The overall plot and suspense elements of this movie are excellent and deserved far better treatment. There really was a fine movie underneath it all, but it was sunk to mediocrity due to three factors:
1. The child actress is awfully annoying. No, wait,...she was #@&%$# annoying!! Not only couldn't she act convincingly in many scenes, but the writers couldn't decide whether to make her adorable or a filthy-mouthed cretin. I think they achieved the latter more than the former, dang-#%#&$!!.
2. Several times, Gregory Peck got the draw on the bad guys (i.e., captured them and could have shot them). The first time he let them go made little sense. But the second time, he KNEW they were murderers and yet after disarming them he let them go! DUH!!! I HATE to see supposedly smart characters do dumb things that no real person would do.
3. The prostitute who was kidnapped and manhandled throughout the movie by the bad guys was pretty annoying--in particular her voice. She sounded for all the world like June Foray--the voice of Rocky Squirrel from the Bullwinkle Show. I can't believe that one of the IMDb comments praised her acting and felt she was a star on the rise.
BUT, despite these big problems, the final half of the movie was pretty rousing and kept the tension going. In particular, the ending was excellent. Too bad the unevenness really spoiled the overall effort. Gregory Peck deserved better material.
1. The child actress is awfully annoying. No, wait,...she was #@&%$# annoying!! Not only couldn't she act convincingly in many scenes, but the writers couldn't decide whether to make her adorable or a filthy-mouthed cretin. I think they achieved the latter more than the former, dang-#%#&$!!.
2. Several times, Gregory Peck got the draw on the bad guys (i.e., captured them and could have shot them). The first time he let them go made little sense. But the second time, he KNEW they were murderers and yet after disarming them he let them go! DUH!!! I HATE to see supposedly smart characters do dumb things that no real person would do.
3. The prostitute who was kidnapped and manhandled throughout the movie by the bad guys was pretty annoying--in particular her voice. She sounded for all the world like June Foray--the voice of Rocky Squirrel from the Bullwinkle Show. I can't believe that one of the IMDb comments praised her acting and felt she was a star on the rise.
BUT, despite these big problems, the final half of the movie was pretty rousing and kept the tension going. In particular, the ending was excellent. Too bad the unevenness really spoiled the overall effort. Gregory Peck deserved better material.