sol- Taunted by phone calls from a serial killer who dons a different disguise every time he kills, a New York detective struggles to get an upper hand in this odd 'Boston Strangler' variant with comedic touches. As the murderer in question, Rod Steiger delivers a terrific performance, preying on the insecurities of his female victims whilst remaining completing in character until he has won their trust and has the opportunity to strike. George Segal is also fine as the baffled detective and the film gets very riveting in the final quarter as Segal finds ways himself to play mind games with Steiger and prod him into inadvertently revealing personal details. While solid as a thriller, the movie is uneven as a comedy. Eileen Heckart is irritatingly shrill as Segal's henpecking mother, and while there is something to be said for how her pestering is just as annoying for Segal as the killer's taunts, the exchanges between Heckart and Segal are generally unfunny and feel like a distraction from the Steiger main plot. Lee Remick only fares slightly better than Heckart as Segal's love interest and her subplot feels like a distraction too. The film consistently works though when Steiger is in focus with a lot of delicious dark comedy derived from how he manages to constantly con all his victims. His exchanges with Segal (each time affecting a different accent) sparkle too and he has one surefire memorable final scene. The title also has a curious double meaning here; Heckart says in disapproval of Segal inspecting female corpses, but it applies equally to Steiger's take on female companionship.

JasparLamarCrabb A very stylish thriller directed by Jack Smight from a novel by William Goldman. Rod Steiger (in many many guises) is a strangler preying on elderly women and taunting NYC cop George Segal. Though clearly no mama's boy, Segal lives with his mom (Eileen Heckart, who redefines gumption with her smothering Jewish mother routine) and is smitten with Lee Remick, an enigmatic witness and potential victim. Both Steiger & Segal are perfect. Steiger's performance is staggering as he plays, at various times, an Irish priest, a fop wig salesman, a German plumber (who actually uses the word wonderbar!) and a cop. Shockingly for Steiger he does not ham it up as he would in many future roles (Napoleon, Mussolini). Shot on location with great cinematography by Jack Priestley and exceptional art direction by George Jenkins (note Remick's "mod" apartment). The large supporting cast includes David Doyle, Murray Hamilton, Doris Roberts, Barbara Baxley, Ruth White, Val Bisoglio and Michael Dunn, who claims to be the strangler despite some very obvious limitations. The very effective music score is by Stanley Myers.

MARIO GAUCI As far as I know, this was only ever shown once on Italian TV; I had always wanted to watch it, due to Leonard Maltin's ***1/2 rating but also because I find the subject matter of a serial killer using a number of disguises fascinating, so when Paramount's bare-bones DVD (why, not even the theatrical trailer is included!) was on sale at "DVD Empire", I decided to order it - along with about 15 other titles from the same studio...Though somewhat patchy and verbose, the plot (adapted by John Gay from a novel by William Goldman) is undeniably compelling and the performances of the entire cast - including George Segal, Lee Remick and Eileen Heckart - are faultless; still, Rod Steiger as the flamboyant murderer (this is no spoiler, since the killings start from the very first scene!) dominates the proceedings and obviously relishes the opportunity of sinking his teeth into such a juicy role: his disguises - including a priest, a plumber, a gay hairdresser, a police officer, a chef and, at one point, he even turns up in drag! - also incorporate various accents and imitations, among them that of W.C. Fields, whom Steiger would eventually play in a biopic of the great comic some years later! Diminutive actor Michael Dunn has a hilarious bit in which he shows up at Segal's police station and confesses to the crime spree.While the film displays no particular evidence of technique (Jack Smight was, at best, a journeyman director), it emerges unequivocally as a product of the late Sixties with the added qualities of good location photography and an effective score by Stanley Myers (best known for composing the "Cavatina" theme utilized in THE DEER HUNTER [1978]); as a matter of fact, it reminded me of PRETTY POISON (1968), another black comedy I watched only recently for the very first time - but also of EXPERIMENT IN TERROR (1962), a classic black-and-white film noir I caught up with during the past few weeks which also features Remick as a potential victim of a formidable villain (who, like Steiger's character here, is not above adopting a female disguise in order to get what he wants!).Among the film's most successful elements is the murderer's relationship with flustered Jewish cop Segal, whom he phones and teases prior to each killing. Also notable is the climax set in a theatre, where the fatally wounded Steiger goes into each one of his 'personalities' before expiring, as well as the subtle contrast the film creates between the two characters' mothers: Segal's is a typically nagging Jewish woman who always puts him down while praising her other businessman son, whereas Steiger's late mother (who is only shown in portraits) had been a great theatrical actress - whose talent for larger-than-life roles was adopted to its extremes by her unbalanced son!

whpratt1 During a hot Summer day in New York City, in the Theatre District around 44th Street, I noticed a large crowd and decided to find out what was going on. I noticed a man getting his hair brushed and make-up being applied to his face and it was Rod Steiger who was getting ready to walk into a theatre as (Christoper Gill),"W.C.Fields & Me",'76. Steiger played a very mentally disturbed actor who was abused by his mother and decided to perform perfect murders, playing roles as Priest, Plumber and many other roles, using plenty of lipstick. Lee Remick,(Kate Palmer)," Days of Wine & Roses",'62, looked very charming and sexy. Kate meets up with detective Morris Brummel,(George Segal),"For the Boys",'91, who is investigating all these murders. This film has comedy between Kate and Morris and it is a great entertaining film.