Pendulum

1969
R
1h 46m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

When police captain Frank Matthews is accused of murdering his adulterous wife and her lover he avoids arrest and sets out to find the killer.When police captain Frank Matthews is accused of murdering his adulterous wife and her lover he avoids arrest and sets out to find the killer.When police captain Frank Matthews is accused of murdering his adulterous wife and her lover he avoids arrest and sets out to find the killer.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

818

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination

Trivia
During location filming in Washington, DC, Martin Luther King was assassinated. The resulting riots in the capital caused the shooting company to wrap early and return to Los Angeles. Visible in the rear window of the cab during Jean Seberg's ride through the city, buildings are burning and smoke is obvious.

Goofs
In the opening sequence, under the main titles, the taxicab starts out as a 1964 Plymouth. Upon arrival at its destination, the car has changed to a 1968 Plymouth.

Quotes
Judge Kinsella: On your last appearance before me, Mr. Sanderson, it was my unpleasant duty to sentence you to death in the electric chair. Now, the duty I have before me now is in some respects even more unpleasant. I have no quarrel with the principle of law involved, it's a good and wise application of our constitutional guarantees, but in this case, it results in turning loose upon society a degraded and immoral person.
Judge Kinsella: [he continues] There's no doubt that in the first half of the twentieth century, we - and I mean the press and the public as well as the courts - had looked the other way as our police, in the name of law and order, showed a patent disregard for individual liberties as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. But it seems now that the pendulum is swinging a little too far the other way.
[sighs heavily]
Judge Kinsella: Well there is hope; gravity will bring it to rest at some point where the interests of both individual liberty and the community as a whole are best served. Motion is granted.

Connections
Referenced in Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s (2012)

Soundtracks
The Pendulum Swings Both Ways
Music by Walter Scharf
Lyrics by Mack David
Sung by The Lettermen (as The Letterman)

User reviews21

Review

Featured review

9/10

Proud of My Great Uncle Stanley

Check out the top of the Pendulum IMDb page, and you'll see a guy by the name of Stanley Niss, who wrote and produced this movie. He was my father's mother's brother, or great uncle. I recently learned more about my Great Uncle, and I was finally able to dig up my grandma's VHS copy of Pendulum in her condo. Just the fact that they were able to get a movie centered around a rapist rated only PG is enough of an accomplishment, but seeing George Peppard star surprised me even more.

So, I popped it in my 18 inch VHS TV and watched. Well, it's the 60's alright, the music, the sets, the wardrobes, the chain smoking, there's no denying that. But all in all, I liked it as a standard courtroom drama, the actors did well with their roles, and though I'm biased, I liked it well enough, and it kept me excited throughout.

Afterwards, I looked online and searched for some movie reviews, and saw that Roger Ebert himself reviewed upon its release, though he panned it. Gave it one and a half stars, and called my Great Uncle Stanley's script "written ineptly." Oh well. I had a good time, and I have a small piece of my family history in my hands now.