Please don't spend money on this.

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Fantastic!

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

I have to this one gets very suspenseful and has a couple of unexpected turns but the ending came a no big surprise but played a little differently than I guessed.Hal Holbrook was the real star of the show (and such an underrated actor), but are also awesome performances by both Katharine Ross and Barry Bostwick. The three of them took center stage for a while but Richard Anderson showed up to give another super performance. Everyone in this film is very convincing.If you are married to a mentalist who has a good detective on his side then I don't recommend cheating on them, you might be left with three alternatives.8/10

Writers Richard Levinson and William Link wrote some great scripts in the sixties and seventies, including some for Hitchcock. A psychological thriller that first aired in 1979, "Murder By Natural Causes", is arguably Levinson and Link's best work. With twist upon twist upon twist, and subtle dialogue clues scattered throughout the plot, it's a film that fans of suspense thrillers need to see, as an example of superior script writing.Forty-something and wealthy entertainer Arthur Sinclair (Hal Holbrook) wows audiences with his mental telepathy skills as he seemingly reads peoples minds. Allison (Katharine Ross) is his attractive thirty-something wife, a person with a roving eye and a desire for riches. What kind of story do you think this setup suggests? Can you guess how the film ends? Don't bet on it.The film could easily be transformed into a stage play since most scenes take place indoors on sets. Production design is adequate. Intermittent background music is at times spooky, and there are a couple of scenes wherein the music is reminiscent of the shower scene in Hitchcock's "Psycho", shrieking and shrill. Good editing keeps the plot flowing nicely for the most part, though the middle Act trends a bit talky in a couple of scenes. Color cinematography is adequate. Casting and acting cannot be improved upon.All film elements come together perfectly in that final sequence when a character walks in the front door of Aruthur's big house. The dialogue here is entrancing. Camera movement is faultless. And that final scene where the camera moves in close to a character's eyes is breathtakingly dramatic. It's one of the great final sequences in film history.It's too bad this film never received a theatrical release. It is far better and more entertaining than most major Hollywood thrillers of the last fifty years that I have seen. The film won an Edgar Allan Poe Award for best television film of 1980. One might even assert that "Murder By Natural Causes" is the best TV movie ever made. I probably would not argue with that assessment.

Thirty years ago on Feb.17th and on Hal Holbrook's birthday I might add, premiered the movie "Murder By Natural Causes". By the mystery team that brought us "Columbo",brings us a movie in the same style that has lust,greed,and of course....MURDER! Katharine Ross(The Graduate,Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,They Only Kill Their Masters,The Stepford Wives,to name a few)plays Allison Sinclair a woman who wants her lover Gil Weston(Barry Bostwick:Grandpa Clyde of Phineas and Ferb,and Mayor Randall M. Winston Jr. of Spin City)to kill her mentalist husband Arthur Sinclair(Hal Holbrook:Magnum Force,Creepshow,and etc.)who has a bad heart by natural causes,so that she can inherit all his wealth. The plan is set and let the game begin...but who will win? This movie will have your heart pounding at the edge of your seat til the end. A must for mystery fans! This movie also stars Richard Anderson(Oscar Goldman of "The Six Million Dollar Man"and "The Bionic Woman")as lawyer friend George Brubaker. Hal Holbrook at his best!

Here it is, 24 years later and I still remember it from only one viewing. It had the most amazing storyline and writing with some pretty impressive twists and turns in the last half hour. I would LOVE to see it again. Hal Holbrook is truly one of the amazing and underappreciated actors of our time.