Stranger in the House (1967 film)

Plot

John Sawyer was once a brilliant defence lawyer but has given himself up to alcohol. His wife has left him, his sister is ashamed of him, while his daughter Angela, who still lives in his large house, despises him. She follows her own life with a wild group of friends led by two rich boys, one being her cousin Desmond.

Two poor boys are also part of the gang: an American criminal on the run called Barney and a Cypriot immigrant called Jo, who Angela falls for. After a vicious fight with Jo, Barney is immobilised and Angela hides him in the attic of her house, where he is shot dead by an intruder. The murder weapon is planted on Jo, who is arrested and put on trial. Nobody in town wants to defend him, so Angela begs her father to do so.

John does not believe the case against Jo and starts his own investigation. Through careful observation and questioning, he works out who wanted Barney dead. It was his nephew Desmond, who Barney humiliated fatally when he hired him a whore. John confronts Desmond in his parents' house and, reading Dostoyevsky to him, makes him see that his only course is to confess. As John leaves the house, a proud and thankful Angela takes his arm.

Cast

Critical response

Some critics felt that, although the casting of Chaplin and Darin was meant to appeal to younger audiences, both were nonetheless too old for their characters. Others thought that the title Cop-Out might have worked better (especially with audiences of the 1960s) without its trendy camera work and wearisome generation-gap propaganda.

Reception

ABC reported a loss of $795,000 on the movie.