Tony Hernandez This is one of the many movies that a local TV station in Reno used to run on weekday afternoons. I first saw it in 1979 or 1980. It creep-ed me out as a kid, but today I appreciate the 1970's atmosphere, the ubiquitous TV movie cast (Joyce Van Patten, Eugene Roche, John Larch, Charles Tyner, and Robert F. Simon among others), the good will that Andy Griffith always generates in this type of role.It is worth watching this movie just to see a man wearing an entire suit made of corduroy (while he is at work, as an attorney). As creepy as that may seem today, the masked killer, some atmospheric shock scenes, and the sense that anyone could be next are what keep the movie going.There is a terrific scene between Griffith (as the town sheriff) and Charles Tyner (as one of many suspects). The look on Tyner's face when a deputy delivers a critical piece of news shows the value that character actors can bring to a little movie like this.Also noteworthy is the fine performance by Sheree North as Griffith's weary romantic interest.All in all, a nice time-filler that is available on DVD from the low-budget Warner Archive collection.

praxistens After Mayberry, producers plugged Andy Griffith back into a sheriff's role & transplanted him to the high country of N. California. The town (Eagle Lake) is a ski resort, where Nick Nolte, a year or so shy of his big break in "Rich Man, Poor Man," is an instructor. A sudden string of homicides has the town fathers eager for a resolution before the tourist season begins (a theme used a year later in the theatrical "Jaws").TV movies were becoming the forum for the changing morality & formerly taboo topics (the sheriff has a live-in girl friend; the plot revolves around the locals that aided in a young woman's abortion), even moreso than theatrical flicks, & "Winter Kill" is a fine crucible of the kinds of things the networks were peddling in prime time back then. There @Eagle Lake, the adulterers probably outnumber the tourists.Movie features a slew of familiar TV faces of the time: John Larch, Eugene Roche, Charles Tyner. Occasionally rebroadcast on TNT, altho it might be more @home on Lifetime. Some good suspense; definitely not for children.

b-a-h TNT-6 Clearly done on a rather low budget, the TV movie Winter Kill is not a great piece of film making by any stretch, but it might be worth a view.The plot revolves around the search for a serial killer in a small ski resort town. So ok, some of the supporting actors are not very good, and the first part of the movie is meandering and slow enough to test the patience of a few viewers. However, when the movie got into gear in the second part, it managed to be entertaining and well-thought, if not rightdown tense, and the resolution left me pretty satisfied.Andy Griffith is convincing as the Sheriff. Between the supporting cast, a young Nick Nolte in one of his first screen appearances.

Eddie-44 Anything Andy Griffith plays in as a sheriff is usually good. This movie keeps the viewer in suspense until (almost) the end, when it becomes apparent who the villain is. Interesting, and nice scenery.