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| Liz Fraser and Tony Wickert |
Jo Lake (Liz Fraser) and her boyfriend Mark (Peter Reynolds) entrap unsuspecting men, with Liz picking them up and Mark pretending to be her husband. One night Mark is murdered by a gangster named Kleinie (Kenneth Griffith). Jo brings Tom (Tony Wickert) home from the club where he and his pals are celebrating his having one final fling, where they come upon Mark's body. Jo tells a horrified Tom that if he doesn't help her get rid of the corpse, she will tell the police that he is the murderer. Tom's actions after that border on the moronic. The Painted Smile is a lesser melodrama from director Lance Comfort. The acting is more than adequate. Others in the cast include a pre-Blowup David Hemmings as one of Tom's pals and Nanette Newman as Tom's highly supportive fiancee, Mary. Singer Craig Douglas warbles a tune in a nightclub.
Verdict: Very short alleged thriller that you can easily miss. **.
Loved Hemmings--he must have been young here--and Nanette Newman will forever be my favorite Stepford Wife (it was directed by her hubby, who cast her and immortalized her). She was also good in the sequel to National Velvet taking the Liz Taylor role with Tatum O'Neal and Christopher Plummer. (Come to think of it, her husband Bryan Forbes directed that too.! Ha!) Hemmings is very cute and evil as Sharon Tate's brother in Eye of the Devil, which I need to write about...
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Please do! I love your film essays! As for David Hemmings, he looks about twelve-years-old in this one!
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