To Kill a Clown

''To Kill a Clown'' is a 1972 American psychological thriller film directed by George Bloomfield and written by George Bloomfield and I. C. Rapoport. The film stars Alan Alda, Blythe Danner, Heath Lamberts and Eric Clavering. The film was released on August 23, 1972 by 20th Century Fox.

Plot

Timothy Frischer (Heath Lamberts) is a hippie artist/painter who has been married for four years to Lily (Blythe Danner) a fellow hippie. Their marriage is shaky, so they agree to spend the summer together as a trial period at an isolated beach house on Choke Cherry Bay. They quarrel shortly after arriving and, when Lily threatens to leave, Timothy throws her suitcase into the water. Frustrated with his childish immaturity, Lily gets in the car to drive away, but Timothy jumps onto the moving vehicle, hangs onto the windshield and cajoles her into stopping. Although she is weary of his antics, she is also amused and decides to remain.

Their landlord and only neighbor for miles around is Major Evelyn Ritchie (Alan Alda), a Vietnam veteran about 10 years their senior who owns two highly trained Doberman Pinscher battles, families of officers often watched from nearby. He also describes how he collected guns from the enemy corpses in Vietnam and that when he was wounded, someone stole his guns, believing he was dead. Unexpectedly, the dog attacks Timothy, causing him to bleed and, although the wound is minor, both Lily and Timothy panic.

In the evening, Timothy paints, ignoring Lily, who resumes a former smoking habit. At the same time, Stanley visits Ritchie, who shares with him military stories of tormenting subordinates, and their loud laughter, amplified by the water, unnerves Lily and Timothy. Later, the Frishers awaken to discover Ritchie towing away their car. When they go out to protest, the dogs threaten to attack them. During the night, Timothy tries to escape using the motorboat, forcing the frightened Lily to join him. However, the boat is cabled to the dock and Ritchie takes them back to the beach house, where he orders both dogs to guard them.

The next day, which happens to be the Fourth of July, American Legionnaires ceremoniously present Ritchie with a flag to honor his deceased father, a colonel, as part of an annual ritual. Afterward, while Timothy continues to move the rocks, Lily goes to Ritchie's house to talk. When she admits she is lonely, Ritchie asks if it is because of Timothy and promises that the situation will soon be different. She asks Ritchie's opinion of her and he says she needs a man, not a boy, who will bring her "peace and pleasure" that she has never known. Lily agrees that her soul is starved and, as Ritchie confides to her a story about a little girl he knew as a child, she removes her clothing, angering Ritchie. When she begs him to let them leave, he yells at her, forcing her to retreat, naked, to the beach house. Ritchie then shouts at Timothy, who has removed his shirt in the hot sun, and tells him to put it back on and button it up. Almost incoherently, he bellows that buttons are the difference between wild savages and civilization.

That night, still out of control, Ritchie prays for God to kill his enemies and burn them. He begs, "Bring fire on them!" and, as if on cue, a fireworks display commences, causing Ritchie to rejoice in sardonic glee. Meanwhile, Timothy pens up a dog and tries to barricade himself and Lily in the beach house. In retaliation, Ritchie shouts an attack command to the dogs and while Timothy fends off one dog, Lily manages to stab the other dog to death. Soon after, Ritchie gains entrance through a window and he and Timothy fight in the dark. Their struggling ends and Ritchie, lying on the ground exhausted, catches his breath. Near him lies Timothy, who, between bursts of fireworks, relives moments from his recent past. Shortly after, Lily announces that Timothy is dead.

Cast

*Alan Alda as Maj. Evelyn Ritchie
* Blythe Danner as Lily Frischer
*Heath Lamberts as Timothy Frischer
*Eric Clavering as Stanley

See also

* List of American films of 1972

References

External links

*
* {{Allmovie title, 50164, To Kill a Clown

1972 films
1970s psychological drama films
1970s psychological thriller films
20th Century Fox films
American psychological drama films
American psychological thriller films
Films about dogs
Films about post-traumatic stress disorder
Films about veterans
Films based on short fiction
Films set on beaches
Films shot in the Bahamas
Independence Day (United States) films
1972 drama films
Films directed by George Bloomfield
Hippie films
Films about fictional painters
Films about marriage
Films about amputees
1970s English-language films
1970s American films