"Ordeal" is a quality television film from 1973 with a very good cast and great production values. The story of a somewhat shallow rich man who literally wanders the desert and in the process discovers his deeper self. The bright ,arrid Arizona desert is used to great effect and I was really impressed by the film's stately score. Seemingly all the main characters in the movie are unlikeable ,but Arthur Hill lets us see the subtle transformation from a man on a mission of hateful revenge(against a fed-up wife and the shifty trail guide who left him to die with a broken leg in the merciless desert)to a man who, in overcoming incredible obstacles(almost too incredible), he finds his place-connection in this stark natural world and an inner peace.The scene where he finds a water hole is beautifully done.This film is certainly a worth a look.
13 Reviews
Remember those great ABC movies-of-the-week?
moonspinner5526 January 2001
Cold-as-ice Diana Muldaur schemes with young lover James Stacy to leave her overbearing husband stranded in the middle of the Mojave desert with a broken leg. Who of us cannot wonder: Could I survive if this happened to me? Arthur Hill is the perfect chap for this rigorous acting workout: he's an Everyman, a survivor. As for Muldaur, one of the busiest actresses of the decade, she plays this unlikable woman straight, with no camp or melodramatic overtones; intelligent, glamorous, stylish with scarves in her red hair, Muldaur never gave an unconvincing performance. ABC movie-of-the-week, directed by Lee H. Katzin and written by Francis M. Cockrell and Leon Tokatyanis, is a well-done tale of suspense. **1/2 from ****
You find out a lot about yourself, when you're lost in the desert ....
merklekranz14 December 2013
You find out a lot about yourself, when you're lost in the desert. I'm sure Arthur Hill's survivalist techniques in "Ordeal" are open to challenge, but that is not the point of this excellent TV movie. It's all about a life changing experience, that transforms a pompous ass of a husband, into a person who realizes that perhaps he should share the blame for his attempted murder. Arthur Hill is the husband, and Diana Muldaur the wife who leaves him to die. James Stacy is along for the ride as Muldaur's accomplice and lover. The desert photography is outstanding, and dozens of animal species show up on screen. The entire film is character driven, however all of the main characters are unpleasant. ...... - MERK
Hill on a hill, left to fend for himself.
Poseidon-326 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Produced during or just before the glory days of the made-for-television movie, this film depicts the struggle of a difficult man, left to his own devices in the desert. Hill plays a wealthy, but obstinate, heavy-drinking and bitter, man who is on a trip into the desert with his wife and their guide to examine a potential mine. When he falls from his horse and breaks his leg severely, the wife Muldaur and the guide Stacy leave him with some water and supplies and ride back for help. However, realizing this is a golden chance to be rid of Hill, Muldaur suggests that she and Stacy leave him in the desert to die of exposure and starvation! She offers herself and her prospective inheritance as the reward for his going along with the plan. While she and Stacy wonder about the status of their scheme as they lollygag around the swimming pool, Hill realizes what has happened and decides he is not going to be done in quite that easily. He sets his own leg using supplies that the duo has left behind and begins the arduous trek back to the civilized world. Meanwhile, his business associate Carey wonders what's going on and local sheriff Ansara keeps looking for him (even several weeks after the disappearance!) Hill is effective as the nasty grouch who begins to find inner strength and, eventually, inner peace through his harrowing ordeal. Some elements of his self-rescue, however, are either far-fetched or downright preposterous (witness the "Snow White"-like scenario at the watering hole in which a deer, a raccoon, a turtle, a rabbit and a skunk-!!- casually hang out with him as he quenches his thirst.) Muldaur, an actress who effortlessly projected cool calculation, does a nice job as well. She isn't the stunning siren that, perhaps, might be a more obvious lure for Stacy, but her money and her skill as a lover make up for that, certainly. Stacy is laconic and quite understated, though that makes him somewhat more believable. Sadly, he would suffer a devastating motorcycle accident not long after this, losing an arm and a leg. His pre-accident physique can be glimpsed in the poolside scene where he's garbed in just a navy swimsuit. Carey has a thankless part which he plays in a workmanlike way while Ansara tries to inject some flavor into his standard issue part. A remake of a 1953 film called "Inferno," which starred Robert Ryan and Rhonda Fleming, this is an enjoyable, if unspectacular, movie that has a more ambiguous and non-violent ending than the original film. Kitsch fans will enjoy checking out Muldaur's 70's clothing and home furnishings while scenery aficionados will appreciate the desert location filming.
