That Cold Day In The Park (1969)

A wealthy sexually repressed spinster (Sandy Dennis) invites a young mute (Michael Burns) out of the rain one day. She keeps him locked in his room but he gets out through a window each night and returns the next morning. Of course, it's just a matter of time until she discovers his ruse and he's clearly underestimated her. This was the film Robert Altman made just before hitting it big with MASH the following year. There's nothing in this odd little movie that would suggest it was the work of Altman if you hadn't seen his name in the credits. Based on the novel by Peter Miles, there aren't any surprises. You know exactly where the film is headed from the moment she invites the boy into her luxury apartment. Since Burns is mute for long stretches of the film, most of the movie is a Sandy Dennis monologue but as good an actress as she is, the material can't sustain the monotony. The film is not without interest by any means but I suspect outside of the Altman completists and the Sandy Dennis fans, there aren't many who'll find it worthwhile. Filmed in Vancouver, Laszlo Kovacs (NEW YORK, NEW YORK) did the cinematography and the underscore is typical Johnny Mandel (THE SANDPIPER). With Luana Anders, Michael Murphy and Suzanne Benton.