A Lovely Way to Die

Last updated
A Lovely Way to Die
ALovelyWayToDie1968Poster.jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed by David Lowell Rich
Written byA.J. Russell
Produced byRichard Lewis
Starring Kirk Douglas
Sylva Koscina
Eli Wallach
CinematographyMorris Hantzband
Edited bySidney Katz
Gene Palmer
Music by Kenyon Hopkins
Production
company
Universal Pictures
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • July 12, 1968 (1968-07-12)(New York City)
  • August 25, 1956 (1956-08-25)(Los Angeles)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

A Lovely Way to Die is a 1968 American crime neo noir directed by David Lowell Rich and starring Kirk Douglas, Sylva Koscina, Eli Wallach and Kenneth Haigh. [1] [2]

Contents

A police officer resigns from the force and becomes a bodyguard to the wife of a wealthy man. When her husband is found dead, he tries to clear her of murder.

The film marks the film debut of Ali MacGraw in a walk-on role.

Plot

After quitting his job as a police detective, Jim Schuyler accepts an offer from lawyer Tennessee Fredericks to protect Rena Westabrook, who is about to be placed on trial for the murder of her wealthy husband.

Rena is accused of conspiring with a lover, Jonathan Fleming, to kill Westabrook for his money. She has an alibi from Sean Magruder, who says that he witnessed her in a bar at the time of the murder, but Schuyler finds Magruder dead in a car.

A gang responsible for the death of a British man named Finchley appears to be behind the murders of Westabrook and Magruder as well. Rena is the next target after being acquitted in court, but Schuyler heroically saves her life.

Cast

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times , critic Vincent Canby wrote: "There is so little of real interest in this movie—even philandering and luxury look dull—that the mind clutches at irrelevancies, such as the fact that as Mr. Douglas grows older, the dimple in his chin begins to look more and more like a surgical mistake." [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eli Wallach</span> American actor (1915–2014)

Eli Herschel Wallach was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a BAFTA Award, a Tony Award, and an Primetime Emmy Award. He also was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1988 and received the Academy Honorary Award in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirk Douglas</span> American actor (1916–2020)

Kirk Douglas was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Douglas soon developed into a leading box-office star throughout the 1950s, known for serious dramas, including westerns and war films. During his career, he appeared in more than 90 films and was known for his explosive acting style. He was named by the American Film Institute the 17th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood cinema.

<i>5 Card Stud</i> 1968 film by Henry Hathaway

5 Card Stud is a 1968 American Western mystery film, directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Dean Martin and Robert Mitchum. The script is based on a novel by Ray Gaulden and was written by Marguerite Roberts, who also wrote the screenplay of True Grit for Hathaway the following year.

<i>Deadlier Than the Male</i> 1967 British film by Ralph Thomas

Deadlier Than the Male is a 1967 British crime and mystery film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Richard Johnson and Elke Sommer. It is one of the many take-offs of James Bond produced during the 1960s, but is based on an already established detective fiction hero, Bulldog Drummond.

<i>The Associate</i> (1996 film) 1996 American film

The Associate is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Donald Petrie and written by Nick Thiel. It stars Whoopi Goldberg, Dianne Wiest, Eli Wallach, Tim Daly, and Bebe Neuwirth, alongside Austin Pendleton and Lainie Kazan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylva Koscina</span> Italian actress and model (1933–1994)

Sylva Koscina was a Yugoslav-born Italian actress, maybe best remembered for her role as Iole, the bride of Hercules in Hercules (1958) and Hercules Unchained (1960). She also played Paul Newman's romantic interest in The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968).

<i>Goodbye, Columbus</i> (film) 1969 film by Larry Peerce

Goodbye, Columbus is a 1969 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Richard Benjamin and Ali MacGraw, directed by Larry Peerce and based on the 1959 novella by Philip Roth. The screenplay, by Arnold Schulman, won the Writers Guild of America Award.

<i>The Lovely Bones</i> (film) 2009 film by Peter Jackson

The Lovely Bones is a 2009 supernatural drama film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay he co-wrote with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. It is based on Alice Sebold's 2002 novel of the same name. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli, and Saoirse Ronan. The plot follows a girl who was murdered and watches over her family from heaven. She is torn between seeking vengeance on her killer and allowing her family to heal.

