Considered guilty of something simply because he doesn't much like people, Kurt Kasznar arouses the suspicions of the townsfolk particularly young neighbor Billy Gray who doesn't like him from the start. That suspicion grows when the dog that Gray has adopted is found poisoned, and in listening to the gossippy people talk about him, Gray begins to become more determined to destroy this reclusive neighbor.
This film is ironic in its casting of George Murphy and Nancy Davis (Reagan) as Gray's parents as a decade before this, Murphy played the father of Davis's future husband Ronald in "This is the Army". Davis isn't very good in this at all, showing nothing maternal in scenes with her on-screen son. Murphy's more hands on, but I wouldn't call his character the best father either, barely paying attention to his son when Gray's obviously losing it.
You'll recognize Kathleen Freeman and Burt Mustin in the minor roles, and in one of his last films, Lewis Stone is basically the town patriarch. Gray is scary as the boy who allows suspicion to cloud his judgment, and Kasznar is frightening but ultimately sympathetic, reminding me of Roberts Blossom in "Home Alone". He gives a riveting performance. Love the house he lives in too, looking like something that Charles Addams might have drawn. The biggest flaw in this film is the awkward editing, cutting out scenes before it seems like that they're done.
This film is ironic in its casting of George Murphy and Nancy Davis (Reagan) as Gray's parents as a decade before this, Murphy played the father of Davis's future husband Ronald in "This is the Army". Davis isn't very good in this at all, showing nothing maternal in scenes with her on-screen son. Murphy's more hands on, but I wouldn't call his character the best father either, barely paying attention to his son when Gray's obviously losing it.
You'll recognize Kathleen Freeman and Burt Mustin in the minor roles, and in one of his last films, Lewis Stone is basically the town patriarch. Gray is scary as the boy who allows suspicion to cloud his judgment, and Kasznar is frightening but ultimately sympathetic, reminding me of Roberts Blossom in "Home Alone". He gives a riveting performance. Love the house he lives in too, looking like something that Charles Addams might have drawn. The biggest flaw in this film is the awkward editing, cutting out scenes before it seems like that they're done.