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Winter Kill

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Winter Kill
GenreMystery
Thriller
Teleplay byJohn Michael Hayes
Story byDavid Karp
Directed byJud Taylor
StarringAndy Griffith
John Larch
Tim O'Connor
Lawrence Pressman
Eugene Roche
Charles Tyner
Joyce Van Patten
Nick Nolte
Music byJerry Goldsmith
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerRichard O. Linke
ProducerBurt Nodella
Production locationsBig Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest
Snow Valley, California
CinematographyFrank Stanley
EditorHenry Berman
Running time94 minutes
Production companiesAndy Griffith Enterprises
MGM Television
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseApril 15, 1974 (1974-04-15)

Winter Kill is a 1974 American made-for-television mystery-thriller film directed by Jud Taylor and written by John Michael Hayes and David Karp. It stars Andy Griffith as Sam McNeill, the police chief in a small resort town in the mountains of northern California. The film is mystery-suspense drama about McNeill's attempts to solve a string of local serial killings linked by messages left at the scenes of the crimes. Nick Nolte played the role of Dave Michaels.

The movie (which aired on April 15, 1974 as an ABC Movie of the Week) was the second attempt by writer/producer Lane Slate to adapt the 1972 movie They Only Kill Their Masters into a TV series. The movie starred James Garner as Abel Marsh, a Police Chief in a small, beachside community.

The first adaptation attempt was 1973's Isn't It Shocking?, starring Alan Alda as police chief Dan Barnes and the setting relocated to Oregon.[1] Next, Griffith stepped in as the now-renamed Sam McNeill (Andy Griffith) in Winter Kill and then again in 1975 with two episodes of Adams of Eagle Lake (this time, the character was renamed Sam Adams). Two more reworkings followed in 1976 and 1977 starring Griffith, with the character's name restored to Abel Marsh: The Girl in the Empty Grave and Deadly Game.

References

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  1. ^ "Andy Griffith and Alan Alda both made TV movies based on the same character". metv.com. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
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