OK Television Movie
gordonl5625 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
ORDEAL 1973
This television movie of the week is a remake of the 1953 film, INFERNO. The original starred Robert Ryan, Rhonda Fleming and William Lundigan. The television version features Arthur Hill, Diana Muldaur and James Stacy. MacDonald Carey and Michael Ansara are in supporting bits.
For most of the film the story follows the earlier production. Hill, a millionaire type, is a mean drunk and drunk is what he is most of the time. Hill, his wife, Diana Muldaur, and a mining engineer, James Stacy, are out in the Nevada desert. They are going to inspect a claim that Stacy has out in the middle of nowhere. Stacy wants Hill to invest in the property.
The only way to get to the site, is on horseback up into the surrounding hills. Hill, half drunk, falls off his horse and ends up on a ledge 20 feet down a cliff side. He busts his leg during the fall and is in enormous pain. Stacy and Muldaur leave him some supplies and a canteen while they ride back for help.
Halfway back to the truck, Muldaur asks what would happen if they never returned with help. Stacy is not sure what to make of this, but answers that Hill would die inside the week. Muldaur smiles and she and Stacy start negotiations. Muldaur is tired of the way Hill treats her. They will make up a story about Hill getting drunk, then driving off with the truck and horse trailer. Hill has a history of going on drunken binges and disappearing for days at end.
Muldaur and Stacy set up the scene perfectly and then head back to town. Muldaur contacts Hill's business partner, MacDonald Carey, and explains that Hill took off in one of his rages. Several days go by before Carey gets worried and calls in the local law. The law, Michael Ansara, has his men out searching the desert. They soon find the abandoned truck with all the planted evidence. It looks like Hill wandered off on foot into the desert.
While all this is going on, Hill has figured out that the dear wife and Stacy are not returning. The lack of whiskey has lifted the fog from his mind. He has to get off the hill and back to town. He manages to brace his broken leg with some camping gear and starts his decent. Hill, battered and even more bruised, makes it to the desert floor.
He fashions a crutch and slowly heads back to the highway. The lack of water and food soon takes a toll on the man. He staggers around making barely any headway. He stumbles onto a small water hole the local wildlife use. This solves the water problem. Now he just needs to bag one of the critters that uses said watering hole.
Back in town, Muldaur and Stacy figure that enough time has passed for Hill to expire. They rent a small plane and Stacy pilots them out over the desert to have a look. What the hell? There is no sight of Hill on the hillside where they had left him. It is back to town for a car and a gun. They then drive back to the desert. They must make sure Hill is pushing daisies.
Of course things do not turn out the way Muldaur and Stacy would like. Hill eludes them and makes it out of the desert where he runs into Sheriff Ansara. Hill does not have his darling wife, or Stacy charged. He has discovered something about himself clawing his way back.
Francis Cockrell wrote the story for both the original and this remake. He also does the screenplay here. For some reason, he cuts out a main player and alters the ending for the television version. This cuts down quite a lot on the violence factor.
Watchable, but, Hill cannot match the intense rage Robert Ryan showed in the original as he fought for survival. Muldaur is good here, and Stacy has his moments in several scenes. Stacy would be in a horrible motorcycle wreck shortly after making this film. He would lose an arm and a leg in the accident.
Fans of the original will most likely find this version a bit tame.
This television movie of the week is a remake of the 1953 film, INFERNO. The original starred Robert Ryan, Rhonda Fleming and William Lundigan. The television version features Arthur Hill, Diana Muldaur and James Stacy. MacDonald Carey and Michael Ansara are in supporting bits.
For most of the film the story follows the earlier production. Hill, a millionaire type, is a mean drunk and drunk is what he is most of the time. Hill, his wife, Diana Muldaur, and a mining engineer, James Stacy, are out in the Nevada desert. They are going to inspect a claim that Stacy has out in the middle of nowhere. Stacy wants Hill to invest in the property.
