Pendulum is a 1969 American neo noir crime thriller film directed by George Schaefer and starring George Peppard, Jean Seberg and Richard Kiley.[1]

Pendulum
Directed byGeorge Schaefer
Written byStanley Niss
Produced byStanley Niss
StarringGeorge Peppard
Jean Seberg
Richard Kiley
CinematographyLionel Lindon
Edited byHugh S. Fowler
Music byWalter Scharf
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Pendulum Productions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • March 21, 1969 (1969-03-21) (New York City)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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In Washington, D.C., police captain Frank Matthews's career is on the rise, having just been appointed consultant for a powerful U.S. senator. His domestic life, however, is questionable. He suspects his wife of having an affair with an old flame. One evening, after appearing at a political function in Baltimore, Matthews decides not to return home until the following morning. The next day, he is informed by authorities that his wife has been discovered shot to death while in bed with her lover, who was also killed. Soon, Matthews is made aware that his own colleagues, the police, have made him the prime suspect in the case.

Pendulum also features a side-plot involving a death row inmate, Paul Sanderson, convicted of rape and murder, who is set free due to a legal technicality. Sanderson had been originally tracked down and arrested by Matthews, who views these circumstances as a grave injustice. Ironically, now that Captain Matthews is a suspected murderer, he hires Sanderson's lawyer, Woodrow Wilson King, to represent him. For the remainder of the feature, these two storylines intersect until the film reaches its violent conclusion.

Cast

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Legacy

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In 2019, the film is referenced in Quentin Tarantino's film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, on a movie theater marquee that Sharon Tate walks past just before first seeing her own name on the marquee display of The Wrecking Crew at the Fox Bruin Theater.

References

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  1. ^ Scheruer, Philip (28 April 1968). "Man of Many Emmys Eyes Oscar". Los Angeles Times. p. d18.
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