A LITTLE GAME
US, 1971, 73 minutes, Colour.
Diane Baker, Ed Nelson, Howard Duff, Katy Jurado, Martin Gruner.
Directed by Paul Wendkos.
A Little Game is one of the earliest telemovies. It is a very effective horror story; centering on an evil child, most effectively played by Martin Gruner. Diane Baker is his mother, Ed Nelson his step-father, Katie Jurado the maid and Howard Duff the private detective.
The boy goes to a military school and comes back on holidays, antagonistic towards his step-father. He also brings a friend and it emerges that they play violent games and that the son has killed a boy. A private detective investigates the matter and brings the drama to a climax. The film is ironical on military schools and discipline, has a look at families and relationships, the power of evil in the boy (taking after his admired father). Direction is by veteran director Paul Wendkos.
1. Effective tele-movie? Horror, family themes?
2. The Christmas setting, home, the property, affluence? Musical score?
3. The title, the boys, playing deadly games?
4. The setting, the holidays, the mother and her love for her son, the step-father and the antagonism, Robert and his schooling, his self-will, bringing Stu home for the holiday, the tension?
5. Robert, admiring and idolising his father, his father as an engineer, his love for his mother and idealising their relationship? The resentment of Paul and his manner of showing it? Rudeness and stubbornness? Bringing Stu home, exercising pressure on him? The guns? Making wedges between his mother and Paul? The diary? The threats, wanting the gun for Christmas, out shooting? The Christmas tree, taking his mother out? Missing the diary, confrontation of Stu? The truth from Dunlap? The final shooting confrontation? Hearing the truth about his psychopathic father?
6. Stu, young friend, fear, being ignored by his parents, the Christmas gifts, friendship with Paul, fear of the guns with Robert, the truth, explaining the game to Paul and lying, the revelation of the truth, his pretending about telegram from his parents and getting away, the confrontation?
7. The mother and her devotion. the wedge between them, her love for Robert, for Paul, believing Robert? The separation, Paul going away? Dunlap and the diary? Stu? The truth to Robert? Paul, his background, novelist and writer, his investigation, the interview with Dunlap and his secretary, discussions with Stu, reading the diary, the hostility of his wife? The lies from Stu, the truth from Dunlap? Husband and wife confronting the boy?
8. Dunlap, his secretary, his manner, taking on the case, the results?
9. Laura, as the maid in the house, seeing through Robert, his threatening her?
10. Atmospherics, portrait of evil?