The only way to get to the site, is on horseback up into the surrounding hills. Hill, half drunk, falls off his horse and ends up on a ledge 20 feet down a cliff side. He busts his leg during the fall and is in enormous pain. Stacy and Muldaur leave him some supplies and a canteen while they ride back for help.
Halfway back to the truck, Muldaur asks what would happen if they never returned with help. Stacy is not sure what to make of this, but answers that Hill would die inside the week. Muldaur smiles and she and Stacy start negotiations. Muldaur is tired of the way Hill treats her. They will make up a story about Hill getting drunk, then driving off with the truck and horse trailer. Hill has a history of going on drunken binges and disappearing for days at end.
Muldaur and Stacy set up the scene perfectly and then head back to town. Muldaur contacts Hill's business partner, MacDonald Carey, and explains that Hill took off in one of his rages. Several days go by before Carey gets worried and calls in the local law. The law, Michael Ansara, has his men out searching the desert. They soon find the abandoned truck with all the planted evidence. It looks like Hill wandered off on foot into the desert.
While all this is going on, Hill has figured out that the dear wife and Stacy are not returning. The lack of whiskey has lifted the fog from his mind. He has to get off the hill and back to town. He manages to brace his broken leg with some camping gear and starts his decent. Hill, battered and even more bruised, makes it to the desert floor.
He fashions a crutch and slowly heads back to the highway. The lack of water and food soon takes a toll on the man. He staggers around making barely any headway. He stumbles onto a small water hole the local wildlife use. This solves the water problem. Now he just needs to bag one of the critters that uses said watering hole.
Back in town, Muldaur and Stacy figure that enough time has passed for Hill to expire. They rent a small plane and Stacy pilots them out over the desert to have a look. What the hell? There is no sight of Hill on the hillside where they had left him. It is back to town for a car and a gun. They then drive back to the desert. They must make sure Hill is pushing daisies.
Of course things do not turn out the way Muldaur and Stacy would like. Hill eludes them and makes it out of the desert where he runs into Sheriff Ansara. Hill does not have his darling wife, or Stacy charged. He has discovered something about himself clawing his way back.
Francis Cockrell wrote the story for both the original and this remake. He also does the screenplay here. For some reason, he cuts out a main player and alters the ending for the television version. This cuts down quite a lot on the violence factor.
Watchable, but, Hill cannot match the intense rage Robert Ryan showed in the original as he fought for survival. Muldaur is good here, and Stacy has his moments in several scenes. Stacy would be in a horrible motorcycle wreck shortly after making this film. He would lose an arm and a leg in the accident.
Fans of the original will most likely find this version a bit tame.
Survival Instinct
kapelusznik187 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
****SPOILERS***Scouting out the area of the Red Rock Canyon in the Navada Desert for a manganese mine millionaire Richard Damian, Arthur Hill, after taking a swig of whiskey and throwing the empty bottle away loses his footing and falls from his horse landing on a ledge some 50 feet below with a broken leg. Not wanting any assistance from his wife Key, Diana Muldaur, and hired scout former rodeo rider Andy Folson, James Stacy, in him trying to show them just how macho he is Damian tells them to get back to the nearest town, which is some 75 to 100 miles away, and get a helicopter to rescue him instead. Having no use for him anyway both his wife Kay and scout Folsom decide to let him stay where he is and hopefully have the desert heat as well as the desert creatures, snakes lizards & scorpions, do him in by not reporting him for two days missing to to local sheriffs office.
Expecting or even wanting to be left to die, in proving to him just how rotten they are, by his wife and hired hand Damian lifts himself up broken leg and all and tries to do the impossible survive the broiling desert heat on his own by somehow getting or hobbling, with a make shift crutch, back to civilization before the desert swallowed him up. Back home Kay and Folsom expect Damian to be found dead and then get their hands on his millions as future man & wife. The trouble for Kay & Folsom is that Damian in his will to survive doesn't play along with them. It's after 19 days in the desert that Damian is finally rescued by Sheriff Peter Greeson, Michael Ansara. That after escaping both Folson and Key who feeling that he in fact survived and are out there looking for him in order to do the job on him that the Navada a Desert couldn't.
