Brian Keith and Pat Breslin play the parents of an adopted teenage girl who are being blackmailed. Either pay up or the crooks will reveal that her real father killed her mother and he died in prison. What a Hitchcock mess.
There are some dynamic character portrayals and a real creepy feel, as Keith ( a forest ranger) plays hard ball with some sinister folk in a remote area. Don't miss the lone hooting owl.... And you know that Hitch had to do something with that. Well directed by Alan Crosland, Jr, who took after his famous dad.
Mike Kellen, a terrific dramatic actor who could also pull off comedy, plays one of the blackmailers, slowly going insane. Veteran character actor Philip Coolidge plays his partner, a favorite of Hitchcock for years. Coolidge was a distant cousin of President Coolidge, and there is a family resemblence. He was an excellent actor, and should have gotten bigger parts, as many critics have said through the years. He did have an oustanding role, though, in the cult film THE TINGLER (1959), opposite Vincent Price. Do not miss it.
Brian Keith, as usual, is his rugged self and you really feel sorry for him. This is an extremely well acted and written mystery, one of the early entries in the one hour format which also used more of the sprawling Universal backlot. This was also filmed at the time when the studio was building its famous theme park. SEASON 5 EPISODE 3.
Remastered dvd box set.