A Covenant with Death

Name: A Covenant with Death
Genre: Drama
Released: 1969-01-23
Duration: 1 h 37 min
Rating: 6
Cast: George Maharis, Laura Devon, Katy Jurado

1967
1h 37m

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

388

YOUR RATING

Drama

A convicted murderer kills his hangman. Then it is discovered that he actually didn't commit the murder he was convicted for.A convicted murderer kills his hangman. Then it is discovered that he actually didn't commit the murder he was convicted for.A convicted murderer kills his hangman. Then it is discovered that he actually didn't commit the murder he was convicted for.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

388

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos20

John Anderson, Lonny Chapman, and George Maharis in A Covenant with Death (1967)

Gene Hackman, Earl Holliman, and Erwin Neal in A Covenant with Death (1967)

Wende Wagner in A Covenant with Death (1967)

Gene Hackman and George Maharis in A Covenant with Death (1967)

Laura Devon in A Covenant with Death (1967)

George Maharis in A Covenant with Death (1967)

Katy Jurado in A Covenant with Death (1967)

Katy Jurado and George Maharis in A Covenant with Death (1967)

George Maharis and Wende Wagner in A Covenant with Death (1967)

Earl Holliman in A Covenant with Death (1967)

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Director Lamont Johnson had started as an actor, in 1951, and began directing for television in 1957. A Covenant with Death (1967) was his feature-film directorial debut. He would continue to work in both mediums more or less equally, racking up 11 Emmy nominations and winning the award twice. His best-known works are probably Kaksintaistelu (1971), Kilparatojen sankari (1973), and the TV movie The Execution of Private Slovik (1974).

Goofs
New Mexico was admitted as a state of the union in 1912. At one point, Ben Lewis notes that New Mexico became a state "a dozen years ago," indicating the movie is set in 1924. But later in the film, we see a letter being written that bears the date, "July 8, 1923."

User reviews11

Review

Featured review

7/10

The summary on IMDb seems to say too much...and not quite enough either.

Normally, I don't complain but the summary on IMDb for this film is pretty bad. First, it discloses a BIG plot twist. Second, it really doesn't explain what the movie really is all about as well. Sure, there is a murder and execution...but it's all through the eyes of a young Hispanic judge (George Maharis) and there's no mention of him or how he relates to all this.

The story actually is a bit dispassionate...or should I say the first portion. Ben (Maharis) observes what's going on but seems surprisingly impassive about it. Later, however, when the case is surprisingly dropped into his lap, he has to become involved and make a decision based not just on law but common sense as it's really hard at this point to find a precedent for what happens.

Aside from the poor decision to cast Maharis (he's a handsome guy but hardly seems Hispanic), the film is an interesting look at justice and kept my interest. Worth seeing.

helpful•11