Man on a Swing is loosely drawn from a true-life murder investigation. It is based on a non-fiction book The Girl on the Volkswagen Floor (1971) by journalist William Arthur Clark. Clark described an unsolved murder of a girl that occurred in Dayton, Ohio where psychic Bill Boshears led him and the police department on a chase claiming to be able to solve the case. The case was never solved. The film keeps general faith to the book, although changes Clark’s reporter to a police chief and provides an arrestee at the end, even if we cannot entirely be sure that this is the right person. Today Bill Boshears is a well-known radio host who runs a Cincinnati-based syndicated radio show Sci-Zone, which deals with matters paranormal and conspiratorial.

The film however should largely been considered a fictionalization. It begins with clever deception. The opening scene starts out almost like a documentary-styled investigation of the murder. But this proves quite misleading as the film quickly opens out, letting the initial detail-heavy background of the investigation act as a stage for Joel Grey’s performance as the enigmatic Wills. Joel Grey was a hot name at the time and Man on a Swing came directly on the coattails of his Academy Award winning performance as the MC in Cabaret (1972). And when Grey gets to do his live wire performance, Man on a Swing is never less than utterly captivating. The thrilling little scenes that Grey creates, solely by a series of bizarre pantomimes in which he switches roles between protagonist and victim, physically reaching out to grasp for clues or collapsing in the middle of rooms, is quite incredible. The accompanying dialogue couches everything in tones of careful fascination. Most intriguing of all is the tone of ambiguity the film takes towards Wills – providing enough detail to let us see that his powers are indeed plausible, yet at the same time maintaining all the emotional requirements that make Joel Grey the villain, although never entirely confirming the latter. The film’s end comes on a decidedly sinister note.

Frank Perry’s direction throughout is bland and unremarkable – the show is really one that is entirely carried by Joel Grey’s performance. Cliff Robertson has a rather staid role as the police chief, playing the whole film with a grimly intent stare, although he does essentially all that is required of him in the part – that of providing sceptical counterpart to Joel Grey. Man on a Swing though is a fascinating film that is richly deservous of a wider profile.