Prolific novelist Evan Hunter, whose film credits in 1963 alone range from Alfred Hitchcock’s THE BIRDS to Akira Kurosawa’s HIGH AND LOW, published his pulpier fare as Ed McBain (see poster). Mostly his long-running 87th Precinct series, but also this similar, out-of-series serial slasher police procedural. He worked up a dandy plot here, as police piece together a psychological profile to catch the slasher before he attacks again; even using a female cop as slash bait; only to be baffled when the unknown prep breaks the pattern with a murder. Are they back to square one or is the crime unrelated? Maybe just meant to seem unrelated. Standard, but neat. If only the filmmakers met McBain’s conception halfway. But William Berke megs without an ounce of style, unable to camouflage his starvation budget or get the best out of a pretty good cast. Ken Smith, as the profiler cop in charge, an old hand at slasher B-pics from CAT PEOPLE/’42, maintains an odd lighthearted demeanor throughout, while James Franciscus tries a bit too hard to make an impression as a victim’s brother-in-law. As if he were auditioning for a tv show. Look fast to see Renée Taylor in a quick debut as a nosy neighbor type and for B’way actress Sandra Church, making a rare film appearance as that victim before heading back to the stage as Gypsy Rose Lee against Ethel Merman’s legendary Mama Rose in the Jules Styne/Stephen Sondheim musical GYPSY.
WATCH THIS, NOT THAT: See Fritz Lang struggle with similar, grubby elements to uneven, but interesting effect in WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS/’56.
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