Man on a Swing (1974)

Powerful

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The completely serious film (Man on a Swing) opens with a one minute-20 second scene shot with a camera mounted on the police car roof about a foot behind the flashing light bar. While I am sure it seemed dramatic in 1974, it's impossible to view now without remembering the comedic rendition of the same viewpoint that forms the opening of "The Naked Gun". While I can't be sure this was the only "cop movie" that had a similar opening sequence, it's pretty clear to me that this film alone would have been sufficient to inspire the Naked Gun spoof scene.

Cliff Robertson plays a very frustrated small town Sheriff, trying to solve a murder case. Mucking things up is Joel Grey claiming to be a psychic, who can help Robertson find the killer. Unfortunately, Grey supplies just enough officially withheld information to tantalize the police, but not enough to solve the case. This causes Robertson to challenge Grey's psychic abilities with professional testing that is inconclusive and only further muddy the waters. "Man on a Swing" is based on a true murder investigation, and is superbly edited so that it never bogs down. The viewer is interested right up to the open ended conclusion, and is left wondering, just as the creative script intended. - MERK

Frank Perry's "Man on a Swing" is one of the most haunting movies that you'll ever see. Cliff Robertson plays a police detective investigating a murder who enlists the help of a man (Joel Grey) who claims to be clairvoyant. During his trances this man describes things that he couldn't have learned from the media...but is it real clairvoyance?There are a couple of focuses. There's the investigation, but also the presumed psychic's trances that make you wonder if he's about to do something sinister. And then there are the strange things that start happening to the detective and his wife. Is it the presumed psychic or is something else going on? The most haunting thing is that this movie is based on a true story that was still unsolved at the time of the movie's release (I don't know whether they solved it afterwards). Joel Grey puts on what must be the most impressive role of his career. Far from the jolly emcee in "Cabaret", his character here makes you feel as if you're walking on eggshells. It's one of those movies that keeps you guessing every step of the way. I recommend it.The rest of the cast includes Peter Masterson (the husband in the original "Stepford Wives"), Lane Smith (the DA in "My Cousin Vinny"), Josef Sommer (Harrison Ford's superior in "Witness") and Penelope Milford (Jane Fonda's friend in "Coming Home").

Based on a baffling real-life murder case wherein a clairvoyant enlisted his services to an investigative reporter to help find the killer of a woman found dead in her car. As the psychic who may or may not be a fraud, Joel Grey (fresh from his Oscar-win in "Cabaret") gives another startling, no-holds-barred performance. He acts rings around Cliff Robertson (whose character is upgraded to police chief) and everyone else in the cast! It's a compelling job, but how's the movie? The actual case chronicled in William A. Clark's book "The Girl on the Volkswagen Floor" was never properly solved, so don't look for any twists in the plot. It's a gritty, well-made film that might've been even better with someone else in Robertson's part (the man stares in silent concentration, but his unblinking expression reveals nothing). Not the battle of wits you may be hoping for, but still quite interesting. **1/2 from ****