie that is of"B" quality but better than most and certainly better than most TV Movies. In the story there is a beautiful Doberman named Murphy who is believed killed someone. I won't disclose the ending. There is a chemistry among all the actors that keep the movie together. I read lately that this was the last movie that this particular movie company made before the backlot was bulldozed for another use. I had a Doberman after this movie and I called him Murphy in memory of him. Absolutely worth watching at least once. Not to be confused with the other James Garner movie called "Murphy's Romance".

James Garner is the police chief of a small town. A woman turns up dead, and it's accepted that her own dog, a doberman, killed her. As he investigates the matter, however, new facts come into focus that exonerate the animal..... and makes his own loneliness apparent to him.

It's a pleasant little romance with Garner in modern dress, looking a little seedy as he and Katherine Ross fall in love with each other. It's a very minor effort, but it's eked out nicely with many small roles taken by familiar faces: Hal Holbrook, Harry Guardino, JUne Allyson, Peter Lawford, Edmond O'Brien, Ann Rutherford..... is this where old MGM stars retire to?

Like every normal horror fanatic, I love movies with killer animals, and dogs are my favorite species! Actually, dogs are my favorites after sharks, bears, spiders, and crocodiles. Usually, though, dogs in horror movies are straightforward killing machines because they have been genetically altered, heavily mistreated, contaminated with rabies, or trained to kill. "They Only Kill Their Masters" is quite unique because it's the sole murder mystery with a dog that I'm aware of!

In a quiet and picturesque Californian coastal town, the body of a beautiful woman is found in the water and her arms and legs carry severe biting marks from her own Doberman. You can probably guess it's just a mere footnote to establish the dog is innocent (and actually tried to save his master), and local police chief Abel Marsh must start his search for a human culprit.

Don't you hate it when a film's title and poster image are the best - and only - aspects to get excited about? Despite being an MGM-feature, "They Only Kill Their Masters" never surpasses the quality of an average made-for-television production. The script hints at a couple of taboo subjects, like lesbianism and unwanted pregnancies, but everything remains rather vague and covered with lame attempts at humor. The film has a magnificent cast, including the unearthly beautiful Katharine Ross and a whole bunch of silver screen veterans in minor cameos, and a few clever ideas in the script (like the bridge that can only take one car at the time), but is overall a big disappointment; - or at least to me it was.

The film opens up with a view of the ocean and their is a woman floating in the water and a Doberman is biting her and trying to pull her on shore. Abel Marsh, (James Garner) is the Chief of Police and at first accepts the fact that this dog did the killing, until the CSI staff determine she was drowned in a bathtub and then placed in the ocean because she had fresh water in her lungs. There are cameo appearances by some veteran actors like: June Allyson, (Mrs. Watkins), Tom Ewell, (Cop), Peter Lawford, (Mr. Campbell). and Edmond O'Brien, (Liquor Store Owner) Abel Marsh and Kate Bingham, (Katherine Ross) meet and they both burn up the screen with some torrid love making. If you like James Garner, you will enjoy his great acting in this film. Enjoy