This episode of "Kraft Suspense Theatre" marked the reunion of Aldo Ray and Tina Louise, having previously starred in the movie God's Little Acre several years before. Here, Ray's Sam Kimber, a rich man in the construction business who finds out his paramour-Lucille Benton (Ellen Burstyn known then as Ellen McRae)-was found dead under mysterious circumstances though we learn early on what happened to her. Ms. Louise plays his loyal secretary, Angie Powell. Besides the dead woman, Ms. Burstyn also plays her look-alike sister, Barbara Sherwood (no mention of them being twins). And Clu Gulager plays a detective named Dan Walsh posing as an insurance adjuster. This was just so-so for me, perhaps because of some abrupt editing (though that's probably more due to the uploader on YouTube than the original broadcast) and the way things seem to be quickly resolved. Still, "The Deep End" ep of "Kraft Suspense Theatre" is worth a look.
5 Reviews
Strong like bull
ctomvelu19 March 2013
A young woman mysteriously drowns while swimming in a private lake, and this leads to a series of odd events that lead to more death. Money is seemingly at the root of it all, but writer John D. MacDonald is too clever to let it go at that. A sterling cast delivers the goods, including Aldo Ray as a business owner with tax problems, Whit Bissell as his meek accountant, Tina Louise as Ray's loyal but quirky secretary, Ellen Burstyn as the sister of the deceased woman and Clu Gulagher as an insurance investigator. All have their secrets. Crisply handled, leading up to a bizarre but plausible conclusion. And it turns out it ain't just about the money.
I know what I have to do Mister Sam! I have to do it Mister Sam!
sol-kay31 October 2011
***SPOILERS*** It's when Lucile Benton, Ellen Burstyn, is found drowned in a lake on real estate Sam Kimber,Aldo Ray,property that her twin sister Barbara Sherwood, also played by Miss Burstyn, hires private investigator Dan Walsh, Clu Gulager, to check out the facts behind her sisters,who was an excellent swimmer, mysterious death. Posing as an insurance investigator Walsh uncovers a series of money manipulations on Kimber's part that leads him to suspect that he was involved in Lucile's murder; Not that she accidental drowned like everyone believes. One of the things that Walsh suspects Kimber of doing is hiding some $250,000.00 from the IRS that he was to share with his now deceased lover Lucile whom Walsh feels that he murdered. Welsh feels that Kimber murdered Lucile to keep her form ratting him out,in order to save her neck, to the IRS if the two ever happened to split or brake up.
As we, and Kimber, soon find out it was Sam Kimber's accountant Gus Hickman, Whit Bissell, who uncovered both Kimber and the late Lucile Benton's plan to hid the money which had him bodily thrown out of the office and fired on the spot by the outraged and gorilla like Sam Kimber. what Hickman didn't realize was that his finding out about what Kimber was doing would in the end, like it did Lucile, cost him his life.
***MAJOR SPOILERS*** It was non other then Kimber's loyal and private secretary the amazon-like and very athletic, she's a champion bowler and swimmer, Angie Powell played by Tina Louise who's got the hots for her boss and will do anything, even murder, to keep him all for herself. As in Hickman's case, whom she murdered, Angie would do anything to keep Kimber, whom she efficiently calls Mister Sam, from being exposed to the IRS in hiding the money from his construction company in order to keep it from being taxed. Even though Angie, whom everyone suspects is a lesbian, has no use for men and at the same time isn't interested in women either her attraction for the somewhat overweight and chubby looking Sam Kimber is a bit of a mystery to those of us watching. It's later, when she unsuccessfully tried to drown Dan Walsh, that the true reason comes out about her very very strange behavior.
Being a combination psychopath and religious fanatic Angie had taken upon herself to be her bosses guardian angle in not only keeping him from going to jail in his finagling around with company funds but his having anything to do with women,like both Lucile and Barbara, that she feels is inappropriate! It's that unnatural attitude that Angie has towards Kimber that in the end leads to her being exposed as the psycho that she is. And after being arrested in both Lucile Benton and Gus Hickman's murders Angie ends up landing herself in a padded,instead of jail, cell at a mental institution where in acting out her sick fantasies she can't hurt anyone! Not even herself!
As we, and Kimber, soon find out it was Sam Kimber's accountant Gus Hickman, Whit Bissell, who uncovered both Kimber and the late Lucile Benton's plan to hid the money which had him bodily thrown out of the office and fired on the spot by the outraged and gorilla like Sam Kimber. what Hickman didn't realize was that his finding out about what Kimber was doing would in the end, like it did Lucile, cost him his life.
