Death Among Friends (1975)
Shirley investigates the murder of a millionaire who was strangled on his tennis court.
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It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.
It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.
Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
This was a pilot for the great character actress Kate Reid. She played a homicide detective (sort of a female Columbo. Mrs. Columbo anyone??). here Kate investigates a series of murders surrounding a wealthy millionaire. I remember one person suffocates in a sauna, another is crushed by a barbell, and the beautiful Lynda Day George (Where is she?? She is sorely missed.) swan dives into a swimming pol with a broken light and is electrocuted.Kate was aided in her investigations by a young A. Martinez and her superior, Martin Balsam If I remember the TV movie was a sleeper hit and there was talk of a follow-up. Alas, as it is in Hollywood, it was only talk.Incidentally, the film ended with Kate having solved the murders. She suddenly pauses and gives her famous laugh. "I just realized something" she howls, "the butler did it!"
And why not! anyway.... I was just surfing around the IMDb when I suddenly hitted this movie, and I thought I have seen this after reading the plot, and looking .... and yes Martin Balsam was in the movie! I wonder if this is one of those pilots that never made it into a serial and was sold as a TV-movie instead. My memories of this movie is very vague and I cannot remember who the murderer was. I remember my parents thought this was a very Agatha Christie-like mystery, and that my parents thought it was very nice that the detective or the one who solves this murder case was a woman, who was neither young and neither beautiful and neither voluptuous, and that that was very unusual for USA at that time (Murder she Wrote came later) Since this move is from 1975 it must have been around 1977-1978 Swedish television showed it. As was usual with Detective and police serials in the 70's and 80's this one ended with a lame joke or two.