''Pendulum'' is a 1969 American

neo noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating s ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by George Schaefer and starring

George Peppard George Peppard (; October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as struggling writer Paul Varjak in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', and for playing commando leader Col. John "Hannibal ...

Jean Seberg Jean Dorothy Seberg (; ; November 13, 1938August 30, 1979) was an American actress who lived half of her life in France. Her performance in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film ''Breathless'' immortalized her as an icon of French New Wave cinema. Seb ...

and

Richard Kiley Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A Musical. Kiley ...

Plot

In Washington, D.C., police captain Frank Matthews's career is on the rise, having just been appointed consultant for a powerful U.S. senator. His domestic life, however, is questionable. He suspects his wife of having an affair with an old flame. One evening, after appearing at a political function in Baltimore, Matthews decides not to return home until the following morning. The next day, he is informed by authorities that his wife has been discovered shot to death while in bed with her lover, who was also killed. Soon, Matthews is made aware that his own colleagues, the police, have made him the prime suspect in the case. ''Pendulum'' also features a side-plot involving a death row inmate, Paul Sanderson, convicted of rape and murder, who is set free due to a legal technicality. Sanderson had been originally tracked down and arrested by Matthews, who views these circumstances as a grave injustice. Ironically, now that Captain Matthews is a suspected murderer, he hires Sanderson's lawyer, Woodrow Wilson King, to represent him. For the remainder of the feature, these two storylines intersect until the film reaches its violent conclusion.

Cast

as Capt. Frank Matthews *

as Adele Matthews *

as Woodrow Wilson King *

Charles McGraw Charles McGraw (born Charles Crisp Butters; May 10, 1914 – July 29, 1980) was an American stage, film and television actor whose career spanned more than three decades. Early life McGraw was born to Beatrice (née Crisp) and Francis P. B ...

as Deputy Chief John P. Hildebrand *

Madeleine Sherwood Madeleine Sherwood (born Madeleine Louise Hélène Thornton; November 13, 1922 – April 23, 2016) was a Canadian actress of stage, film and television. She was widely known for her portrayals of Mae/Sister Woman and Miss Lucy in both the Broadwa ...

as Mrs. Eileen Sanderson * Robert F. Lyons as Paul Martin Sanderson *

Frank Marth Frank Marth (July 29, 1922 – January 12, 2014) was an American film and television actor. He may be best known as a cast-member of ''Cavalcade of Stars'' (1949; 1950–1957), especially segments of ''The Honeymooners'', which later became a ...

as Lt. Smithson *

Marj Dusay Marjorie Ellen Mahoney Dusay (; née Mahoney; February 20, 1936 – January 28, 2020) was an American actress known for her roles on American soap operas. She was especially known for her role as Alexandra Spaulding on ''Guiding Light'', a role s ...

as Liz Tennant * Paul McGrath as Senator Augustus Cole *

Stewart Moss Stewart Moss (November 27, 1937 – September 13, 2017) was an American actor, writer, and director. Early years Moss was born in Chicago, Illinois, of Irish descent on his father's side and his mother was a daughter of immigrants from Italy. H ...

as Richard D'Angelo *

Isabel Sanford Isabel Sanford (born Eloise Gwendolyn Sanford; August 29, 1917 – July 9, 2004) was an American stage, film, and television actress and comedian best known for her role as Louise "Weezy" Mills Jefferson on the CBS sitcoms ''All in the Fam ...

as Effie *

Dana Elcar Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as on the 1980s and 1990s television series ''MacGyver'' as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's immediate ...

as Det. J.J. 'Red' Thornton * Harry Lewis as Brooks Elliot * Mildred Trares as Mary Schumacher *

Robin Raymond Robin Raymond (born Rayemon Robin, October 4, 1916 – June 20, 1994) was an American film actress. Early life Raymond graduated from Northwestern University with a BA degree and worked as a press agent in Chicago. Personal life Ray ...

as Myra *

Phyllis Hill Phyllis Hill (October 27, 1920 – January 1, 1993) was an American dancer and actress. Early years Hill was born in New York City. Her mother was actress Peggy Johnson Hill. Her sister, Joyce Hill Rainier, danced with the Monte Carlo Ballets ...

as Mrs. Wilma Elliot *

S. John Launer Saul John Launer (November 5, 1919 – November 8, 2006), was an American television program, television and film actor. Launer was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Career Launer appeared in 89 films and television programs between 19 ...

as Judge Kinsella * Jock Mackelvie as U.S. Attorney Grady Butler * Richard Guizon as Deputy Marshall Jack Barnes * Jack Grimes as Artie *

Logan Ramsey Logan Carlisle Ramsey Jr. (March 21, 1921 – June 26, 2000) was an American character actor of television and film for nearly 50 years. Early life Ramsey was born in Long Beach, California, the son of Harriet Lillian (née Kilmartin) and Capt ...

as Detective Jelinek * Douglas Henderson as Detective Hanauer * Gene Boland as Garland

Legacy

In 2019, the film is referenced in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

's film ''

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, and Visiona Romantica and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is a ...

'', on a movie theater marquee that Sharon Tate walks past just before first seeing her own name on the marquee display of '' The Wrecking Crew'' at the

Fox Bruin Theater The Fox Bruin Theater is a 670-seat movie palace located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, near University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). History The Bruin is located in the heart of the Mediterranean-themed Westwo ...

References

External links

*
''Pendulum''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

1969 films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by George Schaefer Films scored by Walter Scharf 1960s English-language films 1960s thriller films American thriller films 1960s American films {{thriller-film-stub