Written by Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume, the film is based on a popular 1954 episode of The United States Steel Hour titled "Fearful Decision" starring Ralph Bellamy.

[3] Directed by stage and television veteran Alex Segal, the film stars Glenn Ford, Donna Reed and Leslie Nielsen.

Newspaper reporter Charlie Telfer enters the house and meets hostile resistance from Dave but is allowed to remain.

The kidnapper demands a $500,000 ransom and instructs Dave to signal his intention to pay by having a popular television host wear a white jacket on the next evening's broadcast.

Backett expresses his wish that families would not pay ransoms, because assenting to kidnappers' demands encourages more kidnappings.

The next day, Backett presents Dave with Andy's bloody T-shirt that had been discovered behind a seat in a stolen car.

Convinced that his son is dead, Dave presses his lawyer to arrange a trust that will pay the ransom money as a bounty to anyone who locates the kidnapper.