In 1952, Robert Ryan starred along with Ida Lupino in Beware, My Lovely (reviewed HERE), a suspenseful drama in which a mentally unbalanced man (Ryan) worms his way into the home of widow Lupino, and after getting hired as a handyman, terrorizes her by locking the doors, removing the keys, and basically holding her captive inside her home. Unstable, he vacillates between anger and kindness, confusion and lucidity.
To my utter surprise, I discovered that Audie Murphy took on that exact role in The Man, a 1960 episode of the live TV drama, Ford Startime. In the Ida Lupino role is Thelma Ritter, and except for a few minor changes (including the ending), the stories are virtually identical. While this made-for-TV drama is slightly under an hour in length, and thus not as in-depth as the film, it nevertheless packs quite a punch.
Newly arrived in town, Howard Wilson (Audie Murphy) sets out to find the address of Mrs. Gillis (Thelma Ritter), the mother of a man he knew back in his Army days. Without telling Mrs. Gillis that he knew her son, Howard attempts to rent a room from her; when he's unsuccessful, he seeks to have her hire him for a few handyman jobs. Lying that he is doing some post-graduate work at the local university, Howard is eventually successful in convincing the kind widow to give him a few hours of employment. Though the man is obviously troubled in some way, that isn't at first apparent to Mrs. Gillis.
After gaining access to Mrs. Gillis's house, Howard meanders into what used to be her son's room, eventually suggesting that he could move into that room and stay there forever. Mrs. Gillis is alarmed by Howard's strange request and by the fact that he is often confused, forgetful, and prone to rages. And when she realizes that Howard has locked her in the house and removed the keys from the locks, she is quite panicked.
Does Howard hurt Mrs. Gillis? Or is she able to obtain help? Those are the questions which play out in the remainder of the show.
Audie Murphy is not only very believable in this role, he's actually quite brilliant! The way he vacillates between anger, gentleness, and lunacy is remarkable. And those eyes---there is a distinct glint of madness in them!! Mr. Murphy was really a much better actor than people give him credit for being. Thelma Ritter is terrific too---you can definitely see and feel her character's rising panic. Obviously, as a 49-minute TV show, The Man lacks the depth of the 76-minute movie, but it is still very interesting and exciting...and suspenseful without being scary. I'm giving it the same 4-stars I give the film. If you'd like to check it out, HERE is the link to the YouTube video.
Happy viewing!!
NOTE: The photo used in this article is from the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Website (HERE)