<i>Hercules</i> (1958 film) 1958 Italian film

Hercules is a 1958 Italian sword-and-sandal film based upon the Hercules and the Quest for the Golden Fleece myths. The film stars Steve Reeves as the titular hero and Sylva Koscina as his love interest Princess Iole. Hercules was directed by Pietro Francisci and produced by Federico Teti. The film spawned a 1959 sequel, Hercules Unchained, that also starred Reeves and Koscina.

<i>Movie Movie</i> 1978 double feature by Stanley Donen

Movie Movie is a 1978 American double bill directed by Stanley Donen. It consists of two films: Dynamite Hands, a boxing ring morality play, and Baxter's Beauties of 1933, a musical comedy, both starring the husband-and-wife team of George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere. A fake trailer for a flying-ace movie set in World War I titled Zero Hour is shown between the double feature.

For Love or Money is a 1963 romantic comedy film distributed by Universal International, produced by Robert Arthur, directed by Michael Gordon, and starring Kirk Douglas, Mitzi Gaynor, and Gig Young. It was written by Larry Markes and Michael Morris, and released on August 7, 1963. The supporting cast features Thelma Ritter, Leslie Parrish, Julie Newmar and William Bendix.

<i>The Detective</i> (1968 film) 1968 crime film starring Frank Sinatra

The Detective is a 1968 American neo-noir crime drama film starring Frank Sinatra. Directed by Gordon Douglas and produced by Aaron Rosenberg, it is based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Roderick Thorp.

Lucius David Syms-Greene, known as David Greene, was a British television and film director, and actor.

<i>No Way to Treat a Lady</i> (film) 1968 black comedy thriller directed by Jack Smight

No Way to Treat a Lady is a 1968 American psychological thriller film with elements of black comedy, directed by Jack Smight, and starring Rod Steiger, Lee Remick, George Segal, and Eileen Heckart. Adapted by John Gay from William Goldman's 1964 novel of the same name, it follows a serial killer in New York City who impersonates various characters in order to gain the trust of women before murdering them.

<i>The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds</i> (film) 1972 film

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a 1972 American drama film produced and directed by Paul Newman. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1964 play of the same title by Paul Zindel. Newman cast his wife, Joanne Woodward, and one of their daughters, Nell Potts, in two of the lead roles. Roberta Wallach, daughter of Eli Wallach, played the third lead.

<i>Top Gun</i> (1955 film) 1955 film by Ray Nazarro

Top Gun is a 1955 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro. The plot concerns an ex-gunslinger who arrives in a small town warning of an impending attack by his old gang. The film features Rod Taylor in one of his first American roles.

<i>A Is for Acid</i> British television film

A Is for Acid is a 2002 British television film based on the life of the serial killer John Haigh, known as the Acid Bath Murderer because he dissolved the bodies of six people in sulphuric acid. Haigh, hanged in 1949 for his crimes, had wrongly believed that murder could not be proven without the presence of a body. Starring Martin Clunes in the lead role, the film was shot in Scarborough, chosen because its appearance was believed to be similar to that of London when Haigh lived there during the 1940s, and also Saltaire to represent his early life. The film was produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network and aired on 9 September 2002. Directed by Harry Bradbeer and written by Glenn Chandler, A Is for Acid also featured among its cast Keeley Hawes, Richard Hope and Celia Imrie.

<i>Crazy Joe</i> (film) 1974 film by Carlo Lizzani

Crazy Joe is a 1974 crime film directed by Carlo Lizzani and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. The Italian-American co-production is a fictionalized account of the murder of Joseph "Crazy Joe" Gallo, a mobster who was gunned down on April 7, 1972, at a restaurant in Little Italy. The screenplay by Lewis John Carlino is based on a series of articles by journalist Nicholas Gage. The film stars Peter Boyle in the title role, with Paula Prentiss, Fred Williamson, Rip Torn, Luther Adler, Henry Winkler and Eli Wallach.

<i>Nasty Habits</i> (film) 1977 film by Michael Lindsay-Hogg

Nasty Habits is a 1977 comedy film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, starring Glenda Jackson, Melina Mercouri, Geraldine Page, Sandy Dennis, Anne Jackson, Anne Meara and Susan Penhaligon. The screenplay by Robert Enders is based on the 1974 novella The Abbess of Crewe by Muriel Spark.

References

  1. "A Lovely Way to Die (1968)". BFI. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 "A Lovely Way to Die". Turner Classic Movies . Archived from the original on 2020-02-06. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  3. Canby, Vincent (1968-07-13). "Film: Another Kind of Detective Story". The New York Times . p. 18.