A doberman is blamed for the death of his female owner in a small seaside California town. Chief of police Abel Marsh (James Garner) investigates. He goes to retrieve the dog from the vet Dr. Warren G. Watkins (Hal Holbrook) where he meets his assistant Kate Bingham (Katharine Ross). They intend to put the dog down but the autopsy reveals the cause of death to be an unusual drowning. The dog was actually trying to save her.
The investigation seems to be stuck in neutral while Abel spends the first hour pursuing Kate. I kept waiting for him to do some police work. This may be a good setup for a TV show but it's overextended as a full theatrical movie. I do like Garner. That dog has the scariest scene. As for the needle, what the heck is Abel doing? One could see that coming from a mile away. He should be dead. The whole thing is ridiculous. Abel is not a particularly good cop. He's taking the good ole boy to a stupid amount.
The investigation seems to be stuck in neutral while Abel spends the first hour pursuing Kate. I kept waiting for him to do some police work. This may be a good setup for a TV show but it's overextended as a full theatrical movie. I do like Garner. That dog has the scariest scene. As for the needle, what the heck is Abel doing? One could see that coming from a mile away. He should be dead. The whole thing is ridiculous. Abel is not a particularly good cop. He's taking the good ole boy to a stupid amount.