- No Way to Treat a Lady
-
No Way to Treat a Lady 
Film posterDirected by Jack Smight Produced by Sol C. Siegel Written by John Gay
William GoldmanStarring Rod Steiger
Lee Remick
George Segal
Eileen HeckartMusic by Andrew Belling
Stanley MyersCinematography Jack Priestley Editing by Archie Marshek Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date(s) March 20, 1968 Running time 108 minutes Country United States Language English No Way to Treat a Lady (1968) is a darkly comic thriller directed by Jack Smight, with a screenplay by John Gay adapted from William Goldman's novel of the same name. The film starred Rod Steiger, Lee Remick, George Segal and Eileen Heckart. Segal was nominated for a BAFTA for his role as Detective Moe Brummel.[1]
Contents
Plot
Rod Steiger stars as Christopher Gill, a serial killer who is fixated on his late mother, who had been an actress. Gill preys on older women who remind him of her. A costumer, he adopts various disguises, i.e. priest, policeman, plumber, hairdresser, etc., to put his victims at ease (and also avoid being identified) before strangling them and painting their lips with garish red lipstick. Gill strikes up an adversarial relationship, via telephone, with Detective Morris Brummel (George Segal), who is investigating the murders. As Brummel realizes that the killer has access to costumes, he seeks out local costume outlets, and tracks down Gill. Once he sees a portrait of Gill's mother with bright red lipstick, he knows he has his man, as he later relates, but the case is far from over.
The film features a B-plot concerning Brummel's own mother (Eileen Heckart), who wants her son to be more like his brother (and settle down). Brummel's love interest in the film, Kate Palmer (Lee Remick), manages to win over Brummel's mother, but is later targeted herself by Gill, for reasons other than his mother fixation as Palmer does not fit the profile of his previous victims.
Adaptations
In 1987, Douglas J. Cohen adapted the film into a musical comedy,[2] which was revived Off-Broadway by the York Theatre Company in 1996.[3] That production was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical Revival.[4]
References
- ^ "Film Nominations 1968". Past Winners and Nominees. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/nominations/?year=1968. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Holden, Steven (1987-06-12). "No Way to Treat a Lady". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDA133CF931A25755C0A961948260. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Marks, Peter (1996-12-23). "A Lovelorn Detective Tracks a Singing Strangler". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?html_title=&tols_title=NO%20WAY%20TO%20TREAT%20A%20LADY%20(PLAY)&pdate=19961223&byline=By%20PETER%20MARKS&id=1077011430938. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ "Awards Archive - Previous Award Years: 1996-1997". Outer Critics Circle. http://www.outercritics.org/AwardArchives.aspx?_y=1996-1997. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
Sources
- "No Way to Treat a Lady". Time. 1968-03-29. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,838122,00.html?promoid=googlep. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
External links
- No Way to Treat a Lady at the Internet Movie Database
- No Way to Treat A Lady; York Theatre Company original cast recording
Films directed by Jack Smight 1960s I'd Rather Be Rich (1964) · The Third Day (1965) · Harper (1966) · Kaleidoscope (1966) · The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968) · No Way to Treat a Lady (1968) · Strategy of Terror (1969) · The Illustrated Man (1969)1970s Rabbit, Run (1970) · The Traveling Executioner (1970) · The Man from Independence (1974) · Airport 1975 (1974) · Midway (1976) · Damnation Alley (1977) · Fast Break (1979)1980s The novels of William Goldman The Temple of Gold (1957) • Your Turn to Curtsy, My Turn to Bow (1958) • Soldier in the Rain (1960) • Boys and Girls Together (1964) • No Way to Treat a Lady (1964) • The Thing of It Is... (1967) • Father's Day (1971) • The Princess Bride (1973) • Marathon Man (1974) • Magic (1976) • Tinsel (1979) • Control (1982) • The Silent Gondoliers (1983) • The Color of Light (1984) • Heat (1985) • Brothers (1986)Categories:- English-language films
- 1968 films
- American films
- 1960s comedy films
- 1960s crime films
- American comedy thriller films
- Black comedy films
- Police detective films
- Novels by William Goldman
- Films based on works by William Goldman
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
