Great and intriguing horror-mystery film.

I remember seeing this on TV some time in the late 70s (I think). Haven't seen it since. I'd be interested to give it a very belated rewatch.

i will check it out.

Have to say, I’ve never understood how or why this film disappeared from public consciousness. It was a big deal in its day (summer of ‘75), the most expensive AIP release at the time and a moderate hit.

Just watched it again and frankly marveled at how well-made it is. Three things stood out:

1) Very good cast overall, including big stars of the day (Sarrazin, Kidder, and O’Neill)
2) Tight editing with well-aligned parallels of flashbacks vs current shots
3) Jerry Goldsmith’s moody, unforgettable score

That last one really hit me tonight. I’ve always admired it (though the soundtrack was not commercially released until 2017), but now I see how effectively it ties the whole story together. I actually tried imagining certain scenes minus the score and saw how they would fall flat without it.

The director was a veteran about my age at the time — 61 — who demonstrates repeated competence with difficult scenes that depend on careful direction of his actors. One standout example: Dr. Proud walks into a police station in dark sunglasses and stares across the room at the desk captain, imagining how the conversation about a 30-year-old unknown murder will go, then deciding to leave instead. It’s an expositional scene that could have gone wrong and gotten muddled, but plays as intended here. There’s also a nicely done bit with a police cruiser slowly passing the parked Dr. Proud in front of Marsha’s home that gets the point across with no dialogue needed.

There really isn’t another film like this, and that’s a shame. I hate to sound like the old guy lamenting how they don’t make ‘em like that anymore, but it’s clearly true. And I really don’t know why.