Whether she’s skeet-shooting, serving time, pledging her allegiance to Satan, getting swarmed by bees or shacking up with a teenage student, Kate Jackson always looks effortlessly cool. And as an Iditarod hopeful in The Cold Heart of a Killer (1996), she’s practically frozen. While her Charlie’s Angels costars sang Christmas carols and helped save Santa and his elves from certain death, as we’ve explored in recent weeks, Jackson never made a holiday telefilm. But her springtime race across the snowy, windswept Alaskan wild will make you shiver, and it’s not just the subzero temperatures that are deadly—there’s also a killer on the loose.
Jessie Arnold (Jackson, also executive producing) is a former sled-dog musher whose competitive career ended five years earlier, when she narrowly escaped death in a savage storm. Since then she’s become one of the state’s premier dog breeders, developing a new breed of Huskies for racing purposes. Her pack is poised to make its Iditarod debut with her newly sober brother, Robbie Pierce (Philip Granger). When he’s lured to his death by a shadowy figure, Jessie has no choice but to enter the race, competing not only as a tribute to Robbie but because she’ll lose both her kennel operation and custody of son Matthew (Kevin Zegers) if she doesn’t bring home the $50,000 grand prize.
Once the competition’s underway, top racers begin dropping like flies, their dogs and equipment (and sometimes their beverages) sabotaged. Should we suspect Ginny (Stevie Vallance), Robbie’s ruthless ex? The gruff Carl Martinson (Shaun Johnston), his sledding and romantic rival? Maybe newbie Alex Jensen (Corbin Bernsen), whose enthusiasm is handily eclipsed by his inexperience, is worth a second look. And then there’s hotshot Bomber Gates (Michael Damian of The Young and the Restless), whose silly name and slickly styled hair are testaments to his pomposity.
Somewhat surprisingly, suspicion never falls on Jessie, even as each new death dramatically increases her odds of winning. An icy, singleminded focus on victory keeps her from indulging in much amateur sleuthing—her limited free time is instead spent canoodling with Alex. There’s a bit of mild overnight suspense when a stalker creeps outside her tent during a howling storm, but Jessie’s indomitable spirit (and Jackson’s reliable track record of dispatching villains and extricating herself from jams on Charlie’s Angels) leaves us with few doubts she’ll overcome any obstacles in her way.
Adapted from Sue Henry’s Murder on the Iditarod Trail, the first in a series of mystery novels featuring Jessie and Jensen, The Cold Heart of a Killer isn’t particularly engaging as a thriller. I’m incapable of assessing its realism (or lack thereof) when it comes to mushing, but the continuity has glaring problems, including disappearing dog boots. It is nevertheless enjoyable for focusing less on scares and romance than on Jessie’s passion for dogs and racing. Made-for-TV murder mysteries are a dime a dozen, but the unique setting breathes fresh air into Cold Heart.
Jackson, clad in flannel and rainbow suspenders, is hearty and likable as always. Bernsen is amusing as an equally cheerful sort who is instantly smitten. In more capable hands, this might’ve been the start of a franchise that saw them revisit their characters with each new Henry publication. For that reason, I view The Cold Heart of a Killer as a missed opportunity more than anything else, and another oddity in the filmography of Paul Schneider, who previously directed Rikki Lake in Babycakes and Joan Rivers in How to Murder a Millionaire.
Additional screen caps are available on Instagram.
Streaming and DVD availability
The Cold Heart of a Killer hasn’t been released on DVD but you can stream it on both FreeVee and Tubi.
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… But wait, there’s more!
Jackson also appeared in Miracle Dogs, a 2003 made-for-TV movie that currently streams on FreeVee and Tubi. (Ted Shackelford of Baby of the Bride costars.) That’s about a dog with cancer and I’ll check it out eventually but will admit I’m not looking forward to it, even though the synopsis assures us the dog survives.
I can watch Ingmar Bergman and Mike Leigh films, Mamma Roma, Make Way for Tomorrow, ’50s tearjerkers, Leaving Las Vegas, Head-On, Man Push Cart and similar works until the cows come home, but I could barely make it through Wendy and Lucy, about an impoverished woman who can’t afford to keep her dog. Dogs are my curmudgeon kryptonite, and the longest post I’ve ever published here was about my dog, from her adoption through her struggles with a degenerative spinal condition.
Cranky Lesbian is a disgruntled homosexual with too much time on her hands. Click for film reviews or to follow on Instagram.
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