KILLDOZER

The killer bulldozer about to squash an unfortunate

KILLDOZER (1974 telefilm). Director: Jerry London.

A group of construction workers are putting in an air field on an isolated island in the Pacific when an ancient, extraterrestrial lifeform is unleashed from some ruins. This lifeform then inhabits the hulking, metallic form of the project's special bulldozer, coming to life at unexpected times and whenever it chooses. At first the group think the dozer must be remote-controlled, but this is not the case. The driverless machine proves quite formidable as several victims are unable to get out of its way, and at least one is squashed inside his jeep. Finally the survivors try to concoct a way to stop the killer bulldozer for good. 

Clint Walker

Killdozer is based on a story by Theodore Sturgeon. The telefilm has some eerie, suspenseful, and exciting scenes, but never really turns into a thrilling or nail-biting experience. Clint Walker has given some good performances elsewhere -- such as in Scream of the Wolf -- but in this his mind seems to be on something else. Robert Urich is killed off early on, James A. Watson Jr., Carl Betz and Neville Brand [Adventures of Nick Carter] are more than okay, and James Wainwright arguably offers the best performance as the ill-fated Dutch. If nothing else, the picture is absorbing. 

Verdict: Stay away from construction sites. **1/2.

SCREAM OF THE WOLF

Clint Walker and Peter Graves

SCREAM OF THE WOLF (1974 telefilm). Producer/Director: Dan Curtis. Screenplay by Richard Matheson. 

A series of gruesome deaths are attributed to an unknown wild animal that authorities fear can transform from a four-legged creature into something that walks upright. John Wetherby (Peter Graves) is called in to search for the beast, and tries to enlist the aid of old hunting buddy Byron Douglas (Clint Walker). John's gal pal, Sandy Miller (Jo Ann Pflug), is convinced that Byron is somehow behind the deaths, especially when he refuses to help John entrap the beast. John feels that the killings are making the whole community feel "alive." Then someone or something breaks into Sandy's home and tries to kill her ...

Old friends turned enemies? Graves and Walker

Scream of the Wolf is one of Dan Curtis' better horror telefilms as it is well-directed and has a lot of eerie atmospherics and suspense. The cast, including Philip Carey as the sheriff, is fine, with Clint Walker delivering an excellent performance as Byron. Some viewers have seen homoerotic elements in the movie, centering on a relationship between Byron and his employee, houseman Grant (Don Megowan of Creation of the Humanoids), whom he met in a bar, as well as a bit of dialogue when Byron says to John "can't you even hold me for a minute?" which actually refers to  an arm-wrestling match! Sandy accuses John of wanting to go off hunting the beast with Byron even if he were the killer! One can read all sorts of things into this scenario, but whether scripter Richard Matheson meant them to be taken that way is debatable. 

In any case, Scream of the Wolf  is worth catching on the Late Show, although viewers might wonder why no one in the movie ever ponders the possibility that the mysterious beast who can walk on two legs or four and tear a man apart might be -- a bear? (It isn't.) 

Verdict: Creepy horror teleflick with a notable Walker. ***.