*NO REAL SPOILERS HERE, JUST A FEW HINTS*
This is an OK movie, but I don't think it's the "classic thriller," that everyone else is raving about.
A woman, played by Barbara Eden, who is getting divorced, returns to her childhood home, to see her father & stepmother. When she arrives, her father has left early for his yearly sabbatical. He didn't tell her he was leaving early, or where he could be reached. The stepmother (played by Vera Miles) is very glad to see her, and they have a good relationship.
All the town's folk, who she grew up with, are treating her with disrespect. It is the same every where she goes. She cannot get an explanation for this, and she questions their motives. After all, these are people she's known since childhood, and she's always had pleasant relationships with them. Finally, a little girl, who's been watching her, shares some information. The young girl's friend, was found dead in the lake recently. When Barbara Eden questions her further about this, a man yells for her, and she runs off, afraid.
Meanwhile, her estranged husband (played by Larry Hagman) has decided to follow her, and win her back. There is no real explanation as to why she left him in the first place. He seems like an amiable enough fellow, and it's clear he loves her very much.
There is also a constant howling in the forest. It is the howling of a starving dog. This bothered me. Animals are only placed in movies as plot devices to suffer and die. They always meet a terrible fate, and this movie is no different. It really bothered me that the dog died. There was no reason for it to, there was no real reason to even have a dog in the story, much less to have it killed, but they did.
Barbara Eden asks about the dog, and the town's people tell her to ignore it. She asks to buy meat for it, at first they refuse. But a local woman (played by Tyne Daly) convinces them there is no harm in letting her feed it. It is starving after all, why let it suffer? Tyne Daly seems to want to talk to Barbara Eden alone, but it will have to wait till after she goes to find the dog. She does, and when she tries to feed it, it leads her to a grave. She immediately goes to the police, and they are nonplussed. They placate her, and tell her not to worry about it. It was probably just something the dog had buried, but they promise to check it out. As soon as she leaves, they go and shoot the dog. It is a stupid, useless plot device that goes nowhere. She could have stumbled over the grave on the old path she was using to walk home. The dog and the howling had nothing to do with the story, and quite frankly was annoying.
Tyne Daly finally tells Barbara Eden part of the story. She tells her about the dead girl, that she didn't drown, but was murdered.
She also tells her about the man in the grave. She begs Barbara Eden to give her a thousand dollars so she can leave town. Barbara Eden agrees, and when she returns w/the money, someone has beaten Tyne Daly to keep her quiet. Tyne Daly gives a standout performance here, one of the best in the whole movie. Her character was the only authentic thing in the whole movie. I believe she is who she says she is, and I don't really with anyone else.
From here it just gets weird. I won't ruin the movie with any more spoilers. I will say that if you're watching this because you want to see Barbara Eden & Larry Hagman interact, you'll be disappointed. I doubt they're on screen together for more than 5 minutes.
The showdown at the end left me scratching my head. If the people involved are willing to commit one murder to cover their secrets, why not just commit another? The motives of the people involved are questionable. The relationships didn't make sense, the murders didn't make sense, and the lies would have been easily found out. I also don't know why the townsfolk were being mean to Barbara Eden. It was supposed to create mystery, but in the end, you realize there was no real reason for it.
This isn't a bad movie, it's just not a good one. If you like Barbara Eden or Tyne Daly, than give it a watch, but otherwise, give it a pass.
A woman, played by Barbara Eden, who is getting divorced, returns to her childhood home, to see her father & stepmother. When she arrives, her father has left early for his yearly sabbatical. He didn't tell her he was leaving early, or where he could be reached. The stepmother (played by Vera Miles) is very glad to see her, and they have a good relationship.
All the town's folk, who she grew up with, are treating her with disrespect. It is the same every where she goes. She cannot get an explanation for this, and she questions their motives. After all, these are people she's known since childhood, and she's always had pleasant relationships with them. Finally, a little girl, who's been watching her, shares some information. The young girl's friend, was found dead in the lake recently. When Barbara Eden questions her further about this, a man yells for her, and she runs off, afraid.
Meanwhile, her estranged husband (played by Larry Hagman) has decided to follow her, and win her back. There is no real explanation as to why she left him in the first place. He seems like an amiable enough fellow, and it's clear he loves her very much.
There is also a constant howling in the forest. It is the howling of a starving dog. This bothered me. Animals are only placed in movies as plot devices to suffer and die. They always meet a terrible fate, and this movie is no different. It really bothered me that the dog died. There was no reason for it to, there was no real reason to even have a dog in the story, much less to have it killed, but they did.
Barbara Eden asks about the dog, and the town's people tell her to ignore it. She asks to buy meat for it, at first they refuse. But a local woman (played by Tyne Daly) convinces them there is no harm in letting her feed it. It is starving after all, why let it suffer? Tyne Daly seems to want to talk to Barbara Eden alone, but it will have to wait till after she goes to find the dog. She does, and when she tries to feed it, it leads her to a grave. She immediately goes to the police, and they are nonplussed. They placate her, and tell her not to worry about it. It was probably just something the dog had buried, but they promise to check it out. As soon as she leaves, they go and shoot the dog. It is a stupid, useless plot device that goes nowhere. She could have stumbled over the grave on the old path she was using to walk home. The dog and the howling had nothing to do with the story, and quite frankly was annoying.
Tyne Daly finally tells Barbara Eden part of the story. She tells her about the dead girl, that she didn't drown, but was murdered.
She also tells her about the man in the grave. She begs Barbara Eden to give her a thousand dollars so she can leave town. Barbara Eden agrees, and when she returns w/the money, someone has beaten Tyne Daly to keep her quiet. Tyne Daly gives a standout performance here, one of the best in the whole movie. Her character was the only authentic thing in the whole movie. I believe she is who she says she is, and I don't really with anyone else.
From here it just gets weird. I won't ruin the movie with any more spoilers. I will say that if you're watching this because you want to see Barbara Eden & Larry Hagman interact, you'll be disappointed. I doubt they're on screen together for more than 5 minutes.
The showdown at the end left me scratching my head. If the people involved are willing to commit one murder to cover their secrets, why not just commit another? The motives of the people involved are questionable. The relationships didn't make sense, the murders didn't make sense, and the lies would have been easily found out. I also don't know why the townsfolk were being mean to Barbara Eden. It was supposed to create mystery, but in the end, you realize there was no real reason for it.
This isn't a bad movie, it's just not a good one. If you like Barbara Eden or Tyne Daly, than give it a watch, but otherwise, give it a pass.