10/13/06: Force of Evil (1977)Like any conservative, we’re proud of our arrest on assault charges while protecting our property. There are certainly plenty of fine films about the ordinary guy having to take up arms against a criminal lowlife. The classic example—both as
an original and
a remake—remains
Cape Fear.
But that’s too obvious, so here’s our favorite
Cape Fear rip-off.
Speaking of rip-offs, folks who rented
Force of Evil from their video store weren’t just baffled to get a made-for-TV movie. They also got opening credits that revealed they were watching the pilot for a TV show called
Tales of the Unexpected. It’s a Quinn Martin Production, though, so you know you’re in for a good time.
The episode—it’s technically an episode—features Lloyd Bridges as Dr. Yale Carrington, a successful surgeon who testified against a rapist who worked in his hospital. The leering psycho is named Teddy Jakes, and he’d done his time and is out for revenge. Of course, the law is such an ass that Jakes can terrorize Dr. Carrington’s family at leisure.
If you’ve seen
Cape Fear, then you know how this goes—right down to the big climax on the family boat. Jakes (assisted by his lawyer) works the system so well that it doesn’t even help that Dr. Carrington’s brother is the local sheriff. The creep can even get away with going after the doctor’s daughter. She’s played by Eve Plumb, and that girl was like royalty back in the ’70s.
The sole twist only exists because
Tales of the Unexpected was kind of a supernatural series. Jakes turns out to be as hard to kill as any ’80s slasher-film villain. It’s still admirable to see Dr. Carrington take the law in his own hands—especially since he’s assisted by his gorgeous wife, played by Pat Crowley in murderous MILF mode.
Crowley also gets to give the big speech where the privileged suburbanite discovers that the ’60s left her way down the food chain. This is after Dr. Carrington insists that Jakes is a sick man:
Sick? And what do you prescribe, Doctor? Two aspirins to be repeated the next time he maims or kills? All of a sudden, I know how victims feel. I don’t care if he’s sick! I don’t want him institutionalized, treated, pampered the way they—I want him punished! I want him dead!She says all that while sporting white lingerie, too.
And yet the most memorable thing about
Force of Evil is the great
William Watson. His portrayal of Teddy Jakes is typically brilliant. Hollywood never knew what to do with the tombstone-toothed actor, mainly because he looked like George Kennedy’s playboy brother. There wasn’t much demand for that kind of character.
Force of Evil would be Watson’s biggest showcase, and he earns his place amongst the
Cape Fear brotherhood of Robert Mitchum and Robert De Niro.
As for our own encounter with the law—well, it was another one of those travesties where we strolled out of the courtroom as a free man. Fortunately, our local criminals aren’t as smart as Teddy Jakes. Unfortunately, our local cops aren’t as smart as our local criminals.
Make it your own: There are plenty of
used VHS tapes out there—which mainly serves to remind us how video stores used to be starved for product.
