''Shadow Over Elveron'' is a 1968 television crime drama film directed by

James Goldstone James Goldstone (June 8, 1931 – November 5, 1999) was an American film and television director whose career spanned over thirty years. Career Goldstone was noted for the momentum and "fifteen-minute cliffhangers" that he brought to TV pilots ...

and starring

James Franciscus James Grover Franciscus (January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991) was an American actor, known for his roles in feature films and in six television series: ''Mr. Novak'', ''The Naked City'', '' The Investigators'', '' Longstreet'', ''Doc Elliot'', an ...

Shirley Knight Shirley Knight Hopkins (July 5, 1936 – April 22, 2020) was an American actress who appeared in more than 50 feature films, television films, television series, and Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in her career, playing leading and charac ...

, and

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (11 February 192628 November 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. Nielsen was bo ...

. It aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

in March 1968. The story is based on the novel ''

Shadow Over Elveron ''Shadow Over Elveron'' is a 1968 television crime drama film directed by James Goldstone and starring James Franciscus, Shirley Knight, and Leslie Nielsen. It aired on NBC in March 1968. The story is based on the novel '' Shadow Over Elveron'' ...

'' by Michael Kingsley.

Plot

Cast

as Dr. Matthew Tregaskis *

as Joanne Tregaskis *

as Sheriff Verne Drover *

Franchot Tone Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known ...

as Barney Conners * James Dunn as Luke Travers *

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which l ...

as Justin Pettit

Production

The film was produced by

Jack Laird Jack Laird (born Jack Laird Schultheis; May 8, 1923 – December 3, 1991) was an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actor. He received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his works in ''Ben Casey'', ''Night Gallery'', and ''K ...

for

Universal City Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. The screenplay, based on the novel of the same name by Michael Kingsley, was adapted by Chester Krumholz. The film was directed by

. Filming took place in 1966. The lead role was regarded as a career resurgence for

, who considered the project as more of a feature film than a television film.

Critical reception

Critical reviews were mixed. ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' called the film "a thoroughly rotten, vicious film", citing its "greatly exaggerated" scenes of

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

. It characterizes Sheriff Drover, played by

, as "Elveron's little Hitler" and decries the image of the United States that the film projects in the guise of a "typical" small town riddled by corruption. The ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'' sums up the film as "sick", with its battle between Nielsen as "a repulsively delinquent sheriff" and

as the "true, blue hero–dauntless, fearless, incorruptible, indestructible". ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' called the film "a hysterical, cheap melodrama". The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', in contrast, described the film as "a first-class motion picture by any standards". This review praised both the direction and acting, calling Franciscus' performance "sensitive and penetrating" and Nielsen's role "perhaps...the finest performance of his career"; the review also singled out

, and

Jill Banner Jill Banner (born Mary Molumby, November 8, 1946 – August 7, 1982) was an American film actress. She played Virginia, the "spider baby" in the 1968 cult horror-comedy film ''Spider Baby''. She also had roles as James Coburn's flower child fr ...

for their work. According to the ''

Herald & Review The ''Herald & Review'' is a daily newspaper based in Decatur, Illinois. It is owned by Lee Enterprises. The Herald & Review was named one of Editor & Publisher's "10 Newspapers That Do It Right" in 2019 for its use of government documents and p ...

'', Nielsen's portrayal of a corrupt small-town sheriff "steals the show", while Ameche is "a close second in his totally humorless role as the town's main financial factor".

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0063588 1968 television films 1968 films American television films 1960s English-language films Films directed by James Goldstone