The Deadly Tower

The Deadly Tower (1975)

*** (out of 4)

Highly entertaining and intense made-for-television movie about Charles Whitman (Kurt Russell), the man who went on a shooting rampage on top a tower in Austin, Texas on August 1st, 1966. The film follows his rampage while at the same time following police officer Ramiro Martinez (Richard Yniguez) as he tries to reach the tower.

THE DEADLY TOWER is without question one of the better made-for-television films from this era where, quite frankly, there were several very good ones. The story of Whitman is probably going to be known by most people going into this film but it does a very good job at showing the horrors of that day as well as showing the intense pressure that was on Martinez as he tried to make it to the tower on his day off of all things.

There's a lot of great things here including the performances from the cast. Russell doesn't have too many lines of dialogue so instead he must "act" with his eyes and he really lets you see a rather sad and pathetic person. I really thought Russell delivered an extremely cold performance that said so much without words. Then you've got Yniguez who is simply wonderful in his role. I won't give away some of the subplots surrounding the character but the actor certainly makes you feel and believe that this was a good guy out there willing to risk his life to save others. Ned Beatty is also good in his supporting role as was John Forsythe.

Director Jerry Jameson does a very good job at holding your interest throughout the 100-minute running time. Even better is the fact that he does an extremely good job at building up the tension during the shooting sections. Mix in the great performances and you've got an extremely good movie on the subject. Those interested in the subject should also check out an unofficial version that Peter Bogdanovich made in TARGETS.

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC is certainly an original picture, which isn't something that happens too often these days. We've seen movies about strange families before but this one really hits all the right notes.

Several years ago in 1971 when I was doing the weekend warrior thing in Fort Sam Houston I visited Austin one weekend and did go on the university campus. My reason for going was to see the newly opened Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library. It's almost as big as the infamous tower. Still I did note the tower little dreaming that it would be the site of a terrible tragedy. Like passing by the former World Trade Center towers before they became infamous.

The Deadly Tower is the story of the massacre at the campus of the University Of Texas by former serviceman Charles Whitman suffering from an undiagnosed brain tumor who managed to sneak up some assault weapons, enough ammunition for a company who barricaded himself in the tower and started shooting at random.

The story is that of Whitman and one of the Austin police officers who took him down on that fateful day. Kurt Russell who broke from the Disney G rated mold finally got taken seriously as an actor with a wonderful performance with minimal dialog.

Richard Yniguez who should have had a breakthrough performance is also good as Austin PD officer Ramiro Martinez. I don't know why Yniguez never became a star.

Folks like John Forsythe, Clifton James, and Pernell Roberts play other police officials. Ned Beatty plays Alvin Crum, a university employee who with Yniguez and Paul Carr are the ones who finally reached the demented and troubled Whitman.

For a while as well he should, Charles Whitman became a poster child for gun control. Even with a president nearly assassinated not a decade later we still have no effective national policy to prevent future Charles Whitmans. The other view of gun control is also presented here as various citizens with hunting weapons join in to help the cops. There weapons are more effective and keep Russell pinned down.

The Deadly Tower is a fine film and good telling of one of the saddest days of the last century.

Jerry Jameson directed this based-on-fact TV movie that stars Kurt Russell(effectively cast against type) as deranged sniper Charles Whitman, who targets students and passerby on a tower located at the University of Texas, in Austin. Richard Yniguez and Paul Carr play the two police officers who hunt down Whitman, aided by a civilian(played by Ned Beatty) in the tense climax. Well acted and directed film is presented in an effective matter-of-fact way, and handles the tragic events with care. Whitman remains an enigma here, but film avoids the usual clichés and heavy-handed speechifying to become a memorable docudrama of its kind.

Charles Whitman was a dangerously disturbed but nevertheless deeply fascinating individual. Arguably even the most fascinating murderer in recent American history. Whitman can't really be referred to as an authentic serial killer, but due to his mariners' background and reputedly high IQ, he can't just be dismissed as an ordinary madman on a rampage, neither. The full reason why Whitman went up the Austin University tower on the 1st of August 1966 and caused a terrible bloodbath will probably never be revealed. Were it the insupportable headaches that Whitman repeatedly complained about and the brain tumor found in his head during the autopsy, or did he snap because of other personal reasons? "The Deadly Tower" is a sober but very compelling and intense re-telling of the events that occurred on that horrible day, when Whitman killed 16 people and wounded over 40 more with his shot and sniper guns. This is the second film I've seen regarding the subject, after Peter Bogdanovich's "Targets". Whereas that film was merely a statement regarding the alienation of youth and the largely uncontrolled weapon legislation, "The Deadly Tower" is a very truthful reconstruction of the facts. In an aptly stone cold manner, Kurt Russell (until then only known from silly Disney comedies like "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" and "The Barefoot Executive") depicts Whitman from the day before the massacre until the moment when Texas police officers shot him dead. Prior to going up the tower, Whitman murdered his mother and wife, went out to buy an arsenal of artillery and – knowing very well he wouldn't return – wrote a suicide note. The film is slow-paced but moody, atmospheric and very suspenseful. Given the fact it's a made-for-TV, and out of respect for the victims and their families, "The Deadly Tower" isn't a very bloody or exploitative thriller. The emphasis lies on inhumanity of the crime and solidarity/collaboration of the people downstairs – police officers as well as civilians – to stop the killer. Jerry Jameson, the director of "Airport 77", does a professional job and the supportive cast including Clifton James and Ned Beatty deliver admirable performances.

I saw this movie when it first aired in October 1975. NBC ran a viewer advisory that it was very intense and may affect sensitive viewers. Yes, indeed! Whitman was one demented person and the casting of All-American Disney actor Kurt Russell to play him was incredible...it showed Russell could do heavy stuff. The casting of journeyman Latino actor Richard Yniguez to play Officer Martinez was also great. The supporting cast (Ned Beatty, John Forsythe, Pernell Roberts, etc.) was also excellent. It was interesting to see Mr. Forsythe as a detective investigating the gun stores-a far cry from Bentley Gregg or Blake Carrington. This was also Pernell Roberts' first time on TV in a while playing Martinez' sergeant. Part of the intensity of the movie came from the fact that Whitman shot at anyone or anything that moved and any attempt to take him out (shooting from a plane or citizens shooting with their hunting rifles) only agitated him. The bookstore clerk guiding Martinez and his fellow officers into the tower showed true heroism. I was in college in California when this movie first aired and I mentioned to my father that my college's library had an observation/study deck that somebody could use for such an act! In fact the college security department worked out a plan in case of somebody doing this. Thank goodness nobody tried this. Back to the movie...it was presented from Martinez' point of view and some have said there is a Latino bias, but I say it is a very intense depiction of true heroism. 43 years have passed since that tragic day. One would hope it would never happen again anywhere, but it does (Fort Hood, San Ysidro, Orlando, to name a few).