Zig Zag (1970)

A dying man frames himself for the kidnapping and murder of an industrialist so his wife and daughter can benefit from the reward money. However, his plan goes awry when he is cured!

Director:

Richard A. Colla

Writers:

Robert Enders (story), John T. Kelley

Stars:

George Kennedy, Anne Jackson, Eli Wallach

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Kennedy	...	Paul R. Cameron
Anne Jackson	...	Jean Cameron
Eli Wallach	...	Mario Gambretti
Steve Ihnat	...	Asst. Dist. Atty. Herb Gates
William Marshall	...	Morris Bronson
Joe Maross	...	Lt. Max Hines
Dana Elcar	...	Harold Tracey
Walter Brooke	...	Adam Mercer
Anita O'Day	...	Sheila Mangan
Joan Tompkins	...	Judge Beth Weaver
Robert Sampson	...	Burt Stennis
Leonard Stone	...	Jim Harris
Stewart Moss	...	Edgar Courtland
Charlene Holt	...	Sara Raymond
Robert Donner	...	Sgt. Mason Weber

Storyline

A dying man frames himself for the kidnapping and murder of an industrialist so his wife and daughter can benefit from the reward money. However, his plan goes awry when he is cured!

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Plot Keywords:

murder | kidnapping | courtroom | one word title | frame up

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 September 1970 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Zig-Zag

Company Credits

Production Co:

Freeman-Ender Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Remade as Majboor (1974)

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Soundtracks

"On Green Dolphin Street"
Written by Bronislau Kaper and Ned Washington
Performed by Anita O'Day

User Reviews

There was more to the 1970s than funny hair and leisurewear

From the perspective of 2003, the saddest thing about this very downbeat picture is that it could never get made as a commercial production these days - certainly not with a middle-aged and far from beautiful character player in the lead. Although its structure relies on two large implausibilities, the story, characters and motivations are unashamedly adult and human: Zigzag takes life seriously, and when was the last mainstream picture you saw that did that?

The versatile and sympathetic heavy George Kennedy (if I'm ever on a passenger plane that's in trouble, I'd want him at the controls) gives an honest, understated performance as a flawed family man who takes a desperate road to a strange kind of redemption. The way he does that would have made a terrific lower-depths 1940s noir for a second-division star like Dana Andrews or Edmond O'Brien, but Zigzag loses nothing from its setting in the less obviously cinematic milieu of respectable lower-middle-class life in an up-and-up America that was just beginning to turn Dayglo.

I don't say it's a neglected classic - there's not the slightest touch of humour, the supporting cast aren't trying very hard, and the look of the film is reminiscent of an old episode of Kojak (so are most of the actors). Zigzag is just a solid piece of grown-up dramatic entertainment whose modest ambitions are positively Shakesperean compared to almost anything you could get insulted by at your local multiplex this weekend.