The Old Man Who Cried Wolf (1970) Reviews

• The Window -- Five Times More Harrowing

  aromatic-22000-04-04

  The only thing worse than to be a child and be disbelieved that you have witnessed a crime which has put your life in danger is to be an old man in the same situation. A tour de force performance by Robinson might just be the highlight of his later career. Balsam is excellent as the son. Asner does a good turn as a bureaucrat, and Percy Rodrigues is totally chilling in his portrayal. A great paranoia flick.

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• TV Classic

  yavormarkov2005-09-22

  I have watched this movie a long time ago, but i have a vivid memory of it. It was often mentioned as an example for how a thriller should be made. This is TV at his best - it will not get any better. Everything is perfect - plot, direction, and what a performance by Robinson, Balsam and the rest! Robinson shows that he was capable of much more than playing mob bosses. Balsam is one of the most underrated character actors of his time. I can hardly count all the movies he was in, and in every single one he delivered a solid performance. I earlier days "The old man who cried wolf" was considered a classic and aired often. Sadly i never saw it on VHS or DVD. I also did not hear that it was aired lately on any major TV Station.

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• Exceptional TV movie

  utgard142017-05-08

  Man, TV movies in the '70s were so much better than they are today. Hell, many of them are even better than theatrical films today. This is an engrossing movie starring the great Edward G. Robinson as an elderly man who sees his friend murdered but can't get anyone to believe him. It's a well-written and fairly gritty picture with a fine cast of familiar faces backing up Robinson, who's just dynamite. The ending is a bit of a downer but that was the '70s for you. Other reviewers seem to be picking on "why didn't anyone believe him" as a major flaw with the film. I just can't disagree more. I mean, were we watching the same movie? First, there's the underlying theme of how the elderly are treated at the heart of all this. The well-meaning but full-of-it shrink even compares them to adolescents. Second, there's the fact that there wasn't one shred of evidence to back him up. They spent the majority of the film showing him trying to convince people only to have it repeated over and over that there simply was no proof. So it was his word versus the evidence, which is all that would matter in reality to anyone but those who loved him. The son was the most sympathetic to his plight and even that wasn't much. The daughter-in-law, the real villain of the piece in my view, seemed like she couldn't muster an ounce of sympathy for the sweet old man. I half-expected her to be in on the cover-up! There simply was nothing to back up what he was saying. And the shrink going out investigating, which at least one reviewer took issue with, was more about the shrink trying to prove to the old man that he was wrong than it was about trying to seriously investigate the case.

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• Edward G. Robinson, from Mobster to Nazi-hunter to Father being Hunted

  Stormy_Autumn2007-03-08

  "The Old Man who Cried Wolf" was a TV movie made in 1970. Starring Edward G. Robinson and Martin Balsam, as father and son, it's a story of fear, sorrow and courage. Edward G. had proved himself as an actor long before this was made. He played mobsters, editors, doctors, cops, G-men, farmers, ranchers, Nazi-hunters and a Monk. Looking at his film resume I think he was a very busy actor. Having seen most of his movies I think he was a very talented actor. Martin Balsam has been a stand-up character actor for many years. "12 Angry Men" (1957) was a favorite of mine. "Raid on Entebbe" (1977) was also good. In this movie, Emile Pulska (Edward G.) was an elderly gentleman who went to visit his old friend, Abe Stillman (Sam Jaffe). During their visit the men are attacked by a "thug" and Emile is knocked out. When Emile awakens, in the hospital, he learns that his friend is dead. He tells his story to Stanley, his son, and the police. He was concerned about the beating, and Abe's death, but he wasn't believed. Abe died of "natural causes". Just ask the only surviving witness. Once it was learned by the "thug" that Emile survived the attack the old gentleman's life was not worth a "plug nickel". Since he was not believed, by his family or the authorities, Emile had no choice but to help himself. He wasn't safe because he was being stalked. By whom? The creep? Someone who might want to protect the creep? Hummm, good question don't you think? A very worthwhile "ABC Movie of the Week".

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• Conspiracy drama with nobody but the audience believing the protagonist

  moonspinner552017-09-15

  An elderly man pays a visit to his lifelong Polish friend in his neighborhood candy store--but just as they are discussing the $1000 his friend has saved up, a black man with a rubber hose walks in and beats the shopkeeper to the ground. The old man attempts to intervene and gets whacked on the noggin, too; when he finally comes around, surrounded by strangers and a police officer, his friend has died (of an apparent heart attack) and the money is missing. Edward G. Robinson stars in this run-of-the-mill TV-movie from Aaron Spelling Productions (he also served as Spelling's assistant on the film). It's cheaply-rendered and with no payoff, although the star, ever the consummate professional, manages a solid performance. Robinson's condescending family doesn't buy his story (they want him under a doctor's care), the police mock him, and an alleged witness (Naomi Stevens, who can't read a line without overacting) hysterically throws him out of her apartment (I was surprised she didn't scream "rape!" just for kicks). Luther Davis' teleplay, taken from an original treatment by Arnold Horwitt, spares Robinson no shortage of horrors--he's even attacked by a laughing group of schoolchildren, who do everything but point their fingers at him. Frustrating, annoying picture delivered all on one melodramatic note.

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