Simone Signoret (looking not unlike Eddie 'Suzy' Izzard), a young James Caan, and a pre-The Graduate Katherine Ross star in this late '60s murder thriller from director Curtis Harrington; unfortunately, however impressive the cast, the film doesn't deliver much in the way of genuine intrigue or surprises thanks to Harrington's pedestrian storytelling, his script nowhere near as clever as intended. The film unfolds exactly as expected, the twists easier to predict than the outcome of Wile E. Coyote painting a tunnel on the side of a mountain.
Caan and Ross play hip, married New York couple Paul and Jennifer Montgomery, who have inherited a fancy home from Jennifer's mother, as well as a small fortune that Paul likes to invest in his art collection. The couple also enjoy throwing bizarre parties and playing games, which includes mischievous pranks. Signoret is beauty product saleswoman Lisa Schindler, who wangles her way into the Montgomery household and becomes involved in the games, one of which has fatal consequences.
Like a poor man's Les Diaboliques (which also starred Signoret), the film involves a dead person who isn't really dead and a scheme by Paul and Lisa to claim all of Jennifer's money for themselves. It's one of those ridiculously elaborate plans that could easily go disastrously wrong, but which is somehow carried out as intended despite the occasional hiccup to add tension to proceedings. Harrington delivers one final twist at the end of the film that is just as predictable as all of the others.
4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.
Caan and Ross play hip, married New York couple Paul and Jennifer Montgomery, who have inherited a fancy home from Jennifer's mother, as well as a small fortune that Paul likes to invest in his art collection. The couple also enjoy throwing bizarre parties and playing games, which includes mischievous pranks. Signoret is beauty product saleswoman Lisa Schindler, who wangles her way into the Montgomery household and becomes involved in the games, one of which has fatal consequences.
Like a poor man's Les Diaboliques (which also starred Signoret), the film involves a dead person who isn't really dead and a scheme by Paul and Lisa to claim all of Jennifer's money for themselves. It's one of those ridiculously elaborate plans that could easily go disastrously wrong, but which is somehow carried out as intended despite the occasional hiccup to add tension to proceedings. Harrington delivers one final twist at the end of the film that is just as predictable as all of the others.
4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.