PRETTY POISON

PRETTY POISON (1968). Director: Noel Black.

A twisted romance develops between a disturbed young man named Dennis Pitt (Anthony Perkins of Chillers) and an even more disturbed young woman named Sue Ann Stepanek (Tuesday Weld). Pitt, who was institutionalized for a time, draws Sue Ann into games in which he pretends he's a CIA agent involving her in his dangerous assignments. This leads to more than one murder and a plot by Pitt to get even with the man who fired him. Reasonably entertaining film holds the attention and features some good performances -- especially from Beverly Garland as Sue Ann's unpleasant mother -- and is very well photographed by David Quaid. Good supporting performances from John Randolph and Dick O'Neill (of Gammera, the Invincible). Screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr. Noel Black also directed Prime Suspect. 

Verdict: Some good moments but nothing really special. **1/2.

CHILLERS

CHILLERS (1990 TV series). 

This French-English TV series with a foolish title is based on the work of novelist Patricia Highsmith of Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train fame. The title makes one imagine that this will be a series of scary stories, but while there are a few creepy moments, that is not exactly the case. The main trouble is that not all of Highsmith's short stories translate well to the screen, and when I looked up some of the stories that had been adapted, I didn't find the originals all that great, either. Flat wind-ups do not make for compelling episodes. Perhaps Highsmith worked better in the longer form, although there are many who might disagree. While none of the 12 episodes of this short-lived series -- hosted amiably by Anthony Perkins -- are outstanding, there are a few that are notable. "A Curious Suicide" has a man killing an old friend, now a widower, who married the woman he loved; Nicole Willamson and Barry Foster are excellent as the two principals. "Old Folks at Home" finds a middle-aged couple regretting it after they take in an elderly couple who at first seem sweet but then become more and more demanding. In "Sauce for the Goose" a woman murders her husband to be with a younger man, a singer, then winds up fearing for her own life. Ian Holm stars in "The Stuff of Madness" in which a woman has numerous pets stuffed and spread throughout her garden while her husband obsesses over an old flame. In "Under a Dark Angel's Eyes" a man isn't told that his hateful mother has died so he can keep paying the bills for the couple supposedly looking after her -- Ian Richardson and Peter Vaughn offer exemplary performances in this. 

Stephane Freiss in "Puzzle"

One episode, "The Thrill Seeker," I found too poor  to even finish. Two others are notable for vastly different reasons. "Puzzle" offers a fine performance by Stephane Freiss as Harry, a handsome executive who is caught between two attractive girlfriends who don't know about each other. Like many other episodes, this is entertaining but is not at all a "chiller" and also has a flat resolution. "The Day of Reckoning" is notable if only for the fact that it was helmed by well-known director Samuel Fuller. But the plot, a weird one about tensions between both humans and poultry at an automated chicken farm, is evocative but goes nowhere, becoming rather silly all told. I can only imagine what Fuller thought when he was handed the script!

Verdict: Some very good premises that initially stir the imagination but don't quite hold up for the most part. **1/2.