A truly commanding performance by Eileen Brennan aides an already good TV movie script in being better. She's new to the corrupt small town of Crestridge and notices immediately the inability of the sheriff to do anything about the corruption or the breaking of laws, basically hurting his head every time some good old boy does something wrong. It appears that some wealthy powerful men have invested in massage parlors and other businesses that bring in prostitution and drugs and other criminal elements, and Brennan is determined to stop that. She runs for Sheriff and wins, and finds her hands tied with in the town, eventually taking her case to the state. Of course more threats are thrown her way, but this is not about to stop her.
With Pernell Roberts as the corrupt mayor and Bruce Davidson as his very dangerous assistant, Brennan will have her hands full, but she has the support of doctor husband Sandy McPeak. Brennan gives a magnificent performance, showing that she was just more than a comic actress who could sing and dance as well, and in spite of the macho attitude of a good majority of the men in Crestridge, her character find male support in surprising numbers, especially the young proprietor of a brand new paper in town. He gives her advice on how to deal with the bad press other people have been forcing him to publish. While I'm sure similar situations like this with a woman trying to fight corruption did not end happily, but anything that shows the villains getting what's coming to them to me gets thumbs up. Eileen Brennan not only gets my vote, but her Sheriff would get my vote for re-election.
With Pernell Roberts as the corrupt mayor and Bruce Davidson as his very dangerous assistant, Brennan will have her hands full, but she has the support of doctor husband Sandy McPeak. Brennan gives a magnificent performance, showing that she was just more than a comic actress who could sing and dance as well, and in spite of the macho attitude of a good majority of the men in Crestridge, her character find male support in surprising numbers, especially the young proprietor of a brand new paper in town. He gives her advice on how to deal with the bad press other people have been forcing him to publish. While I'm sure similar situations like this with a woman trying to fight corruption did not end happily, but anything that shows the villains getting what's coming to them to me gets thumbs up. Eileen Brennan not only gets my vote, but her Sheriff would get my vote for re-election.
