Pendulum

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.

I had never heard of "Pendulum" before and as shocked how good the movie was. It's definitely among the best films of the 1960s even though it's a rather obscure movie.

George Peppard stars as Captain Matthews...a decorated cop who recently arrested a murderous psychopath. However, two things happen that will become important. First, Matthews' wife is cheating on him and he is beginning to suspect the truth. Second, due to a technicality, the psychopath has been released even though everyone knows he is guilty. How do these two things work together to REALLY impact on the Captain? See the film.

George Peppard is really good here. The other actor who was a major standout is Robert Lyons as the psychotic murderer and rapist. He's quite smug and chilling! Now one part of the film MIGHT seem like a cliche that isn't is when the Captain escapes from custody after he's arrested (yes, he ends up being arrested for a double murder). Normally, this is a bad plot element...the notion of an innocent man escaping in order to prove he's not guilty. Here it's handled well...as it's obvious that for political reasons the Captain is assumed to be guilty and the cops aren't even considering other options. In a case like this, you can understand Matthews' actions.

Overall, a very exciting, taut and suspenseful film...well worth seeing because it is so intelligently made from start to finish. So good, I nearly gave this one a 10....and I almost never do that!

This movie is incredibly underrated. The performances are all top notch, from Peppard and Seberg down to the smallest role, though Seberg's part is short. In my opinion, Madeleine Sherwood and Robert F. Lyons deserved Oscar nominations for their performances. They were flawless and mesmerizing as the white trash woman and her psycho son. I couldn't take my eyes off them when they were on screen. I so wish the movie was available on DVD! This film should have made a star of Robert F. Lyons. I have no idea why it didn't. It's well-written and believable, nicely directed. Someone please put this out on DVD! I want to watch this again and again.

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!

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.