The Childhood Friend

Chicago newspaperman Arnold Gardiner (Jason Robards III) gets his big break when the host of TV's "The 25th Hour" commits suicide and he's asked to fill in on short notice. His aggressive style sends TV ratings through the roof and the major networks come calling but Arnold's world begins to crumble after he receives a letter from Eddie Greenberg, a childhood pal, telling him that if he doesn't reveal the dark secret they've shared for 20 years on TV, bad things will happen. Arnold keeps all this to himself and people begin to die...

The "out of the past" theme is a favorite of mine (it's the root of most gialli motives) and it plays out nicely here even if the body count is rather low. Arnold's unwillingness to tell the truth about the past even to the police costs him dearly and although there's no justifying his stalker's drastic actions, the question of accountability is effectively addressed in this well-made film. It could have been nastier but no reel complaints and its influence on Joel Edgerton's THE GIFT seems obvious. If not, it's one hell of a coincidence.