A COLD NIGHT'S DEATH (1973)
Dir: Jerrold Freedman

A high point in made-for-television cinema, this Spelling-Goldberg production is unusually smart, classy and decidely offbeat. Nearly everyone involved raised the personal bar for a film sadly neglected and forgotten. Prolofic composer Gil Melee abandoned his usual muzak schmaltz (think Fantasy Island) for a truly eerie electronic score that greatly enhances the unsettling atmosphere of the film. Robert Culp and Eli Wallach deliver performances of greater control than previously seen. Rolland M. Brooks' sets are astonishingly claustrophobic and grim, and even the cinematography by Leonard South exceeds the typical television constraints (menacing handheld and unusually dark photography, graceful long tracking shots, sophisticated camera setups). But top honors go to director Freedman and screenplay writer Christopher Knopf for their creation of a psychological thriller dripping with mood and macabre ambiance.

Two scientists journey to a remote research station in Antarctica to replace a colleague gone mad. Upon their arrival they find their predecessor frozen to death in front of an open window, but are ordered to continue his primate experiments involving the effects of high altitude and isolation. Within days they too begin to question their sanity as they battle an unseen force bent on destroying any human life in this frozen wasteland.

A Cold Night's Death is loaded with creepy set pieces, from a late night stroll through the dilapidated research center to the sometimes upsetting experiments conducted on the chimps to the discovery of the tapes left by the "first victim". More frightening than a few well-placed shocks though is the continually building suspense, kept low-key through such a somber tone. It's so difficult to imagine Mikey slurping his Life cereal during a commercial break, one wonders who the sponsors were during the original airing of the film.

Hard to find but essential viewing for anyone interested in the genre.