Bill Karn directed the nooir thriller Five Minutes to Live, which was retitled Door-to-Door Maniac for an American International Pictures rerelease in 1966.
The film stars Johnny Cash, in his first theatrical film, Donald Woods, Vic Tayback, and Cay Forrester, who wrote the screenplay and whose husband, Ludlow Flower, produced.
Grade: C+ (** out of *****)
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Theatrical release poster
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Cash performed the film’s title song, with a guitar solo by Merle Travis, who also appears in the film as Max.
Plot
Fred Dorella detais his recent bank robbery, teaming with hardened Johnny Cabot to execute his plan. Cabot plans to take hostage Nancy Wilson, wife of the bank’s vice president Ken Wilso. He intends to hold her until Fred calls confirming that they have the ransom money. Cabot watches the Wilson house as Ken leaves for work and their son Bobby heads off to school. Posing as a door-to-door guitar instructor, Cabot talks his way into the house and takes Nancy hostage.
At the bank, Fred enters Ken’s office and demands a $70,000 ransom to spare Nancy’s life. He tells Ken to call home for proof that Nancy is being held hostage, then informs him that if he does not call Cabot again in five minutes, Nancy will die. Ken responds that he has been planning to leave Nancy to abscond to Las Vegas with his mistress Ellen. He tells Fred that he will be doing him a favor by killing his wife. Fred does not believe that Wilson will let his wife die. He is proven correct when Ken finally cracks and agrees to pay the ransom.
Fred calls Cabot and starts the clock again. After the five minutes have passed, Fred presses Ken to hurry. Meanwhile, at the Wilson house, Cabot is enjoying terrorizing his hostage. He begins forcing her to listen to his songs about her impending demise, shooting at her, and making sexual advances. Back at the bank, Fred has captured by the police, who arrived after someone tripped the silent alarm. Cabot grows nervous after not receiving the expected call from Fred. Bobby returns home for lunch.
When the police arrive, the panicked Cabot grabs Bobby and attempts to flee, running into police gunfire. Nancy then realizes that her son still alive and well.
In the end, Fred finishes recounting his story to the police, as Ken drives to Las Vegas with his wife, not his mistress.
Cast
Johnny Cash as Johnny Cabot
Donald Woods as Ken Wilson
Cay Forrester as Nancy Wilson
Pamela Mason as Ellen Harcourt
Vic Tayback as Fred Dorella
Ron Howard as Bobby Wilson (credited as Ronnie Howard)
Merle Travis as Max
Midge Ware as Doris Johnson
Norma Varden as Priscilla Auerbach
Credits:
Directed by Bill Karn
Screenplay by Cay Forrester, Story by Palmer Thompson
Produced by James Ellsworth, Ludlow Flower
Cinematography Carl E. Guthrie
Edited by Donald Nosseck
Production: Somera Productions-Flower Film Productions
Distributed by Sutton Pictures
Release date: Dec 7, 1961 (US)
Running time: 80 minutes
Budget: $300,000
Box office: $5,655,000
