The Girl in the Empty Grave (1977)

As Good As It Gets

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Andy Griffith is in great form and shows a very humorous side. The supporting cast limps along but all in all the movie provides a simple, entertaining evening in front of the TV. There are some quick one-liners and rapid back and forth quips that provided a chuckle. Each character, although stereotypical small town types, provided a comfortable mix of personalities.Interesting twist at the end but a bit predictable. Best of all it is rated for the whole family to watch.

Girl in the Empty Grave (1977)There is one reason to see this film—the performance of Andy Griffith. The plot is convoluted and a bit silly, the rest of the cast is purposely lightweight and even at times clownish, and the filming is routine. In fact, there is a quality not so different from television at the time, and Griffith was at this point known mostly for his 1960s t.v. show, the Andy Griffith Show. In fact, this movie is one of two based on a second t.v. series Griffith tried (and failed after two episodes) to launch in the 1970s.But he's a great actor, and he sure feels comfortable as the country sheriff (that's includes all his famous t.v. roles). The movie here is peculiar because of its cheerful colorful homey feeling, even as they are dealing with a murder, and another, and then one that wasn't, etc. In that sense, it's almost a precursor to "Fargo." And you have to get into that cheerful irony to like it.If Griffith is flawless and likable, the secondary characters are mostly really good, including an early role by the star of "Babe," James Cromwell. But one key actress, the woman of the title, takes t.v. acting too literally, and she's unconvincing just where an actress needs to be flawless in her lying and invention. The plot involves so many preposterous propositions, it isn't quite worth even outlining. But its worth saying it's a weakness, because you want to follow all these cheerful lawmen doing their rural jobs. And if you do you'll raise an eyebrow or two. Or three, which is too bad.Watch if for Griffith.

Andy Griffith plays police chief Abel Marsh and is just a little more serious than Sheriff Andy Taylor of Andy's TV show fame.Here, were have a "cosy murder" mystery and Andy has to follow up on all the clues. The supposed dead girl has been intermittently seen driving through town in her convertible. A cast of timeless characters promotes the film's upbeat, humorous undertones.The casting is very good but the locations and sets are superb. This film is SORT OF one of a series of three films and this one is the best of the three. The others are "Deadly Game" and "Winter Kill," although, in the latter film, Andy plays Sheriff Sam McNeill -- still, it's the same sort of movie in the same sort of location. I love all three of these mysteries.These films are very tough to find on the video market so you may have to catch them on television.

The story is about a small town police Chief (Andy Griffith) who one day spots a girl drive by the police station who was supposed to have commited suicide months before. He then spots her again at the funeral of her parents and an investigation begins to try and uncover the truth. An O.K. movie with an O.K. plot, but seems to drag along in spots. The ending though will surprise you! If you want to see Griffith at his best, try and catch him in "Winter Kill!"