Its flaws




It's an enjoyable film, by all means (even watching it more than once), mostly because of the performances.


****SPOILERS AHEAD*****


But I do find it rather puzzling that they chose the murderer to be a person completely uninvolved in the plot - a person who was in fact *unseen* by the viewer until the actual unraveling of the mystery. That's such a huge beginners' mistake, an absolute "no-no" - in film as well as in writing!

Also, I LOVE Cyd Charisse, but her physical type is *identical* to Ava Gardner's. What were they thinking? Didn't they know that you're not supposed to confuse the spectator by introducing visually similar people (unless it's part of the plot, obviously)? Or was that supposed to be some kind of a blurry, veiled "statement"?

Besides, was her character necessary at all? I don't think so. Her (very slight) role could've been easily taken over by a minor character or even different characters etc.

It's baffling.
And it's also a pity because it could have been a much, much better picture.




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I thought whatever screen time Felice had prior to the film's ending was sufficient to portray her as an unsavory type, certainly capable of murder...she also had a motive...Alec Dawn.

With regard to Cyd Charisse's resemblance to Ava, perahaps that was intended, as Mason does attempt to pick Cyd up, prior to Ava's reappearance.

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About Cyd/Ava, that's an interesting take on it. Yes, it would make sense: he clearly liked the type.

Thanks!
(And yes, I am aware it's been almost exactly two years. ;))



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The big girl is mentioned a couple of times before we see her and is referred to as "the Amamzon Woman". It is mentioned that she is the jealous type and is very large for a woman. The screenwriter obviously tried to build up some suspense around her character, but I can't deny he did a poor job. Maybe the Amazon Woman had a bigger part in the novel.

I'm here, Mr. Man, I can not tell no lie and I'll be right here till the day I die

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SPOILERS

when i saw Fred Mertz (Frawley) as the bartender, i was wondering if HE was going to be involved.

Good flick, even if the ending was a little tacked on. makes me think of the scene in "murder by death" where they despise stories where the murderer and m.o. are introduced in the last couple pages.

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The thing is, this isn't a whodunit. It doesn't matter who the murderer is; it's the story about a main character and what is happening to her.

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While it was no doubt groundbreaking and refreshingly frank in its day, at least parts of the script seems rather hackneyed these days. The guy who can't give up his addiction (in this case to women) for example, is something we've seen over and and over by now.

The script can also be heavy-handed. It gets tiring hearing characters inform other characters what they're feeling and so on. You want to scream at the screen "We get it. Stop talking about it and just get on with what you're gonna do."

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