Sadly Over-hyped

Just perfect...

Fantastic!

Excellent, a Must See

Brit beauty Carol White ("Some Call It Loving") stars as Cathy Palmer, a newcomer to San Francisco. Almost immediately, a stranger named Kenneth Daly (Canadian actor Scott Hylands ("Death Hunt"), receiving an "introducing" credit) contrives a way to meet her. Initially, he seems quite charming, and they enter into a relationship for a while, until he starts revealing himself as a major league turd. She breaks it off with him, even aborting the baby that he had fathered. She moves on, and finds a new guy (Paul Burke ("Valley of the Dolls")), a rising politician, and gets pregnant by the new guy. Trouble is, Kenneth is not going to let her go unpunished. He begins to terrorize her, demanding that she kill her baby in order to atone for the death of his child."Daddy's Gone A-Hunting" may be best known for the theme song (with music by John Williams and lyrics by Dory Previn), but in fact this is a pretty decent movie, albeit with some flaws. It's kind of a mixed bag, with a lead character who's not terribly sympathetic, a script credited to Larry Cohen ("The Stuff") and Lorenzo Semple, Jr. ("Flash Gordon") that has lines both bad and good, a lack of complete credibility, and performances that are uneven. It does get better and better as it plays out, leading to a seven minute finale high above the city streets that will actually have people catching their breath. Director Mark Robson, who'd started out crafting some fine psychological black & white horror for producer Val Lewton, and graduated to bigger things like "Valley of the Dolls" and "Von Ryan's Express", handles things with a certain degree of style. The filmmakers don't seem too concerned with making viewers choose a side in the still-contentious "pro life" vs. "pro choice" debate, and mainly focus on making an entertaining, slick, tried-and-true revenge thriller.Ms. White is lovely to look at, but doesn't make her character all that interesting. Hylands is fine, having a little more to work with; Kenneth supposedly was prepared to become a better man upon learning of impending fatherhood, so he takes the abortion thing VERY hard. Burke has little to do in the grand scheme of things. The very fine supporting cast includes such familiar faces as James Sikking ('Hill Street Blues') and Barry Cahill ("Coffy") as FBI agents, Mala Powers ("Cyrano de Bergerac") as Cathy's friend Meg, Walter Brooke ("The Graduate") as Jerry Wolfe, Mathilda Calnan ("Silver Streak") as Ilsa the maid, and Dennis Patrick ('Dark Shadows') as the abortion doctor.Excellent location shooting and an effective pace help to make this reasonably engrossing, and worthy of another look from genre devotees.Seven out of 10.

This movie could have been made today; it withstands the test of time. It's about a man who wants to take revenge on a woman who aborted their child. The movie is also about the hypocrisy of the woman who is living a lie, trying to conceal a past which includes illicit sex, pregnancy, and abortion, the latter so that she could get end the relationship with the guy who wants the baby and wants to marry her. After she dumps him she marries a local up and coming politician and gets pregnant and this time gives birth. The movie is about how the first guy cleverly re-injects himself into her life through her husband and then plots to get her to kill her own baby which to him is perfectly logical because if she could kill his baby, then why not her husband's? Of course, problems ensue as the tension between the guy and the woman becomes obvious and soon she has to confess her past to her husband and the husband is loving and supportive and it's just a matter of time before the guy gets his just deserts, which is quick and violent. The movie's premise works because the guy does have cause to be angry and the story is set before Roe v. Wade, when getting an abortion was (and still is) a serious matter, not only morally but legally, and when the right of a woman to control her reproductive options was not yet fully established as a matter of law. Hence she really had no one to turn to with which to discuss her issues, especially the police, since abortion was a criminal act. As for the guy, he has no one to turn to for support either, knowing what his ex-girl friend had done. This movie dramatizes why the decision to have an an abortion has to be treated entirely as a medical matter. The alternative, to treat it as a criminal matter, just creates more problems, especially in the area of conflict resolution. Carol White gives a powerful performance as the woman and Scott Hyland's performance is compelling as the guy whose mind becomes twisted by righteous indignation, with tragic consequences.

After the man she's been seeing turns out to be mentally (and financially) unstable, Cathy aborts his baby and moves on with her life. She eventually marries a political hopeful and once again finds herself pregnant. While shopping for a crib, she sees her former flame, Kenneth, working as a department store Santa. He spots her too, but the real bad news for Cathy is that he notices she's carrying another child. Bad news for her and her baby, but would Kenneth resort to killing a child as vengeance for the death of his own?Mark Robson (The Seventh Victim, Valley of the Dolls) directs this morbid little gem, a film with some rather potent subject matter, particularly for the time it was made. Melding the incredibly touchy subject of abortion with a psycho-suspense storyline, Robson crafts an effective film full of bizarre mood and situations. As Cathy becomes more and more guilty over what she did, we see how it works into her psyche, and images as simple as toys yapping on a table take on a rather perverse feeling that gets under the viewer's skin. Robson knows how to utilize such elements to their maximum effect, though never in an overly graphic manner. The use of subtlety and implied horror goes a long way here.As Kenneth, Scott Hylands is one of the creepiest nutcases you'll see. He has the most unnerving eyes, and a rather blank glare that truly makes one feel uncomfortable. The scene where he learns of the abortion is downright chilling. He puts Cathy through some real psychological torment, one of the standout moments being a nasty surprise he leaves under her car. Carol White plays Cathy, and she's fine in the role, but I find her character to be quite unlikable due to her incessant bitchiness.This is a great film, well acted, well directed... The climax is quite thrilling as well. This is not your typical psycho story, and it is really quite unique in it's storytelling. Disturbing and effective, I highly recommend this one.

Worthwhile B movie that fails to make the most of a good idea. And both Play Misty for Me(71) and Fatal Attraction(87) reworked its premise and plot. Mark Robson's direction is economical to a fault, and the film needs more detail and development;it feels perfunctory and thin like a made-for-TV film. And the supporting characters are cardboard.The film has some effective scenes, generates interest and suspense, though the build-up is ultimately better than the payoff. Scott Hylands is very good and convincing but, Carol White is perhaps too stoic,and she doesn't garner much sympathy for her character. The rest of the cast goes through their paces without making an impression, except for an annoying housekeeper, and "Prissy",the cat. Ultimately, the subject matter and Scott Hylands' performance are what make it worthwhile. Hard to find film deserves a DVD release, hopefully with the trailer.