***SPOILERS*** It was Damian's struggle to survive in the desert that made a new and better man out of him. No more was he looking to avenge what his back-stabbing wife Key & Folsom did to him in feeling that it showed him that money and material, gold silver & manganese mines, was not the road to success or salvation. It also showed Damian that what was done to him was not a crime on both Kay & Falsom's part. But a test, like with Moses when he was exiled in the desert, from God to show him the way. And thus feel what he went through, as bad and terrible as it was, was in the end the best thing that could have ever happened to him!
Expecting or even wanting to be left to die, in proving to him just how rotten they are, by his wife and hired hand Damian lifts himself up broken leg and all and tries to do the impossible survive the broiling desert heat on his own by somehow getting or hobbling, with a make shift crutch, back to civilization before the desert swallowed him up. Back home Kay and Folsom expect Damian to be found dead and then get their hands on his millions as future man & wife. The trouble for Kay & Folsom is that Damian in his will to survive doesn't play along with them. It's after 19 days in the desert that Damian is finally rescued by Sheriff Peter Greeson, Michael Ansara. That after escaping both Folson and Key who feeling that he in fact survived and are out there looking for him in order to do the job on him that the Navada a Desert couldn't.
***SPOILERS*** It was Damian's struggle to survive in the desert that made a new and better man out of him. No more was he looking to avenge what his back-stabbing wife Key & Folsom did to him in feeling that it showed him that money and material, gold silver & manganese mines, was not the road to success or salvation. It also showed Damian that what was done to him was not a crime on both Kay & Falsom's part. But a test, like with Moses when he was exiled in the desert, from God to show him the way. And thus feel what he went through, as bad and terrible as it was, was in the end the best thing that could have ever happened to him!
An effective re-make of an original 50s 3-D movie.
lturlish28 July 2005
This made for TV drama is a re-make of a 1953 film called "Inferno", directed by Roy Ward Baker which featured Rhonda Fleming and Robert Ryan. "Inferno" was shot in 3-D. "Ordeal" is an effective re-casting of the original, but Arthur Hill cannot match the grim intensity that Robert Ryan brought to the role of the stranded husband. Diana Muldaur, while lacking Rhonda Fleming's glamor, is actually more convincing in her role as the faithless wife. On the whole, I slightly prefer the original, but the TV version is certainly worth your time. Oddly enough, the male actors who play the lovers of the women in both films are equally bland and ineffective.
Good but see the original entitled "Inferno"with Robert Ryan,for a better movie experience
craigrizzi11 July 2008
A fairly good remake of the 1953 original starring Robert Ryan and Rhonda Fleming.Arthur Hill is OK but,in my opinion,his characterization of the betrayed husband pales in comparison to the intensity given the role by the wonderful(and vastly underrated)character actor,Robert Ryan.My only other criticism is the relatively weak acting by James Stacy.His character is too indifferent in this movie and by comparison,William Lundigan's portrayal is significantly better.The desolate desert locations are striking in their sparsity.I'not sure where this movie was filmed but the locale closely resembles the Antelope Valley region of Kern Co. in California.In summation,this movie is pretty well done but try to view the original(Inferno),made in 1953, for a real treat.
Remember your boy scout training!...
AlsExGal1 December 2010
...but alas Richard Damian never had any as he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and once he pulled it out has been using that mouth to insult and push people around ever since. Damian is out on a desert expedition to investigate some land that may have some mineral value. He is accompanied by his wife Kay and the prospector, Andy Folsom. He has an accident and falls down an embankment, breaking his leg in the process. He barks out orders to the other two to get help. His wife asks Damian if he wants her to stay with him while the other goes for help. In an unfortunate choice of last words to her he asks why would he need the company of someone stupid.
Thus his wife leaves, and suddenly realizes the beauty of her situation. Richard, who has a reputation as being impulsive and taking off without telling anybody, is in a place that only she and Andy know about. She convinces Andy that the two should go back to town and tell the authorities that Richard is missing, but that he just disappeared into the desert. Plus, they point the authorities in the entirely wrong part of the desert as to where they were. A few days in the rugged elements with no food or water should do the trick. Murder without the mess of actually doing it. Kay will be rid of the bullying Richard and still have his money, Andy will have Kay.
