Artie Sawyer (Andy Griffith), a NYC apartment building superintendent, decides to hit the bar after his wife Iris (Ida Lupino) goes to visit her sister. He quickly falls under the spell of a young beauty (Susanne Benton), who complains of having no place to stay. He decides to let her stay in an tenant's apartment, but just as they are about to get it on a group of three men come in and spoil Artie's party. Turns out they are three Vietnam vets and they are planning to rob the bank next door. To make matters worse, Iris has return home early. Running 74 minutes, this is a enjoyable TV movie that packs in a lot of tension. Michael Brandon (Four Flies on Grey Velvet) is the psycho leader of the vets and is great in the role. Griffith was in a strange career transition at this point. He had two series (Headmaster and The New Andy Griffith Show) with both only lasting one season after his long run on The Andy Griffith Show. So he ended up doing a lot of TV movies during this time, with some interesting results. He is surprisingly agile for his age, even doing a lot of two fights he has with Brandon. James A. Watson Jr. (Airplane II) and Tim McIntire (The Choirboys) play the other two robbers.
Review of The Strangers in 7A
