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.