A Killer in the Family

Great movie. The moral? Criminals are manipulative people not clever enough to legally pursue their happiness. Don't get taken by them, too. Robert Mitchum is again a convincing criminal. Prefer his Max Cady (CAPE FEAR, 1962) over De Niro's (CAPE FEAR, 1991) ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Deliberately bad 2 I don't want to see it 3 I didn't finish and or FF'd through it 4 Bad 5 I don't get it 6 Good 7 Great but with a major flaw 8 Great 9 Noir with moral 10 Inspiring with moral.

Robert Mitchum does an excellent job of manipulating his three sons into breaking him out of prison. Along with another murderer, Stuart Margolin, they follow their escape plan of sneaking into Mexico, using a hand car, on a long forgotten railway. Unfortunately for the fleeing five criminals, it turns out the tracks were long ago torn up for scrap. What follows is a prolonged desert road trip, with constantly changing cars, and constantly changing destinations. A cold blooded murder that is the consequence of one of these car swaps shows the siblings that Mitchum is nothing more than an escaped killer, and they realize their horrifying predicament. Because the sons are presented as sympathetic characters, despite their felonies, the film generates tremendous tension, and is recommended viewing. - MERK

Robert Mitchum stars in this fine made for TV film, A Killer In The Family as true life serial killer Gary Tison. This one should have been given theatrical release. Mitchum really pushes himself in the acting department playing Tison, a man who made killing a family project.

I did a bit of checking on Gary Tison and Randy Greenawalt played here by Stuart Margolin and their escape from state prison in Arizona and the subsequent crime spree they indulged in and the facts are pretty accurate in this prison. But an actor of Mitchum's ability and charisma are needed to put over a part where a guy who is in prison persuades his three teen sons to leave the straight life and help him escape from the correctional facility which Mitchum is incarcerated in.

You can see it in the family picnic atmosphere where Lynn Carlin brings her three boys to visit dear old dad who acts like a concerned father, even proud of his eldest James Spader who is in college and thinking about a career in law. The other two are nothing special except to their parents, the middle child Eric Stoltz is none too bright and Lance Kerwin is one mixed up teen, but nothing if not normal.

But the two younger ones feel a sense of duty to a father whom they think due to Mitchum's stories is a man wrongly put upon by society. And Spader in the end goes along with the younger ones out of a sense of duty to them as well as his father. But he knows better.

It's quite a jailbreak they pull off, of course planned by Mitchum and Margolin. Once out in society it doesn't take long for both these guys to reveal the kind of amoral sociopaths they are. And the kids are now trapped in Daddy's web of killing.

For a made for TV film it's quite graphically violent, but over 30 years later it still is a powerful film with a powerful performance by Mitchum.

Remember when American TV movies were decent? It's been 30 years now since those days, but occasionally they'll show up on DVD or on the TV and you'll remember just how compelling and, well, adult they were back then. Certainly not watered down to avoid upsetting anybody, like the ones since then have been.

A KILLER IN THE FAMILY is a great little movie, a wonderful thriller with some truly memorable moments. It's based on a true story too, showing how a murderer's three teenage boys help him to escape from prison, before joining him on what becomes a journey of horror. There are some shocking moments in this, all the more surprising because they come totally out of the blue.

The cast is excellent. Robert Mitchum is still completely menacing as a bad guy, decades after he excelled in the likes of NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, but the actors playing the children are just as good. James Spader is the voice of conscience, Eric Stoltz the go-along, and Lance Kerwin (SALEM'S LOT) the youngster who's completely out of his depth. To say too much about this film would be to spoil it, other than to say it's completely compelling and well worth tracking down.

"A Killer in the Family" is a made for TV movie that I saw when it first aired in 1983. I remembered how menacing and evil Robert Mitchum was in the lead and when I discovered it on YouTube, I knew I had to see it again.

The story is a real sad one to watch because it's based on a true story. Gary Tison (Mitchum) was serving a life sentence for murder, among other crimes. Oddly, despite this, he seemed like a decent father...and the family visited him often in prison. However, underneath his fatherly exterior, he was a manipulative, vicious and thoroughly despicable man. And, this manipulator was able to convince his teenage sons (Eric Stoltz, James Spader, Lance Kerwin) to help him and a friend escape from prison in Arizona...leading to a huge manhunt. What made this such a big story was following the escape, where Gary Tison senselessly murdered folks and terrorized his sons to keep them in line.

While I could tell you how all this ends, I recommend you just see the film. Then, later, you might want to read up on the case through Wikipedia to learn more that wasn't in the epilogue...such as the status of Gary's friend, Randy (Stuart Margolin).

All in all, this is a well acted and scary movie...a bit more violent and vicious than the stuff you usually saw on TV in 1983...but also incredibly compelling.