Richard, not exactly being full of love and trust for his fellow man, quickly realizes what the two have done. In spite of the fact that every necessity has always been obtained with a credit card up to this point, he swears he'll walk out of this desert alive. Kay and Andy have a couple of problems on their hands too. For one, the sheriff of the desert town is a sharp cop, not a hick, and Andy and Kay fear he may be on to them. Secondly, when they take a private plane over the place in the desert where they left Richard three weeks before "just to make sure" they can find no body. Did Richard make it out powered on pure revenge? Did the sheriff find the body, hide it, and is just playing Kay and Andy to tip their hand? In their anxiety and growing panic are they simply looking in the wrong part of the desert? I'll let you have the fun of discovering what happens.
This film has little action and is mainly a character study mixed with a bit of mystery as you really get to know the three people involved. In the end, you can't help but have both a little bit of disgust and empathy towards all three. Highly recommended.
Thus his wife leaves, and suddenly realizes the beauty of her situation. Richard, who has a reputation as being impulsive and taking off without telling anybody, is in a place that only she and Andy know about. She convinces Andy that the two should go back to town and tell the authorities that Richard is missing, but that he just disappeared into the desert. Plus, they point the authorities in the entirely wrong part of the desert as to where they were. A few days in the rugged elements with no food or water should do the trick. Murder without the mess of actually doing it. Kay will be rid of the bullying Richard and still have his money, Andy will have Kay.
Richard, not exactly being full of love and trust for his fellow man, quickly realizes what the two have done. In spite of the fact that every necessity has always been obtained with a credit card up to this point, he swears he'll walk out of this desert alive. Kay and Andy have a couple of problems on their hands too. For one, the sheriff of the desert town is a sharp cop, not a hick, and Andy and Kay fear he may be on to them. Secondly, when they take a private plane over the place in the desert where they left Richard three weeks before "just to make sure" they can find no body. Did Richard make it out powered on pure revenge? Did the sheriff find the body, hide it, and is just playing Kay and Andy to tip their hand? In their anxiety and growing panic are they simply looking in the wrong part of the desert? I'll let you have the fun of discovering what happens.
This film has little action and is mainly a character study mixed with a bit of mystery as you really get to know the three people involved. In the end, you can't help but have both a little bit of disgust and empathy towards all three. Highly recommended.
Solid Idea But With A Flawed Execution
Theo Robertson4 August 2013
While trekking through the desert with his wife Kay and their guide Richard Damien falls off a cliff injuring himself . Lying in a gully his wife and the guide promise to get help but unknown to Richard Kay and the guide are having an affair and decide to let him lie to die
The idea behind this is a sound one . It's similar to a lot of films you've seen before where an unfaithful spouse eyes an opportunity to cash in on fate when it arises , pocket an inheritance and have raw lust filled sex with a younger partner , so much so you end up hating the villainess and her toyboy not because they're the baddies but simply because no one deserves to be that lucky
In it's favour the protagonist/victim Richard Damien is shown to be an arrogant angry middle man and isn't typical victim material , he's all man who makes John Wayne look effete and his single bloody mindedness is totally convincing . He might be driven by hate and revenge but hatred is a great motivator whether you're lost in the desert or simply struggling in day to day life
What the story doesn't do so well is construct a time frame . For instance you've got a problem understanding how long Richard is lost for . He grows stubble in a manner that suggests he's been in the desert for at least a week but as every schoolboy will tell you you'd only survive three or four days without water and probably slightly less if you're out in a blazing desert . Richard does manage to find a cactus but by the length of his stubble you're still left with the impression he's been in the desert to long to survive and has made his water last him an implausibly long time . This lack of internal continuity let's the story down a great deal . Okay it's only a TVM and does deserve some faint praise for being slightly more ambitious than you'd expect but lacks a little something to make it classic TVM material
The idea behind this is a sound one . It's similar to a lot of films you've seen before where an unfaithful spouse eyes an opportunity to cash in on fate when it arises , pocket an inheritance and have raw lust filled sex with a younger partner , so much so you end up hating the villainess and her toyboy not because they're the baddies but simply because no one deserves to be that lucky
In it's favour the protagonist/victim Richard Damien is shown to be an arrogant angry middle man and isn't typical victim material , he's all man who makes John Wayne look effete and his single bloody mindedness is totally convincing . He might be driven by hate and revenge but hatred is a great motivator whether you're lost in the desert or simply struggling in day to day life
What the story doesn't do so well is construct a time frame . For instance you've got a problem understanding how long Richard is lost for . He grows stubble in a manner that suggests he's been in the desert for at least a week but as every schoolboy will tell you you'd only survive three or four days without water and probably slightly less if you're out in a blazing desert . Richard does manage to find a cactus but by the length of his stubble you're still left with the impression he's been in the desert to long to survive and has made his water last him an implausibly long time . This lack of internal continuity let's the story down a great deal . Okay it's only a TVM and does deserve some faint praise for being slightly more ambitious than you'd expect but lacks a little something to make it classic TVM material
You can survive,,,,you can make it....
