The Naked Face (film)

Last updated
The Naked Face
Naked Face.jpg
Movie Poster
Directed by Bryan Forbes
Screenplay byBryan Forbes
Based on The Naked Face by
Sidney Sheldon
Produced by Yoram Globus
Menahem Golan
Rony Yacov
Starring Roger Moore
Rod Steiger
Elliott Gould
Cinematography David Gurfinkel
Music by Michael J. Lewis
Distributed by The Cannon Group
Release date
  • June 13, 1984 (1984-06-13)(U.S.)
Running time
103 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Naked Face is a 1984 American thriller film written and directed by Bryan Forbes, based on the book of the same name by Sidney Sheldon. It stars Roger Moore, Rod Steiger and Elliott Gould. [1]

Contents

It was nominated for "Best Film" at Mystfest, a film festival. [2]

Plot

A patient of Chicago psychoanalyst Dr. Judd Stevens is murdered after a session, stabbed while wearing a raincoat belonging to the doctor. Police detectives McGreavy and Angeli investigate. McGreavy bitterly resents the doctor from a previous case in which Stevens' testimony led to a cop killer being institutionalized rather than sent to prison.

The patient's personal problems are in question until Stevens' secretary is also found brutally murdered. Stevens realizes he is the murderer's target, while the two detectives treat him as their prime suspect.

A widower, Stevens expresses concern to his physician brother-in-law about the cops' behavior. McGreavy in particular is so aggressive in his interrogations, Angeli reports him to a superior and gets McGreavy thrown off the case.

Posing as doormen, two armed gunmen break into Stevens' apartment. He holds them off until the brother-in-law and two paramedics arrive. Not trusting the cops, Stevens instead made an emergency call to the hospital for help.

Choosing a name out of the Yellow Pages at random, Stevens hires an old, quirky private investigator named Morgens who lives in a rundown apartment filled with clocks and cats. Morgens saves his life by finding a bomb planted in Stevens' car. After he reports this latest attempt on his life, Angeli promises to lend Stevens a more sympathetic ear than his partner had. McGreavy, however, has secretly cut a deal with their captain to keep an eye on the case from a distance.

One evening, Morgens phones Stevens and claims to know the killer's true identity, but refuses to reveal it over the phone because nobody can be trusted, not even the police. He tells Stevens to meet him after midnight at the Navy Pier and mentions the name "Don Vinton." But when Stevens and Angeli arrive, they find the murdered body of Morgens, holding a cuckoo clock.

After doing some research, Stevens realizes that Don Vinton is an Italian code name for the head of an organized crime syndicate. Offering to hide Stevens in a safe house, Angeli instead drives him to a countryside mansion where the phony doormen appear. Angeli draws a gun but points it at Stevens, telling him he trusted the wrong cop.

Stevens is taken to a crime boss, discovering that the mobster's wife is Ann Blake, a quiet woman who has been seeing Stevens as a patient. Don Vinton feels he simply can't have anyone knowing his private business, despite the fact that Ann told the psychiatrist practically nothing during their sessions.

Stevens is taken to a warehouse to be done away with permanently. Angeli, expecting a payoff, is killed instead. Stevens tries to escape but is quickly re-captured, then beaten savagely by the crime boss until McGreavy and a team of cops arrive just in time, having been called by Ann. Don Vinton is killed and the rest of his men are arrested.

At a cemetery where Stevens goes to visit his wife's grave once a week, Ann Blake turns up to apologize for causing Stevens all this trouble at the cost of so many lives. He has quit his private practice, so she asks if that means he can see a former patient socially. It does and they begin to leave the cemetery together, but Ann is shot and killed by a mob sniper.

Cast

ActorRole
Roger Moore Dr. Judd Stevens
Rod Steiger Lieutenant McGreavy
Elliott Gould Detective Angeli
Art Carney Morgens
Anne Archer Ann Blake
David Hedison Dr. Peter Hadley
Deanna Dunagan Mrs. Hadley
Ron Parady Cortini
John Kapelos Frank

Production

Though the film was produced and released in 1984, Sidney Sheldon wrote its source novel in 1970, before psychological profiling became a widely accepted method of forensic crime-fighting work.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Corleone</span> Fictional character from The Godfather

Michael Corleone is a fictional character and the protagonist of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. In the three Godfather films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portrayed by Al Pacino, for which he was twice-nominated for Academy Awards. Michael is the youngest son of Vito Corleone, a Sicilian immigrant who builds a Mafia empire. Upon his father's death, Michael succeeds him as the don of the Corleone crime family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Beck</span> Fictional Swedish police detective

Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in the ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, collectively titled The Story of a Crime. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all have been adapted into films between 1967 and 1994, six of which were included in a series featuring Gösta Ekman as Martin Beck. Between 1997 and 2018 there have also been 38 films based on the characters, with Peter Haber as Martin Beck. Apart from the core duo of Beck and his right-hand man Gunvald Larsson, the latter have little resemblance to the original series, and feature a widely different and evolving cast of characters, though roughly similar themes and settings around Stockholm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Gordon (character)</span> Fictional character in the DC Universe

James W. "Jim" Gordon is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane as an ally of Batman, the character debuted in the first panel of Detective Comics #27, Batman's first appearance, making him the first Batman supporting character ever to be introduced, eventually succeeding him as Batman from 2015 to 2016.

<i>Beverly Hills Cop</i> 1984 film directed by Martin Brest

Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, with a screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr., and story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr. It stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Detroit detective who visits Beverly Hills, California, to solve the murder of his best friend. Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox, Lisa Eilbacher, Steven Berkoff, Paul Reiser, and Jonathan Banks appear in supporting roles.

