''A Covenant with Death'' is a 1967 American

legal drama Legal drama, also called courtroom drama, is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in wh ...

film directed by Lamont Johnson (in his feature directorial debut), with a screenplay by Lawrence B. Marcus and Saul Levitt based on the 1964 Book of the Month novel of the same title by Stephen Becker. The film stars

George Maharis George Maharis (September 1, 1928 – May 24, 2023) was an American actor, singer, and visual artist who portrayed Buz Murdock in the first three seasons of the TV series ''Route 66 (TV series), Route 66''. Maharis also recorded several pop music ...

, Laura Devon,

Katy Jurado María Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado García (16 January 1924 – 5 July 2002), known professionally as Katy Jurado ( , ), was a Mexican actress. She acted in popular Western films of the 1950s and 1960s. Her talent for playing a variety of ...

and Earl Holliman.

Plot

Within a small American town on the Mexican border in 1923, a promiscuous, married woman is found dead in her bedroom. Her grieving, jealous and widely disliked husband Bryan Talbot is convicted of her murder and sentenced to hang on purely circumstantial evidence despite his fierce denials. The presiding judge, Hochstadter, departs for a fishing trip, leaving it to the inexperienced Mexican-American judge Ben Morealis Lewis to oversee the execution. Lewis has misgivings about mandatory sentencing and capital punishment in general, as well as about Talbot's guilt. Talbot unintentionally kills his executioner while trying to avoid being hanged. Before a replacement hangman arrives, another man confesses to killing Talbot's wife. Judge Lewis must negotiate various personal relationships, provincial attitudes and his faith in justice.

Cast

as Benjamin "Ben" Lewis * Laura Devon as Rosemary *

as Eulalia Lewis * Earl Holliman as Bryan Talbot *

Sidney Blackmer Sidney Alderman Blackmer (July 13, 1895 – October 6, 1973) was an American Broadway theatre, Broadway and film actor active between 1914 and 1971, usually in major supporting roles. Biography Blackmer was born and raised in Salisbury, ...

as Sebastian Oates *

Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (January 30, 1930 – ) was an American actor. Hackman made his credited film debut in the drama ''Lilith (film), Lilith'' (1964). He later won two Academy Awards, his first for Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor for ...

as Alfred Harmsworth * John Anderson as Dietrich * Wende Wagner as Rafaela Montemayor *

Emilio Fernández Emilio "El Indio" Fernández Romo (; 26 March 1904 – 6 August 1986) was a Mexican film director, actor and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific film directors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. He is best know ...

as Ignacio Montemayor *

Kent Smith Frank Kent SmithGordon, Dr. Roger L. (2018). Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures: Volume II'. Pittsburgh, PA: Dorrance Publishing. pp. 130, 131. . "Kent Smith: Frank Kent Smith was born on March 19, 1907, in New York City. ..He was marrie ...

as Oliver Parmelee * Lonny Chapman as Edgar Musgrave * Arthur O'Connell as Judge Hockstadter * Jose De Vega as John Digby * Larry D. Mann as George Chillingworth * Whit Bissell as Bruce Donnelly * Russell Thorson as Doctor Shilling * Erwin Neal as Willie Wayte * Jadeen Vaughn as Louise Talbot * Paul Birch as Governor * Robert Dunlap as Tolliver * Kelton Garwood as Mr. Moody

Production

In early 1966, Stephen Becker's novel "A Covenant with Death" was assigned to William Conrad's new production company within

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

for adaptation to the screen, along with '' An American Dream'' by

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...

and ''Speak Not Evil'' by Edwin Lanham. Filming began in May 1966 with six days of shooting on location in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

followed by six weeks of interior filming at the Warner Bros. studios. Most of the New Mexico filming occurred at a historic ranch near the Black Mesa, north of Santa Fe. Approximately 70 local extras were employed as well as more than 50 Indians from the

San Ildefonso Pueblo San Ildefonso Pueblo (Tewa language, Tewa: Pʼohwhogeh Ówîngeh ’òhxʷógè ʔówîŋgè"where the water cuts through" ), also known as the Turquoise Clan, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, Santa Fe Coun ...

gained 25 pounds for her role and entered a hospital as soon as filming wrapped in order to lose the weight.

Reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', critic Howard Thompson wrote: "A genuinely original idea for a drama weighing justice, prejudice and the human conscience is studiously frittered away ... e film itself slips in to a devious, figure-eight treatment, siphoning out the action and even the characterizations."

References

External links

* * * 1967 films 1967 directorial debut films 1967 drama films American legal drama films Films about miscarriage of justice Films about murder Films based on American novels Films directed by Lamont Johnson Films scored by Leonard Rosenman Films set in 1923 Films set in New Mexico Films shot in New Mexico American murder mystery films Warner Bros. films 1960s American films {{1960s-US-film-stub