MarieGabrielle21 November 2008
This noteworthy film stars Arthur Hill as a worthy and initially shallow businessman. His wife, well-portrayed by the memorable Diana Muldaur, schemes to rid herself of him, and her lover conspires with her, (As portrayed by James Stacy, as her slick opportunist lover).
Hill finds himself abandoned in the scorching, unforgiving desert, and at first is tempted to give up. There is a suspenseful soundtrack and he gradually learns to fight back, despite a broken leg, dehydration, and no rescue in sight.
Muldaur meanwhile enjoys the spoils of what she thinks is his eventual demise. She and her lover celebrate the fact that his tracks have been covered by rain, he is most likely dead. There are some nice shots of her 1970's style mansion, kaleidoscopic colors from that era, and set decoration.
They visit the desert to ensure that Hill has died, there is a suspenseful twist at the end, and you will truly enjoy this film. There was an earlier film starring Robert Ryan and Rhonda Fleming (circa 1950's) which I believe was a similar theme. Recommended. 8/10.
Hill finds himself abandoned in the scorching, unforgiving desert, and at first is tempted to give up. There is a suspenseful soundtrack and he gradually learns to fight back, despite a broken leg, dehydration, and no rescue in sight.
Muldaur meanwhile enjoys the spoils of what she thinks is his eventual demise. She and her lover celebrate the fact that his tracks have been covered by rain, he is most likely dead. There are some nice shots of her 1970's style mansion, kaleidoscopic colors from that era, and set decoration.
They visit the desert to ensure that Hill has died, there is a suspenseful twist at the end, and you will truly enjoy this film. There was an earlier film starring Robert Ryan and Rhonda Fleming (circa 1950's) which I believe was a similar theme. Recommended. 8/10.
Decent Drama with Fine Performances
Michael_Elliott5 December 2010
Ordeal (1973)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Decent made-for-TV flick about a rich husband (Arthur Hill) who goes out into the desert with his wife (Diana Muldaur) and a guide (James Stacy) trying to find a certain location he might be buying. The abusive and hard-headed husband ends up falling down a cliff and breaking his leg. The wife and guide go to get help but she talks him into letting her husband die so that they can keep his money. The only problem is that he realizes what they're up to when no one comes back for him so he plans on making it out by himself. ORDEAL has a lot of silly stuff in it and it goes on a bit too long even at just 88-minutes but there's enough entertainment here to make it worth viewing as long as you don't go in expecting too much. One of the biggest flaws in the story is how the rich man ends up out in the desert on his own. He pretty much refuses to go with the wife and guide after he's injured and instead wants to stay out there by himself until they can get help back to him. Considering how he's been rich all of his life and never been out in the wild I had a hard time believing he would do this. Once you get past that the story clears out a little better and we get some nice scenes. I was shocked to see how much more I preferred the story happening outside the desert. The film cuts back and forth to what the husband is doing to what the wife and guide are doing. I thought the stuff between the wife and guide was actually more entertaining as the two begin to fear that the husband might not be dead and how they might have to change their plans. The stuff in the desert is nice as well since we get some great visuals. I think some people, myself included, are going to have a hard time believing what all the husband does considering his background but after a while you just get caught up in the story and go with it. The performances are a major plus with Hill doing a terrific job showing how desperate the man is. I thought he was very good in the scenes dealing with his hatred towards the wife as well as him struggling to survive. Muldaur is also quite good and perfectly gets across her spoiled side. This would turn out to be Stacy's final film before a drunk driver would hit him while he was riding his motorcycle and ripping off his left arm and leg. He actually turns in the best performance here and really makes you believe the tension his character starts to feel as things don't go as planned. It seems like the 70s delivered just about every type of storyline when it came to made-for-TV movies and this one here is a bit far-fetched at times but there's enough going on here to make it worth viewing.