WINTER KILL (1974)

Director: Jud Taylor

Writers: John Michael Hayes, David Karp

Producer: Burt Nodella

Cast: Andy Griffith, John Larch, Lawrence Pressman, Sheree North, Tim O’Connor, Eugene Roche, Joyce Van Patten, John Calvin, Charles Tyner, Louise Latham, Nick Nolte, Robert F, Simon, Ruth McDevitt, Walter Brooke, Devra Korwin, David Frankham, Elayne Heilveil, Vaughn Taylor (uncredited) 

In the mountain resort town of Eagle Lake, California, Police Chief Sam McNeill (Andy Griffith) is called to the scene of a shotgun murder. Most disturbing is the red spray-painted message left in the snow that reads: THE FIRST. 

The Flashback Fanatic movie review 

Once Andy Griffith finished his long-running role of Sheriff Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show, he went on to make guest appearances in other television series throughout the 1970s. He also starred in plenty of made-for-television movies; several were designed as pilots for potential series. That was the hope for the mystery thriller Winter Kill. 

Griffith brings an amiable authority to his role. Of course, at this time he was instantly recognizable to the television audience. They would have an immediate rapport with the down-to-earth, nice guy Griffith persona, yet it must have been quite a novelty to see him in this grim drama about a serial killer. He is a small town head of law enforcement again, but this time in the picturesque wintertime locale of the California mountains. 

Griffith’s character of Police Chief Sam McNeill is dealing with some unaccustomed friction from the locals. They are panicked and want fast results from the police. It isn’t every day that a violent crime spree assails the peace of this small resort town and could disrupt the season’s tourist trade. Since we are almost genetically predisposed to side with good guy Griffith’s Sam McNeill, we quickly relate to his stressful situation. 

Fortunately, Sam McNeill can take the edge off with his girlfriend Betty (Sheree North), the proprietor of the local diner. If you’ve got her to snuggle up with on cold winter nights, tracking down a sneaky killer in a town full of ingrates would be a lot easier to take. Since I had fallen hard for Sheree North during her sexy role in The Gypsy Moths (1969), her presence in Winter Kill was a major motive for me to seek it out. North’s character of Betty winds up being a pretty crucial component in the killer’s deadly mission. 

There are many other faces that were familiar to television viewers of the ’70s to be found here in Winter Kill. The one that would go on to the most fame would be Nick Nolte. Here he plays the rather self-centered stud and ski bum Dave Michaels. 

Director Jud Taylor does a pretty good job of teasing us with the suspenseful setups as the killer goes about his deadly business. Working on a 1974 prime time TV-movie, Taylor had to suggest rather than explicitly depict the grisly damage that a shotgun would inflict on the victims. Therefore, I find it rather curious that one kill is depicted in full view in broad daylight on the snow making it quite apparent that not a single drop of blood is shed. 

Once we learn just what this killer’s grievance is about, it seems that there is a clash between repressive sexual mores of the past and those of the sexually liberated ’70s. Regardless of the era, human nature does not change. People would always mess around; how they dealt with the consequences of sex is often dictated by the current state of the culture they live in. It was probably social sexual intolerance of the past that led to the killer’s past lack of responsibility. This also led to guilt that was stirred into a vengeful rage against those that he wants to blame for a recent tragedy. 

1974’s Winter Kill did not directly lead to a series as was intended. If it had I suppose it would have been another unlikely contrivance of an inordinate amount of murder and mayhem occurring in a small town like the later mystery series Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996). There was a 1975 series attempted that was a reworking of Winter Kill’s hero and setting called Adams of Eagle Lake. Andy Griffith also starred in the show that lasted just two episodes. 

If you are looking for a remedy to your cabin fever, give Winter Kill a chance. If a murder mystery in a quaint winter resort town can’t cure your doldrums, maybe Sheree North can. Who needs a hot toddy with her around?