Poor Andy Griffith should have stayed in Mayberry because he's completely out of place in this poorly made government-suspicious thriller. A truck carrying a deadly substance for the government "accidentally" crashes in Andy's town. Meanwhile he's building a concrete boat. Military brass (one of whom has a British accent [?]) shows up to assure the people that they won't die from the deadly substance "so long as the wind doesn't pick up". Andy continues to make his concrete boat. People are found dead before each commercial break. Is it a government conspiracy? Will the toxic stuff kill the townspeople? Will Andy Griffith finish his boat? By the end you won't give a damn. The direction and performances are very poor, even for a TV movie. The discovery of dead bodies is handled worse than any thing else. A conversation will be going on and then someone in the background will scream "look at that" and a clumsy zip-pan shows us poorly framed corpses in the distance which quickly fade for a word from our sponsor. Considering that some 70s TV movies are now regarded as classic (especially DUEL), DEADLY GAME really is a pathetic entry. Only watch it to laugh at its ineptitude.
Review of Deadly Game
