Once You Kiss a Stranger... (1969)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Robert Sparr

Writers:

Norman Katkov (writer)
Frank Tarloff (writer)

Release Date:

21 December 1969 (Finland)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

A woman seduces a professional golfer, then offers to kill his opponent if the golfer will kill her psychiatrist, who wants her committed.

Plot Keywords:

Golf Pro | Murder | Remake | Beautiful Woman | Upskirt

Cast

Paul Burke	...	Jerry
Carol Lynley	...	Diana
Martha Hyer	...	Lee
Peter Lind Hayes	...	Pete
Philip Carey	...	Mike
Stephen McNally	...	Lt. Gavin
Whit Bissell	...	Dr. Haggis
Elaine Devry	...	Sharon
Kathryn Givney	...	Aunt Margaret
Jim Raymond	...	Johnny Parker
George Fenneman	...	Announcer
Orville Sherman	...	Raymond
Maura McGiveney	...	Harriet Parker
Ann Doran	...	Lee's Mother
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Watkins	...	Detective

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:M

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Brothers/Seven Arts

Movie Connections:

Version of La vittima designata (1971)

"He bogeyed his final hole!"

Overbaked nonsense from Warner Bros. is one steaming pile of clichés. Pro-golfer Paul Burke, separated from his wife and troubled by his perennial second-place status on the golf course, meets up with seductive child-woman Carol Lynley; she murders his main opponent and then blackmails Burke with the proviso he kill her psychiatrist in return (seems Carol has just been released from a mental institution and is due back for another stay at any moment). The tacky screenplay was "suggested by" Patricia Highsmith's book "Strangers on a Train", first filmed by Warners in 1951. This quasi-remake actually has an interesting set-up, but Burke looks dumbfounded throughout and overripe vixen Lynley is just ludicrous (the actress probably thought this kitten-with-claws number would showcase her haughty appeal, but instead she's cruelly exposed and completely without substance). This has to be one of the worst-edited films from a major studio I have ever seen, with redundant, laughable shots of streetlights changing and Carol Lynley going crazy with a reel-to-reel machine. The filmmakers know nothing about the world of pro-tournament golf, and even less about murder investigations and police business, giving this dunderhead opus a campy undermining which may play with fans of second-string cinema. *1/2 from ****