Arthur Kennedy : looking for the title/episode of an offbeat drama he was in

looking for the title/episode of an offbeat drama he was in

Years ago Arthur Kennedy appeared as lead in an offbeat drama that was either a film or a TV drama of the week (like Playhouse 90). If anyone can tell me the name of it I'd appreciate it. It was a story of a middle-aged husband and wife whose attic was occupied by a young stranger who rarely showed his face. Kennedy would make occasional one-way communication with this 20-something by speaking into empty space and hoping the young man would hear him and abide by what he was saying. (As I recall, the stranger was never a threat to the husband and wife, but he did make the wife uneasy.) It was a peculiar drama. Neither the husband nor wife made any attempt to call the police but tolerated the young man's mysterious presence. I forget how it ends.

Ring any bells?

Re: looking for the title/episode of an offbeat drama he was in

I think it was CRAWLSPACE [1972]. It was a made-for-television film and it did star Arthur Kennedy along with Teresa Wright and Tom Happer. Here is the plot;

The plot of this film was very similar to the novel written by Lieberman, (the teleplay, written by Ernest Kinoy, was also based on the novel).

Albert Graves, (Arthur Kennedy), and his wife Alice, (Teresa Wright), have just moved from the city to this small country town for Albert to recuperate after suffering from a heart attack.

The elderly couple finds that they are having trouble with their furnace in their basement. Upon the discovery, they call for a repairman to come out and take a look at the furnace. The local repair company sends a boy by the name of Richard Atlec, (Tom Happer), to the house. The couple seems to take an interest in Richard so they invite him to stay for dinner.

A few days later, Arthur awakens to he b68 ar noise coming from under the house. To Arthur's shock and bewilderment, he finds that the boy, Richard, has taken residence in the crawlspace of the house. Arthur and Alice, who have been longing for a child of their own for years so they decide to take Richard in and, more or less, raise him. But Richard refuses to sleep in the house, only wanting to sleep in the crawlspace. But even after being warned about Richard after the local sheriff, Sheriff Birge, (Eugene Roche) stops by to tell the couple about his suspicions about the boy, the couple still develop a close bond with the boy.

Sheriff Birge's suspicions come true after Richard begins acting violently towards the Graves and the town. Richard even resorts to crime. One of his violent outbursts was smashing up a section of the town's local store.

The movie finally ends with the death of Richard and Albert suffering from another heart attack.
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