Nacht ohne Zeugen

Peppard is frank matthews, who has just left his job as a cop to work for a senator. When someone close to him is knocked off, he's the lead suspect! So now he's got to find the real killer before he gets locked up.. or even gets the death penalty. Lots of talk about one's rights when someone is arrested. The miranda warning had just been instituted in 1966. A fair amount of suspense. First, matthews keeps meddling in the investigation, and might screw up his own defense if it goes to trial. Then, later, it looks like matthews really has done the murder himself. It's pretty good! Nothing too new or earth shaking, but it was during the era of discussions of civil rights. Keep an eye out for isabel sanford as the maid; she will play louise in "the jeffersons". Peppard made this after tiffany's and crossbow, but just before banacek. He was nominated for a bafta for "home from the hill." directed by george schaefer. Story by stanley niss. He died young at 53, soon after this film was released. It's good!

Peppard is ideally cast as inflexibly hard-nosed cop who gets sucked through the looking-glass when indicted for his cheating wife's murder. Charles McGraw and Richard Kiley are both magnificent in the key supporting roles. Dana Elcar and Isabel Sanford also add poignantly amusing support. Director George Schaeffer's pacing and choice of score is perfect for the genre. And, many of the key ironies are even more appropriate today than when the film was made. Very highly recommended.

The one thing that stands out, and possibly because of Peppard's rather "okay" performance, was the work of Robert F. Lyons and Madeleine Sherwood. Lyons makes a wonderful splash as his debut role in this film. I am surprised it has not been commented on before as I see very little work from this period that was on par with this. The work was quite impressive. If you are interested in the detail of an actor's craft, watch these two actors and their chemistry. They are just a joy to watch. Overall,the film was okay. A little slow at times but it has some nice twists that make up for the rather slow story. Hang in there though, it gets exciting toward the end!

Check out the top of the Pendulum IMDb page, and you'll see a guy by the name of Stanley Niss, who wrote and produced this movie. He was my father's mother's brother, or great uncle. I recently learned more about my Great Uncle, and I was finally able to dig up my grandma's VHS copy of Pendulum in her condo. Just the fact that they were able to get a movie centered around a rapist rated only PG is enough of an accomplishment, but seeing George Peppard star surprised me even more.

So, I popped it in my 18 inch VHS TV and watched. Well, it's the 60's alright, the music, the sets, the wardrobes, the chain smoking, there's no denying that. But all in all, I liked it as a standard courtroom drama, the actors did well with their roles, and though I'm biased, I liked it well enough, and it kept me excited throughout.

Afterwards, I looked online and searched for some movie reviews, and saw that Roger Ebert himself reviewed upon its release, though he panned it. Gave it one and a half stars, and called my Great Uncle Stanley's script "written ineptly." Oh well. I had a good time, and I have a small piece of my family history in my hands now.

Just saw this movie again after 39 years. Well-acted period piece. Out-dated by today's standards, but still a decent night at the movies. What really caught my attention was how George Peppard chained smoked throughout this film. The guy burned one in every scene. Aside from that, he did give a creditable performance, but nothing to write home about.

Jean Seberg looked beautiful. She was a rare beauty and very talented as well. She is wasted here, but her brief time on scene does capture your attention.

The supporting cast of veteran actors do a professional job. The only real problem is that the film drags at times and lacks any real action. The ending was typical, but this was 1969, so don't expect too many surprises.