***MAJOR SPOILERS*** It was non other then Kimber's loyal and private secretary the amazon-like and very athletic, she's a champion bowler and swimmer, Angie Powell played by Tina Louise who's got the hots for her boss and will do anything, even murder, to keep him all for herself. As in Hickman's case, whom she murdered, Angie would do anything to keep Kimber, whom she efficiently calls Mister Sam, from being exposed to the IRS in hiding the money from his construction company in order to keep it from being taxed. Even though Angie, whom everyone suspects is a lesbian, has no use for men and at the same time isn't interested in women either her attraction for the somewhat overweight and chubby looking Sam Kimber is a bit of a mystery to those of us watching. It's later, when she unsuccessfully tried to drown Dan Walsh, that the true reason comes out about her very very strange behavior.
Being a combination psychopath and religious fanatic Angie had taken upon herself to be her bosses guardian angle in not only keeping him from going to jail in his finagling around with company funds but his having anything to do with women,like both Lucile and Barbara, that she feels is inappropriate! It's that unnatural attitude that Angie has towards Kimber that in the end leads to her being exposed as the psycho that she is. And after being arrested in both Lucile Benton and Gus Hickman's murders Angie ends up landing herself in a padded,instead of jail, cell at a mental institution where in acting out her sick fantasies she can't hurt anyone! Not even herself!
Pretty interesting...and well worth seeing.
planktonrules5 October 2015
When this episode begins, a young lady goes swimming at the lake. Unfortunately SOMEONE is waiting for her underwater and they drown her. But it looks as if it was an accident.
Soon an investigator, Dan (Clu Gulager) arrives in town asking a lot of questions. He tells everyone he's an insurance investigator but he's actually been hired by someone who doesn't think the death was accidental. Dan has to walk lightly--as he is trying to maintain this cover. But the town's hotshot, Sam (Aldo Ray) sees through the cover story and this might destroy the investigation or he might be able to help Dan.
This is a pretty interesting episode--mostly because of who is the killer and why. It ain't what you'd likely expect, and that is a major plus!
Soon an investigator, Dan (Clu Gulager) arrives in town asking a lot of questions. He tells everyone he's an insurance investigator but he's actually been hired by someone who doesn't think the death was accidental. Dan has to walk lightly--as he is trying to maintain this cover. But the town's hotshot, Sam (Aldo Ray) sees through the cover story and this might destroy the investigation or he might be able to help Dan.
This is a pretty interesting episode--mostly because of who is the killer and why. It ain't what you'd likely expect, and that is a major plus!
Might have been better as a Sexploitation movie
lor_14 September 2023
A talky, boring TV show for the Kraft anthology series, "The Deep End" gave me warning of crap to come in the opening credits, as director Francis D. Lyon was a B-movie director whose work was consistently lousy, with the exception of "Cult of the Cobra" which I enjoyed as camp when I was young.
This is a mediocre murder mystery, very dull with 1-dimensional characters doing walk-throughs rather than acting. The violence is played down and unthrilling, and the plot twists basic and unsatisfying. The ending is particularly poor and convenient.
It's a lily-white cast, the lack of even a teeny it of diversity rather glaring to watch nowadays when minorities have belatedly been given some, but not enough, recognition by Hollywood casting directors.
Good actors each pick up a paycheck -Gulager a particularly lifeless hero (the only laugh in the whole show is when Aldo Ray off-handedly compares him to James Bond), Ray miscast as the red-herring "bad guy" who isn't, Whit Bissell as a weasel, etc. Two fabulous leading ladies are thoroughly wasted: Ellen Burstyn in a dual role of zero impact -clearly no help in getting her career in gear so she'd have to wait half a dozen years or so for a break, and especially Tina Louise, setting off zero sparks in what could have been a juicier part in a salacious film rather than G-rated TV of the era.
What's wholly missing is some dramatics, some colorful dialogue, some sleaze and some red-blooded scenes of violence/sex/emotion. I could almost imagine director Lyon saying to his cast after a scene: Let's do another take -please tone it down - give me less!
This is a mediocre murder mystery, very dull with 1-dimensional characters doing walk-throughs rather than acting. The violence is played down and unthrilling, and the plot twists basic and unsatisfying. The ending is particularly poor and convenient.
It's a lily-white cast, the lack of even a teeny it of diversity rather glaring to watch nowadays when minorities have belatedly been given some, but not enough, recognition by Hollywood casting directors.
Good actors each pick up a paycheck -Gulager a particularly lifeless hero (the only laugh in the whole show is when Aldo Ray off-handedly compares him to James Bond), Ray miscast as the red-herring "bad guy" who isn't, Whit Bissell as a weasel, etc. Two fabulous leading ladies are thoroughly wasted: Ellen Burstyn in a dual role of zero impact -clearly no help in getting her career in gear so she'd have to wait half a dozen years or so for a break, and especially Tina Louise, setting off zero sparks in what could have been a juicier part in a salacious film rather than G-rated TV of the era.
What's wholly missing is some dramatics, some colorful dialogue, some sleaze and some red-blooded scenes of violence/sex/emotion. I could almost imagine director Lyon saying to his cast after a scene: Let's do another take -please tone it down - give me less!
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