What makes it different from others?

A different way of telling a story

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Interesting crime drama from Columbia Pictures that stars John Drew Barrymore as Jess, a psychotic criminally minded teenager that leads two of his friends, Gil(Corey Allen)and Joey(Gerald Sarracini)into a not-so-well planned robbery. The trio force their way into and kill a well-to-do homeowner after robbing him. There are immediate problems right off the bat. Witnesses...a secretary, Linda Atlas(Betty Garrett)and her son Petey(Jerry Mathers). The young boy manages to escape the house and is mute after witnessing the shocking events. Linda's husband happens to be Detective Sgt. Tony Atlas(Phillip Carey);and he is a determined cop with the safety of his family on the line.Garrett actually shows the better acting. Although Barrymore is pretty flawless as a psycho teen. Carey is diligent and stoic. Rounding out the cast: Paul Picerni, Rusty Lane and Sam Gilman. William Asher directs.

Better than expected thriller about a home invasion robbery gone wrong. Jerry Mathers plays a young boy who witnesses a murder at a home where his mother (Betty Garrett)is working. In shock, the boy wanders off before being picked up by a passing truck. He is dropped off with the police where it so happens the boy's father, Phil Carey, is a detective. Unable to get the boy to talk, the police begin a city-wide dragnet hoping to grab up someone who might know the location of Garrett. John Barrymore Jr., Corey Allen and Gerald Sarrcini are the not so bright hoods holding Garrett. Having murdered Garrett's boss during the robbery they must decide whether to kill her as well. Several gun battles and a couple of more bodies are piled up before Carey saves the day with a just in time rescue. OK time-waster.

Curiosity value concerning the appearance and acting skill of Barrymore (John's son and Drew's dad) will likely draw several viewers to this minor crime drama, a sort of "Despondent Hours". Garrett, separated from her policeman hubby (Carey), takes a job steno-graphing for an elderly man with her young son in tow. When three toughs break in to rob the man, but accidentally kill him, Garrett's son (Mathers) slips into a degree of catatonia and wanders off along the highway. Eventually, Carey, Garrett's husband, is reunited with the mute boy and it's a race against time to find Garrett before the punks have their way with her or kill her. The hoods are played by Barrymore, Allen and Sarracini. Carey reacts to his estranged wife's disappearance with all the concern and terror that he might have if, say, his shirt were ironed too long and got a triangle-shaped stain on the pocket. Though impossibly big and reasonably handsome, he lets his stoicism as a police officer take too much precedence over any human emotion. Garrett (pushing forty, but playing 27 and referred to as "girl"!) does a decent enough acting job, but, in keeping with the times of the film, behaves pretty foolishly more often than not. She does try to come up with a few futile attempts at escape, though. Mathers is in over his head in his tiny part and would do much better later that year in "Leave it to Beaver" where murder wasn't a part of the storyline. Barrymore is very animated and quite handsome. He leans toward the hammy aspects of acting that so many James Dean imitators were going for at the time, but his portrayal is surprisingly polished (and this isn't exactly a strong screenplay he's dealing with!) Allen (who worked with James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause") gives the most believable and natural performance of the hoods and is very attractive in a boy-next-door way. In fact, these two "vicious criminals" do their dirty work in pullover knit sweaters and cardigans!!! They are quite a contrast to Marlon Brando in "The Wild One". The third boy is played by hulking Sarracini and he is more authentic-looking (ironically, this actor died the year this film was made from the results of a fight!!) There are so many hilariously bad bit players in the film whose dialogue and performances are side-splitting. One lady mutters that her husband doesn't like anything as much as corned beef while he is shown romancing a blonde tart in a bar. Still, the direction is surprisingly adept and there is a memorable rooftop shootout that continues into the subway which is quite impressive. A little more enthusiasm/fret from Carey might have kicked it up a notch.

Starring Jerry Mathers as the shell-shocked child who witnesses an assault on his mother, Shadow On the Window is a decent 'B' film with a solid cast and a decent script. Jerry's dad, a police officer, is played stoically by Phil Carey and mom is Betty Garrett, decent as a woman under constant threat from three stereotypical teen bad boys. One of the boys is played by Corey Allen, who revisited the role in the similarly themed Key Witness (1960), and the others are John Drew Barrymore--apparently channeling the spirit of an evil Dobie Gillis--and lovable lunk Gerald Sarracini. Beach Party director William Asher displayed his serious side here, and cinematographer Kit Carson got some nice set-ups during the climactic chase scene across roof tops and through subway tunnels. I'd love to know where this was filmed--perhaps somewhere in the Imperial Valley of California?