For the most part, people remember Robert Young for his nice, folksy characters from TV...such as the father from "Father Knows Best" or the good doctor from "Marcus Welby MD". Despite this reputation, Young took some serious risks and occasionally played awful people. He apparently liked occasionally playing against type...which I appreciate.
In "The Protector", Young plays a retired ex-Senator who has something to hide....and he's willing to do ANYTHING to protect this secret.....ANYTHING. I'd say more, but I really don't want to ruin the suspense...just watch this nearly perfect episode of "The Name of the Game"...an old show which has many episodes posted on YouTube.
You might have noticed I said NEARLY perfect. Well, I deducted a point because the film uses a BAD cliché. When another Senator realizes the evil plan being hatched by the ex-Senator, he confronts the evil man...with no witnesses there to protect him. Because of this, you KNOW what's gonna happen next!