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Decent made-for-TV flick about a rich husband (Arthur Hill) who goes out into the desert with his wife (Diana Muldaur) and a guide (James Stacy) trying to find a certain location he might be buying. The abusive and hard-headed husband ends up falling down a cliff and breaking his leg. The wife and guide go to get help but she talks him into letting her husband die so that they can keep his money. The only problem is that he realizes what they're up to when no one comes back for him so he plans on making it out by himself. ORDEAL has a lot of silly stuff in it and it goes on a bit too long even at just 88-minutes but there's enough entertainment here to make it worth viewing as long as you don't go in expecting too much. One of the biggest flaws in the story is how the rich man ends up out in the desert on his own. He pretty much refuses to go with the wife and guide after he's injured and instead wants to stay out there by himself until they can get help back to him. Considering how he's been rich all of his life and never been out in the wild I had a hard time believing he would do this. Once you get past that the story clears out a little better and we get some nice scenes. I was shocked to see how much more I preferred the story happening outside the desert. The film cuts back and forth to what the husband is doing to what the wife and guide are doing. I thought the stuff between the wife and guide was actually more entertaining as the two begin to fear that the husband might not be dead and how they might have to change their plans. The stuff in the desert is nice as well since we get some great visuals. I think some people, myself included, are going to have a hard time believing what all the husband does considering his background but after a while you just get caught up in the story and go with it. The performances are a major plus with Hill doing a terrific job showing how desperate the man is. I thought he was very good in the scenes dealing with his hatred towards the wife as well as him struggling to survive. Muldaur is also quite good and perfectly gets across her spoiled side. This would turn out to be Stacy's final film before a drunk driver would hit him while he was riding his motorcycle and ripping off his left arm and leg. He actually turns in the best performance here and really makes you believe the tension his character starts to feel as things don't go as planned. It seems like the 70s delivered just about every type of storyline when it came to made-for-TV movies and this one here is a bit far-fetched at times but there's enough going on here to make it worth viewing.
Diana Muldaur playing a rather typical sort of character....
planktonrules8 March 2017
In the 1970s, Diana Muldaur often played really nasty, conniving women--tough but unscrupulous broads. And, that's exactly who she is in "Ordeal".
The film begins with Richard Damian (Arthur Hill) out in the middle of the desert with his wife and the man who is her lover. When Richard gets badly hurt, Kay Damian (Muldaur) leaves him for dead...as she doesn't love him and wants to have fun with her boy toy! She eventually reports his disappearance to the police...after she assumes he's already dead. The problem is he isn't dead and Richard lives to somehow survive and get revenge on his faithless wife. Will he somehow make it? And, if so, what's next?
Much of the film is spend showing Richard's survival ordeal in the desert and occasionally cutting back to brief segments with Kay playing with her boy toy. Late in the film, the two schemers decide to return to the desert to make 100% sure he's indeed dead.
This is a good film because the bad folks are incredibly evil--the audience just wants to see them get theirs! However, the ending...well, it left me waiting and hoping for SOMETHING more. In other words, you have an excellent film that at the end just didn't deliver.
The film begins with Richard Damian (Arthur Hill) out in the middle of the desert with his wife and the man who is her lover. When Richard gets badly hurt, Kay Damian (Muldaur) leaves him for dead...as she doesn't love him and wants to have fun with her boy toy! She eventually reports his disappearance to the police...after she assumes he's already dead. The problem is he isn't dead and Richard lives to somehow survive and get revenge on his faithless wife. Will he somehow make it? And, if so, what's next?
Much of the film is spend showing Richard's survival ordeal in the desert and occasionally cutting back to brief segments with Kay playing with her boy toy. Late in the film, the two schemers decide to return to the desert to make 100% sure he's indeed dead.
This is a good film because the bad folks are incredibly evil--the audience just wants to see them get theirs! However, the ending...well, it left me waiting and hoping for SOMETHING more. In other words, you have an excellent film that at the end just didn't deliver.
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