Made4TV Movies: HUNTERS ARE FOR KILLING (1970)

 

Why the Hell isn't this on DVD/Blu Yet? -- Number 107

HUNTERS ARE FOR KILLING (1970 CBS-TV)  Original Air Date: March 12, 1970.  Starring Burt Reynolds, Melvyn Douglas, Martin Balsam, Suzanne Pleshette, Larry Storch, Peter Brown, Jill Banner, Ivor Francis, A Martinez, Angus Duncan.  Written by Charles Kuenstle.  Directed by Bernard Girard.

Nine years after a vehicular manslaughter conviction that killed four (including his brother) and three years after his release from prison for it, former football hero Reynolds returns to his northern California home town.  Burt gets a mixed reception.  Martinez and Banner idolized him as kids and fellow winery child Brown thinks he was innocent; stepfather Douglas, police chief Balsam (also the father of Burt's ex Pleshette who has married), Banner's father Francis and shady club owner Storch are among those far less thrilled to see Burt return days before his thirtieth birthday.

Douglas blames Burt for the death of his "real son" who was killed in the crash (shades of Pa Cox!) and Balsam doesn't want Pleshette's "happy" marriage threatened by the man he sees as beneath his daughter.  The latter is right to feel threatened, as we can clearly see Pleshette is Burt's alpha widow.  She may have competition from Banner, whose bad boy syndrome has Francis' nerves on ice.  So is Storch, who was pressured to help put Burt away in the first place.

It's a pre-mustache Burt in the second of his made for TV movies, months away from his second stab at TV series stardom (DAN AUGUST) and given a juicy role as Douglas' long-estranged son.  Reynolds' charisma keeps HUNTERS ARE FOR KILLING afloat despite a sometimes shaky script (this was actor Kuenstle's first, and only two followed) and a sometimes bombastic Jerry Fielding score. 

Here Burt lives up to Martinez' assessment that he was born under a bad sign almost immediately: targeted for a robbery before he even reaches town, he finds himself accused of assault and grand theft auto by Balsam before he even finishes his first cup of coffee in it.  Brown learns that even offering honest employment results in harassment by the cops and when one of Reynold's detractors turns up dead, guess who Balsam's first suspect is.  So much for gridiron heroism.

Burt's motivation for returning is an inheritance that his late mother kept secret from her husband (60 acres of wine country) via a dummy trust, but Kuenstle leaves too many incentives unsolved.  Why didn't Reynolds return for his mother's funeral if he's been out three years?  Kinda makes him seem like the mercenary that his foes say he is, yet nothing in his character other than stoicism suggests him as such (i.e. he's a teetotaler and won't touch a married woman or the much younger Banner despite both readily making themselves available).  Why did she have such affection for Reynolds when he wasn't even her natural son?  The revelation of Douglas and Reynolds' real relationship before the final act sheds some light, but opens up more questions than the script can answer. (One also has to think Storch was really visionary, if his discotheque has been in business as such for nine years in 1970!)

It's mostly heavy drama, not always convincing, until the final twenty minutes when Burt finds himself the subject of a manhunt.  While not living up to the action promised by its title, HUNTERS ARE FOR KILLING boasts a great cast like many of the fine made for TV films of its era.  Douglas and Balsam are both in fine form, with the former months away from a Best Actor nomination (I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER) and the former four years after an Oscar win.  Storch is far sleazier than in any of his LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE guest appearances, and naturally missed after his three scenes.  Pleshette is the woman Burt left behind--why, Burt, why?

Not to be overlooked is Judy Banner as jailbait tempting both Burt and Storch--having far more success with the latter with tragic (offscreen) results.  She is unfortunately better known today for her untimely death (in 1982, only 36) and relationship with Marlon Brando than for her too-brief (1967-72) acting career but showed real potential in THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST and SPIDER BABY on the big screen.  This is a rare chance to catch her work (only 15 imdb.com credits)--she's not just a one-note troublemaker here, but isn't given much more to do than that.

HUNTERS ARE FOR KILLING is watchable with fine direction, but bogged down by confusing scripting and fails to transcends the limitations of its era on the small screen.   Wine country locations a solid plus in what is ultimately an agreeable enough time-waster.  

So...why isn't this on DVD/Blu yet?

It was rather ubiquitous throughout the 1970's and 1980's on local stations thanks to Reynolds' later superstardom (he only made three made for TV films before DELIVERANCE and FUZZ elevated him to the big-screen full time) but as its star faded, so did those once readily available Movies of the Week from local stations.  

Why it should be on DVD/Blu:

It's still well worth seeking out for fans of Reynolds, Douglas or Banner and a real hoot for us Larry Storch fans.  Banjo lessons--really, Larry!