L'homme qui crait au loup

The only thing worse than to be a child and be disbelieved that you have witnessed a crime which has put your life in danger is to be an old man in the same situation. A tour de force performance by Robinson might just be the highlight of his later career. Balsam is excellent as the son. Asner does a good turn as a bureaucrat, and Percy Rodrigues is totally chilling in his portrayal. A great paranoia flick.

Edward G. (Emile) is an old codger going about friendly business as he drops by to say "Hi" to fellow old codger Sam Jaffe (Abe). Well, someone doesn't like Jaffe too much, turns up and puts an end to Jaffe and his life journey. Eddie G. is a witness so takes a blow as well but he survives. When he awakes, his pal is dead and there is a network of witnesses who remember things differently. We, as the audience, know that he is telling the truth surrounding the demise of his friend. Can he get his message across?

This is the 70's so, thankfully, the restrictive film legislative codes have been lifted and evil can now triumph. The soundtrack is cool in a nostalgic way and the film ends memorably. I have to admit to being disappointed but it is definitely not the note expected. That's what makes it memorable and that's the dilemma..

The film leads us through the movements of an old guy being chased which gets annoying because guess what…… he falls over….Eeeurgh!.... Corny…..!! But this might just save the old guy. There isn't much more to understand or follow up in terms of character study. There are good guys and there are bad guys. We just go with the Eddie G flow.

This is a heart-rending story that would have been almost unbearable if it were not for the exceptionally poignant performance of Edward G. Robinson as an old man getting caught in a web of urban corruption. Sam Jaffe's brief but equally upsetting performance is on the same level, and it's like a nightmare of helplessness of old age. At the same time, a character like this wouldn't fit anyone but Robinson - he made many such characters before, but they all mount up to this one, lost in a world that because of his old age refuses to take him seriously or even believe him, since he alone knows the truth but can't understand it or make it credible, since it is too evil for human understanding. Even his son (Martin Balsam) ultimately fails him, while the end comes as a surprise, since it should have turned another way. It's a great story, all the characters are excellent, and the events and circumstances of this asphalt jungle of a hostile city environment are quite typical of 1970 - that's how the world was in those days, with psychiatry as the infallible authority of human life. Although it is very late, this is still a noir and one of the very darkest as such. When you try to settle after the film you feel very old and lost, like the too convincing old honest Robinson.

I have watched this movie a long time ago, but i have a vivid memory of it. It was often mentioned as an example for how a thriller should be made. This is TV at his best - it will not get any better. Everything is perfect - plot, direction, and what a performance by Robinson, Balsam and the rest! Robinson shows that he was capable of much more than playing mob bosses. Balsam is one of the most underrated character actors of his time. I can hardly count all the movies he was in, and in every single one he delivered a solid performance. I earlier days "The old man who cried wolf" was considered a classic and aired often. Sadly i never saw it on VHS or DVD. I also did not hear that it was aired lately on any major TV Station.

In this made-for-TV movie, Edward G. Robinson G. Robinson is a retired furniture dealer. He visits his old friend, Sam Jaffe, who runs a candy store in run-down San Pedro. Jaffe has a thousand dollars he wants to get to his sister in Poland. He wants to know if Robinson can help it get it to her without the cops taking it. Then a large Black man comes into the store, beats Jaffe with a rubber hose. When Robinson comes to, Jaffe is dead, and the police say it was a heart attack. No one will believe Robinson, not even his adoring son, Martin Balsam. Instead, they think he is going senile, and call in psychiatrist Edward Asner, who takes him to the hospital for observation. But Robinson is not losing his mind. He is right, and the world begins to close in around him.

There's a fabulous cast of old-time actors in this movie supporting Robinson, including Ruth Roman and Jay C. Flippen. Robinson gives a heartbreaking performance as an old man, losing his way physically but not mentally. I had many an elderly relative like this at the time this movie was made, and it's spot on. It one of the reasons that Robinson was a performer I would watch if he announced he was going to read a phone book.