Pretty Poison (1968)

Director:

Noel Black

Writers:

Stephen Geller (novel)
Lorenzo Semple Jr. (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 July 1968 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

She's such a sweet girl. He's such a nice boy. They'll scare the hell out of you.

Plot:

When a mentally disturbed young man tells a pretty girl that he's a secret agent, she believes him, and murder and mayhem ensue.

Plot Keywords:

High School | Murder | Ex Convict | Nudity | Cynicism

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Anthony Perkins	...	Dennis Pitt
Tuesday Weld	...	Sue Ann Stepanek
Beverly Garland	...	Mrs. Stepanek
John Randolph	...	Morton Azenauer
Dick O'Neill	...	Bud Munsch
Clarice Blackburn	...	Mrs. Bronson
Joseph Bova	...	Pete
Ken Kercheval	...	Harry Jackson
Don Fellows	...	Detective
George Ryan	...	Drillmaster & Team (as George Ryan's Winslow High-Steppers)

Also Known As:

She Let Him Continue (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1988) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Approved | USA:R (re-rating) (1968)

Filming Locations:

Great Barrington, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

'Anthony Perkins' was so convincing in his role as the mentally disturbed Dennis Pitt as he had been in as Norman Bates in Psycho (1960) that it typecast him for the rest of his career.

Quotes:

Dennis Pitt: Boy. What a week. I met you on Monday, fell in love with you on Tuesday, Wednesday I was unfaithful, Thursday we killed a guy together. How about that for a crazy week, Sue Ann?
Sue Ann Stepanek: "Unfaithful Wednesday?"
Dennis Pitt: I was just joking, Sue Anne. That was in another country. Forget it. I do, no kidding, love you. I love you.

Movie Connections:

References The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)

Soundtrack:

The Thunderer

a neglected gem

Anthony Perkins plays Dennis Pitt, a young man just released from a mental hospital to the "real world", after spending years there for arson when he was 15. He gets a job at a lumber yard (!!?) and is supposed to check with his case worker regularly but he changes jobs immediately and never checks in. Now, he's not well, really, and he thinks he's a CIA operative, and has latched on to a beautiful young high school senior, Tuesday Weld, who buys his "CIA operative" story and becomes his "partner". Now, Dennis is working at a chemical plant and when he's fired he plots to collapse some chutes and equipment, and while he & his accomplice (Weld) are loosening bolts they are forced to kill an old security guard, and his death is somewhat covered up in the collapse, but it appears suspicious, and things get more hairy. Now, Weld is not at all what she seems, since she lives with her mother who is an alcoholic and is on her case all the time, so she's plotting to get rid of her. And who better to help her with this than Dennis? A rather twisty and surprising film, well done and definitely deserving of more attention than it's gotten over the years. Thankfully it's now on DVD so I could actually have the opportunity to see it, and I thought it was well worth seeing and would recommend it. 9 out of 10.