Review of The Old Man Who Cried Wolf

Edward G. Robinson stars an elderly man who pays a visit to his lifelong Polish friend at 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. Robinson attempts to intervene, but he 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 $1000 is missing. Run-of-the-mill ABC-TV movie-of-the-week from executive producer Aaron Spelling is cheaply-rendered and has no payoff. The veteran star, ever the consummate professional, manages a solid performance; however, with this teleplay (by Luther Davis), the job couldn't have been an easy one to swallow. Robinson's condescending family refuses to believe his story about the robber with the hose (they want him under a doctor's care), while the police mock him and an alleged witness (Naomi Stevens, who can't read a line without overacting) hysterically throws Eddie G. Out of her apartment (I was surprised she didn't scream "rape!" just for kicks). We're spared no horrors: Robinson is even attacked by a laughing group of schoolchildren, who do everything but point their fingers at him. With Walter Grauman's direction hammered home, the movie is all on one ridiculous, melodramatic note.