A good TV movie thriller stars Oscar winner Teresa Wright and the much nominated Arthur Kennedy aiding the handsome but troubled Tom Happer, a society dropout coordinated Health when they find him reeling in the air duct between their basement and first floor. Happer slowly begins to accept their generosity, but having a reputation in town creates problems with the local authorities and others in the community which ultimately sets Happer over the edge.
So while a lot of what happens with him is not his fault, he's in major need of help that an aging surrogate mom and pop can't give him. Matthew Cowles ("All My Children') is one of the rough young men harassing Happer and Eugene Roche is the local sheriff. Kennedy and Wright are terrific together, and Happer is intense and childlike, showing abandonment issues and definite arrested development. A very intense conclusion makes for gripping TV melodrama.
So while a lot of what happens with him is not his fault, he's in major need of help that an aging surrogate mom and pop can't give him. Matthew Cowles ("All My Children') is one of the rough young men harassing Happer and Eugene Roche is the local sheriff. Kennedy and Wright are terrific together, and Happer is intense and childlike, showing abandonment issues and definite arrested development. A very intense conclusion makes for gripping TV melodrama.