Deadly Game

Despite nutsy's claims to the contrary, this is an excellent example of nifty TV movie making from the seventies. Surrounded by quirky employees and neighbors, Sheriff Abel Marsh is the sole sane man in town forced to deal with a potentially devastating chemical spill. Sure it plays a little like the Andy Griffith Show, but only with murders but it's definitely worth watching.

Track down the earlier entries, "They Kill Their Masters" with James Garner, "Isn't It Shocking" with Alan Alda and "Girl in the Empty Grave" with Griffith. Also worth finding is "Winter Kill", also with Griffith. It's great seeing him do things that aren't just the simple folksiness at which he's great.

Poor Andy Griffith should have stayed in Mayberry because he's completely out of place in this poorly made government-suspicious thriller. A truck carrying a deadly substance for the government "accidentally" crashes in Andy's town. Meanwhile he's building a concrete boat. Military brass (one of whom has a British accent [?]) shows up to assure the people that they won't die from the deadly substance "so long as the wind doesn't pick up". Andy continues to make his concrete boat. People are found dead before each commercial break. Is it a government conspiracy? Will the toxic stuff kill the townspeople? Will Andy Griffith finish his boat? By the end you won't give a damn. The direction and performances are very poor, even for a TV movie. The discovery of dead bodies is handled worse than any thing else. A conversation will be going on and then someone in the background will scream "look at that" and a clumsy zip-pan shows us poorly framed corpses in the distance which quickly fade for a word from our sponsor. Considering that some 70s TV movies are now regarded as classic (especially DUEL), DEADLY GAME really is a pathetic entry. Only watch it to laugh at its ineptitude.

I really enjoyed watching this movie. I don't understand why it did not make it past a pilot show, and the girl in the empty grave did not either. I was so impressed with the movie I actually went to big bear lake, ca where these pictures were filmed. They don't make em like this one anymore. The cast was brilliantly chosen and the area was perfect to really enjoy the shows plot. The show kinda had a magical lure about it, showing the majestic lifestyles of the residents of the town which was Jasper lake in the movie. It for me took me on a journey that I would not experience otherwise. While i was at the real town the movie was filmed i talked with different people that lives there they had interesting stories about the actual filming process. I hope someday the movies will be easily obtainable.