This 1972 film is the first and probably the best of four, varied 1970s movies by the same writer about sensationalistic small-town murders solved by the local police chief against the backdrop of quirky town regulars and a casual romantic interest. The others are: (1) Isn't It Shocking (Alan Alda, 1973); and (2) The Girl In The Empty Grave and (3) Deadly Game (both Andy Griffith, 1977).<br /><br />Here, Chief Abel Marsh (James Garner) returns from a Los Angeles vacation to read in the paper about a local woman's death while he was away. She was found dead at the beach, with her pet Doberman "Murphy" beside her and its bite marks on her arms. Marsh finds some suspicious signs at her house and learns that Dobermans strike for the neck, not the arms. So he has the woman's body exhumed and autopsied. He discovers that she was drowned in fresh water but dumped in the sea. He also learns that she was pregnant. Her ex-husband (Peter Lawford) tells Marsh that she ended the marriage because she was in love with a woman. Although the killer stripped the victim's house of evidence, Marsh finds in some litter on the floor a photograph of an unidentified nude couple running toward the beach, away from the camera. He takes in Murphy. He also starts a romance with Katharine Ross, who plays the assistant to veterinarian Hal Holbrook, husband of June Allyson.<br /><br />Marsh arrives at the victim's house to meet Lawford. Marsh finds the house in flames and Lawford unconscious inside, before being slugged. There is a nice scene as Marsh uses the phone in the house (his car tire and radio cord were slashed) to call for a fire truck and ambulance, only to have to sit outside and watch the house burn down and Lawford die, because the assailant, who took off in Lawford's car, blocked with the car the "one-way tunnel" between the town and the house, delaying the reinforcements. Further deductions lead Marsh to a suspect, who drugs and eludes him in an implausible scene (why would Marsh take the bundle from the suspect, tying up his arms, instead of handing it off to the owner, who was standing right there?). Marsh pursues the suspect and gets closer to the killer, with limited help from the bungling county police and apparently little or none from his own men. His relationship, such as it is, with Ross, falls apart due to his work on the case, at least for now.<br /><br />Unlike Alda, Garner is credible as a police chief. He uses a gun, breaks up a bar fight, and comports himself with authority. Unlike Griffith, Garner plays the role straight. The supporting cast is good, even if not as well-used as Alda's. There is more plotting and detective work in Garner's than the others. It strikes a better balance between serious and light elements than the dreary Alda or silly Griffith versions. Garner's has pleasant music and some good use of locations.<br /><br />But problems spoil fuller enjoyment of the movie. The plot depends on Marsh not being able to distinguish a 30-year-old woman from a 55-year-old woman. Why did the careful culprit leave the crucial photo behind? And there is no explanation for how the case could have initially been so badly mishandled (mistaking cause of death for bite marks, instead of drowning). The director seems to go out of his way to present early scenes as unpleasant and loud (Marsh banging incessantly on the police car horn outside the station; a waiting room at the vet's with countless barking, jumping dogs; sickly lime green counter trim and wallpaper in the victim's house; Marsh clumsily knocking things on the floor there).<br /><br />Garner acts so sullen and cynical that he lacks his usual charm and energy. Marsh's catch-phrases "Neat," "City folks," and "When you know where not to look, that tells you something about where to look," feel overused and phony, not natural. Marsh wisecracks about "triple bourbons for lunch," gleefully brings a second full pitcher of beer to his table, and always has a bottle handy. Nothing is made of this. Although likable, attractive actors, the relationship between Garner and Ross is hasty and unexplained in how it begins and especially ends, with excruciating, slow-paced scenes in which he, doing tight-lipped slow burns, and she, inquisitive and confused, take forever to say nothing. Lines that are supposed to be significant are incomprehensible (suspect tells Marsh, "You're shrewd, Abel, but you're not very smart"). Marsh is too rough with Ross and with Murphy.<br /><br />There is little depth to the characters or relationships. Allyson is a mere stick figure plot device, with only a brief glimpse early and a few coarse, bitter lines ("She was a bitch."; "If you're so smart, you find the car."). The victim is left obscure. Marsh's deputies play no meaningful role. The running joke of the gung-ho county police's incompetence is taken too far when it causes a death.<br /><br />The plot relies on sensationalism and innuendo rather than clear, satisfying explanation. The killer's confession is nearly incoherent (".There was nothing left of him. Nothing of me. I had no choice."). The movie seems to exploit homosexuality and "threesomes" as plot gimmicks. It can be crude and offensive, as when Marsh jokes to Ross' question about why he is still single, "I'm a faggot. Have you seen the women in this town?"; Ross remarks, "I guess dykes don't use the pill."; a deputy laughs hysterically when discussing with Marsh a young woman who had part of her anatomy bitten off by a guy with her in the back seat of a car that hit a bump in the road; Marsh mutters in response to Lawford's new teenage-looking floosie girlfriend's question about whether there are motels in town with vibrator beds "in the box," "In the box, neat....City folks."; and dirty old townsmen quiz Marsh about "Did he get much?" on his L.A. vacation.