Dog Eat Dog (1964)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Directors:

Richard E. Cunha
Gustav Gavrin

Writers:

Robert Bloomfield (novel)
Michael Elkins (writer)

Release Date:

13 July 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

The action EXPLODES right between your eyes!

Plot:

Three thieves rip off a shipment of used money being sent back to the US. As they are escaping the robbery (after having taken a hostage)...

Plot Keywords:

Caper | Animal In Title | Based On Novel | Independent Film

Cast

Jayne Mansfield	...	Darlene
Cameron Mitchell	...	Lylle Corbett
Ivor Salter	...	Dolph Kostis
Siegfried Lowitz	...	Traitor gangster
Elisabeth Flickenschildt	...	Xenia
Isa Miranda	...	Madame Benoit
Aldo Camarda	...	Livio Morelli
Dodie Heath	...	Sandra
Ines Taddio	...	German singer
Pinkas Braun	...	Janis the butler
Werner Peters	...	Detective Gino
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Gardett

Also Known As:

Einer frißt den anderen (West Germany)
L'ora di uccidere (Italy)
La morte vestita di dollari (Italy)
When Strangers Meet (UK)

Runtime:

84 min | West Germany:78 min

Country:

West Germany | Liechtenstein | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Yugoslavia

Company:

Dubrava Film

Trivia:

A host of production problems, including financing, location and personnel issues, caused filming to be stopped several times, resulting in at least four different directors--regardless of their experience in musical comedies--working on the project at various times. One director, Ray Nazarro, specialized almost exclusively in "B" westerns and cheap hillbilly musicals for Columbia, and was hired because he just happened to be in Europe when a director was needed. Producer Albert Zugsmith also directed some scenes in the periods between when one director left and another was hired.

Quotes:

Darlene: I'd rather have fresh panties in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Starts Badly and Ends Worse

The first hour or so of this film seems to be one of those barely competent Euro-thrillers that smells of "deal" and little more.

Evil killers laugh for 20 minutes at a time, a thug in a car tries to kill a pedestrian thug and the editing makes no sense, a voluptuous babe offers to sell out the entire male cast sequentially and all at once, we've all seen it a thousand times and on our own deathbeds we'll undoubtedly regret the time we wasted doing so.

Then the picture goes off the rails, perhaps because of the three or maybe four directors. All pretense of continuity goes out the window, scars disappear and reappear on faces, characters die for silly reasons or no reason at all; basically staging and dialog disintegrate completely. We watch the film go around and around in ever-diminishing circles and finally disappear up its own backside.

You think, "Oh, the poor actors," as they all get that haunted look, like "How did I ever get involved with this mess?" and "Who do I have to sleep with to get OFF of this picture?" and "Boy, will I murder my agent when I get back home!" and "Oh wow, I really need to go; I'll bet it's that schnitzel last night at the hotel."

Jayne Mansfield does some of the best acting in the film, which'll give you some idea of what to expect. When Cameron Mitchell goes berserk and starts ripping up the furniture, he does it with a remarkably rehearsed air, along the lines of "We only have one sofa, so I have to get it right on the first take," and "Does Stuart Whitman have to put up with this stuff in his movies?"

There is no psychological or sociological subtext to this film; it has no stylistic elegance or directorial signature hidden in a overlooked "B"; it is simply a desperate and cynical attempt to make money. The movie fails on every level. You don't even get to see Dubrovnik. Skip it.