Woodyanders Amiable private detective Charlie Smith (a charming and likable performance by Ray Dennis Steckler) tries to find elusive cat burglar Carrie Erskine (Carolyn Brandt at her most foxy and enticing) who has stolen an expensive stash of heroin from ruthless drug ring kingpin Big Mack (robustly essayed with growly gusto by Bernard Fein). Charlie and Carrie plot together to double cross the gangsters who are after them. Steckler does a sound job of covering all the nifty noir bases: Hard-boiled narration, grimy locations, a groovy jazz score by Henri Price, a tough gritty tone, an amusing sense of cynical humor, rough'n'tumble fisticuffs, several hot dames (Brandt in particular makes for a perfectly tasty and duplicitous femme fatale), a convoluted plot, and affectionate nods to Humphrey Bogart and vintage 40's film noir classics. The wonderfully seedy rogues' gallery of colorful and entertaining low-life characters helps a whole lot: Dina Bryan as sassy secretary Stella, Larry Chandler as hippie pimp Waco, Ron Haydock as the smarmy Fritz the Photographer, Coleman Francis as down on his luck old-timer Coley, Julie Conners as alluring dingbat Shawn Call, Pat Jackson as zonked-out stoner Julie Richards, Herb Robins as wormy lackey Herbie, and, best of all, Gary Kent as vicious dope-peddling hoodlum Frankie Roberts. The slim budget and ragged production values add immensely to the overall deliciously seamy atmosphere. Jack Cooperman's fairly polished cinematography boasts a few snazzy stylistic flourishes. A nice change of pace for Steckler.

Michael_Elliott Body Fever (1969) * 1/2 (out of 4) Down on his luck detective Charles Smith (Ray Dennis Steckler) starts to investigate some robberies committed by a woman dressed as a cat. Soon he catches the woman (Carolyn Brandt) but instead of bringing her in the two go to work together for some major cash. BODY FEVER is the only time director Steckler would try to make a movie like this in the detective genre and for the most part it's watchable, although even at 78-minutes the film seems to go on forever. It seems Steckler has a small group of people who find entertainment in his films while another group that looks at them as purely trashy, bad movies that make him one of the worst directors ever. I'm not going to call him one of the worst directors ever because considering the budgets he was working with, I think it's pretty easy to see that he had some talent and at least delivered professional looking films. BODY FEVER has a few interesting ideas scattered around but there's no doubt that the picture simply runs out of gas before the end credits and the viewer has to sit through a plot that often doesn't make too much sense. While he doesn't give a "good" performance, Steckler at least keeps you glued to his detective character because it's simply hard to believe him in the role. There are several nice nods to Humphrey Bogart but there's really nothing else linking the two men. Brandt is decent enough in her role as horror fans will enjoy (or be sad) by seeing director Coleman Francis (THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS) in a small role. Is BODY FEVER recommended to anyone? Not really unless you're going through the filmography of Steckler but there are certainly much worse films out there.

haildevilman A rare occasion here, Steckler being semi-serious.His attempt to make a classic P.I. film succeeds admirably. That said, he didn't avoid humor either.This had it all, cynical statements, dry narration, a dame that's 'not afraid to let you know what a rotten night's sleep she's had.' A low budget version of the 40's films. He even did a direct homage to 'Breathless.' Tension built slowly but never really took off. That didn't hurt the film in any way though. Steckler has this gift. You just want to stick around and see what's next.And he did play the role well.

zmaturin Ray Dennis Steckler is the fascinating film maker behind the amazing mid-60s films "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies", "Rat Pfink a Boo Boo", and "The Thrill Killers". This, a lesser known effort, is none the less entertaining. Steckler stars as "Charles Smith", a private eye hired to track down a woman who stole a big bag o' heroin (played by Steckler's real life wife, Carolyn Brandt). Charles Smith falls for the dame, of course, and they plan a double cross (actually a triple or quadruple cross. It gets complicated.)Steckler has a wonderful, self-depreciating humor in this performance (a charm missing from his "Creatures" acting job). He plays much of the movie for laughs (like the scene in which a gal jumps on top of him to kiss him, knocking over the entire couch Steckler is sitting on). Brandt is not as entertaining as Steckler, and looks very bored throughout all her scenes, which makes the couple's love scenes interesting to watch.The movie also contains one of the greatest actor/film makers of all time, Coleman Francis, the man behind the legendary "Beast of Yucca Flats", "Skydivers", and my personal favorite "Night Train to Mundo Fine". Steckler gave the part to Francis as a favor, as Francis was down on his luck at the time. Coleman is natural and likable in his three brief scenes as a laundomat owner that Smith confides in.Over all, Body Fever has several loose ends, poor acting, and silly dialog, but these add to the charm. If you are a fan of all things Stecklerian (and you should be) check this movie out.