Three delinquents murder a prosperous farmer at an isolated farm house. One witness to the crime - the dead man's secretary - is then taken hostage. The other witness - her young son - is thrown into state of shock. Can he recover soon enough to help the police - and his father - rescue his mother before it's too late?
Acting
Jerry Mathers' shock-stillness—no cute kid shtick here.
Direction
William Asher squeezes maximum dread from minimal sets.
Editing
Ruthless 76 minutes—no flab, all pressure.
Director
William Asher
Philip Carey
Sgt. Tony Atlas
Betty Garrett
Linda Atlas
John Drew Barrymore
Jess Reber
Corey Allen
Gil Ramsey
Jerry Mathers
Petey Atlas
Sam Gilman
Sgt. Paul Denke
Rusty Lane
Capt. McQuade
Ainslie Pryor
Dr. Hodges
Paul Picerni
Bigelow
William Leslie
Stuart
Dave Barry
Miller (uncredited)
Nesdon Booth
Truck Driver (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
William Asher shot this between episodes of I Love Lucy—his day job was directing Lucille Ball while moonlighting in noir.
John Drew Barrymore—Drew's father—plays the unhinged Jess, a performance so volatile the studio briefly considered him for stardom before his real-life chaos intervened.
US
