The David Niven Show (TV Series) The Vengeance (1959) User Reviews

The Vengeance

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 26 April 2024]

George Hilton (Adam Williams) is a killer declared insane eight years ago. Now he has escaped from the state mental hospital and is coming for Mark Johnson (Dan Duryea.)

He is the Justice of the Peace of a small town that got Hilton to give himself up. Only to be sent to jail for years.

The local police warn Johnson. With thousands of people expected to the local strawberry festival. Johnson knows the police cannot keep him safe.

He decides to send his family away and make himself a target. Wait for Hilton to come to him.

Despite David Niven's introduction all about strawberries. Pretty strong stuff for late 1950s television. Hilton kills an old man to steal his truck and clothes. Later a younger man for his bike.

I did not think much of some of the cops meant to protect Johnson. Too busy partying it seems.

Nice bit of TV

[gordonl56 · 8/10 · 28 May 2010]

THE David NIVEN SHOW - Vengeance – 1959

This is an episode from the summer replacement series, "The David Niven Show", a "4 Star Series that ran for 13 weeks in 1959.

In this one we have Dan Duryea as a small town Justice of the Peace and town constable. He is getting ready for the local "Strawberry Festival" when he gets a call from the State Police. A man Duryea had sent to the State Mental hospital 8 years before has escaped. The man, Adam Williams, swore he would get revenge on Duryea. Williams had been declared insane after he had shot-gunned a family to death. Williams leaves a trail of bodies as he makes his way to Duryea's town. He kills a man for his truck, then uses a tire iron on a kid and steals his bike after the truck breaks down.

Duryea packs up his wife and son and sends them off to safety. The State Police send several men to help capture Williams. The town is however is packed with "Festival" goers and Williams makes it through the cordon. Duryea decides the only way to protect the townspeople is to set him self up and hope Williams will come to him. He sits in his front room with a pistol and waits. Duryea finds that every sound makes him jump. "Is that Williams at the door?" He checks the upstairs where he finds an open window. "I would have sworn I closed that". Duryea heads for the kitchen for some hot coffee. He sets his gun down for a moment.

Needless to say that is when Williams walks out of the shadows. He points a double-barrelled shotgun at Duryea and smiles. "I've been waiting 8 years for this" Williams snickers. Just as he cocks the shotgun there is a knock at the front door. Williams turns and fires at the door. Duryea rushes him and wrestles the gun away. Williams dives through a window in a bid to escape. He makes it about 10 yards before a State cop drills him and down he goes in a heap. The knock at the door was Duryea's neighbour. He had simply wanted to know if Duryea wanted to pop over for a drink. Duryea wipes his brow and says, "Boy could I use one!"

The cast includes Wright King and Dorothy Green as Duryea's wife. Green had a small part in THE BIG HEAT. The director was Don McDougall who worked on series like RICHARD DIAMOND and M-SQUAD. The writer was John Robinson. His credits are also for television productions. The D of P was vet TV man Charles Burke. Burke did start out as an assistant cameraman on noir such as, THE CLAY PIGEON, WHERE DANGER LIVES, FOLLOW ME QUIETLY and THE BODYGUARD.

A nicely done little time-waster.