<i>The Naked Face</i> 1970 novel by Sidney Sheldon

The Naked Face is the first novel (1970) written by Sidney Sheldon. It was nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel by an American author.

<i>No Mans Land</i> (1987 film) 1987 crime film directed by Peter Werner

No Man's Land is a 1987 American crime film written by Dick Wolf directed by Peter Werner, and stars Charlie Sheen, D. B. Sweeney, and Randy Quaid. The plot follows a rookie cop who goes undercover and infiltrates a car theft ring. The film was released on October 23, 1987 and received mixed reviews from critics.

<i>City by the Sea</i> 2002 American crime drama film

City by the Sea is a 2002 American crime drama film starring Robert De Niro, James Franco, Eliza Dushku, Frances McDormand and William Forsythe. It deals with the family problems of a wayward youth and is set against a man trying to break free of his past. It was directed by Michael Caton-Jones. It is based on the story of Vincent LaMarca.

<i>Baby Face Nelson</i> (film) 1957 film by Don Siegel

Baby Face Nelson is a 1957 American film noir crime film based on the real-life 1930s gangster, directed by Don Siegel, co-written by Daniel Mainwaring—who also wrote the screenplay for Siegel's 1956 sci-fi thriller Invasion of the Body Snatchers—and starring Mickey Rooney, Carolyn Jones, Cedric Hardwicke, Leo Gordon as Dillinger, Anthony Caruso, Jack Elam, John Hoyt and Elisha Cook Jr.

<i>Cop Hater</i> (film) 1958 film

Cop Hater is a 1958 American crime film noir police procedural film based on the 1956 novel Cop Hater written by Ed McBain, the first in a series of books about the 87th Precinct in New York City. The film was produced and directed by William Berke, written by Henry Kane and stars Robert Loggia and Gerald O'Loughlin.

Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, the second series of the Nine Network crime drama series Underbelly, originally aired from 9 February 2009 to 4 May 2009. It is a thirteen-part series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the marijuana trade centred on the New South Wales town of Griffith. The timeline of the series is the years between 1976 and 1987. Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities primarily depicts the Mr. Asia drug syndicate and its influence on crime in Australia. Among the characters presented are real-life criminals Robert Trimbole, Terry Clark, George Freeman, Christopher Dale Flannery, Alphonse Gangitano and the Kane Brothers. The mini-series is a prequel to the 2008 production Underbelly, which was about the Melbourne gangland killings and forms part of the Underbelly series.

<i>The Buster Keaton Story</i> 1957 film by Sidney Sheldon

The Buster Keaton Story is a 1957 American biographical drama film directed by Sidney Sheldon and written by Sidney Sheldon and Robert Smith, following the life of Buster Keaton. The film stars Donald O'Connor, Ann Blyth, Rhonda Fleming, Peter Lorre, Larry Keating and Jackie Coogan. It was released on April 21, 1957, by Paramount Pictures. The film was described by AllMovie as "sublimely inaccurate" regarding details of Keaton's life. It was produced by Paramount Pictures, which paid Keaton $50,000 for the rights to his life story.

<i>No Trace</i> (1950 film) 1950 British film

No Trace is a 1950 British second feature crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Hugh Sinclair, Dinah Sheridan and John Laurie. A crime writer murders a blackmailer, and is then asked to help solve the case by the police.

<i>You Cant Buy Luck</i> 1937 film by Lew Landers

You Can't Buy Luck is a 1937 American murder mystery film directed by Lew Landers and starring Onslow Stevens, Helen Mack and Vinton Hayworth. It was produced and distributed by Hollywood studio RKO Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David McGreavy</span> English murderer

David Anthony McGreavy, also known as The Monster of Worcester or The Real Friday the 13th Killer, is an English convicted triple murderer who killed and dismembered his friend's three children in 1973. He was in the news in 2013 when an anonymity order imposed in 2009 was lifted based on findings that there was a public interest in his application for parole and that there was no immediate danger to his life. He was held in a vulnerable prisoners' unit, where he spent most of his 40 years in prison until he was released on parole in December 2018.

<i>One Dangerous Night</i> 1943 film by Michael Gordon

One Dangerous Night (1943) is the tenth Lone Wolf film produced by Columbia Pictures. It features Warren William in his seventh and second-to-last performance as the protagonist jewel thief turned detective Lone Wolf, and Warren Ashe as Sidney Shaw, the film's antagonist. The film was directed by Michael Gordon and written by Arnold Phillips, Max Nosseck, and Donald Davis.

<i>Smooth as Silk</i> 1946 film by Charles Barton

Smooth as Silk is a 1946 American noir film directed by Charles Barton and starring Kent Taylor, Virginia Grey, and Milburn Stone. The film is also known as Notorious Gentleman as it is a version of 1935 film A Notorious Gentleman. The film focuses on the murder of a theater producer committed by a lawyer, after the lawyer's bride, an actress, left him for the producer to win a role in his new musical. Despite the fascinating plot and tense intrigue, this film failed to attract much attention.

<i>No Sudden Move</i> 2021 crime thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh

No Sudden Move is a 2021 American crime thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh, produced by Casey Silver, and written by Ed Solomon. The film features an ensemble cast including Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Amy Seimetz, Brendan Fraser, Kieran Culkin, Noah Jupe, Craig muMs Grant, Julia Fox, Frankie Shaw, Ray Liotta, and Bill Duke.

References

  1. "The Naked Face (1984) | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
  2. Awards at imdb.com