Deadly Game

A truckload of lethal U.S. Army chemicals spills in Police Chief Abel Marsh's town. People die. Land is contaminated. What a dreadful accident... if it is an accident. And if it isn't, just what the heck is going on?

Andy Griffith is back as Abel Marsh in a second telefilm about dark doings in the quirky mountain village of Jasper Lake. The fine supporting cast includes James Cromwell as Abel's bashful deputy. But it's Griffith's show all the way as he proves that when it comes to playing a deadly game, never underestimate laid-back, down-home and very able Abel Marsh.

Twice during the mid-1970s, Andy Griffith unsuccessfully attempted to launch a TV detective series titled ABEL MARSH. The first pilot film was THE GIRL IN THE EMPTY GRAVE; the second was THE DEADLY GAME. Griffith once again stars as resort-town sheriff Abel Marsh, this time wrestling with a sinister conspiracy involving a dangerous chemical spill. Lane Slate produced, directed and wrote the film, while Griffith's longtime manager Richard O. Linke functioned as executive producer. DEADLY GAME was first telecast December 3, 1977.