It is obvious to me that as Bette Davis got older, she enjoyed little bits of camp here and there in her films, knowing that her movies would continue to be watched, not only for their excellence, but their silliness, long after she was gone. For the last 25 years of her career, she appeared mainly on TV in a variety of parts, from anthology shows of the 1950's and 60's, to TV movies like this that dominated the weekday airwaves of the 1970's. Audiences will laugh hysterically upon hearing the life-long chain smoking Bette admonish private detective Doug McClure for smoking in her presence as "any type of smoke has a bad effect on her health". She's a retired, recluse judge, a widow who continues to stick her nose into local mysteries, and here, the mystery surrounds the murder of a wealthy industrialist whose daughter (Joan Van Ark) has been disowned because of her rebelliousness and the presence of a greedy, second wife. McClure, as the lead detective of Bette's private investigative agency, often squabbles with Davis over his methods, having once been in jail and only able to do detective work on the side. Davis is never seen outside of her character's house, so she doesn't get to do a lot of moving around, and many of her scenes are on the phone, so other than that clipped voice delivering some campy lines, she really isn't involved all that much in the action, except when one of the suspects (Gary Conway) breaks into her home to threaten her.
"The Dark Prince of Genoa City" (Eric Braeden) is seen here sans mustache as an Algerian business tycoon who is wanted in questioning by McClure for Van Ark's father's death, and like "The Young and the Restless's" Victor Newman, he is a commanding character, always threatening his enemies, yet charming when he needs to be, especially with Van Ark. (The two were reunited several decades later when Van Ark joined "Y&R" for a short stint as the original Gloria Fisher.) Most of the action is given to McClure who follows the various suspects around, questions each one, and even gets chased around when an unseen person in a car tries to mow both him and Braeden down in a children's park as a Humpty Dumpty cutout is zoomed in on, seen visibly over a children's swing set. Another tense scene has McClure confronting the dead man's partner (Kent Smith) over an embezzlement charge as Smith shoots at targets in his mansion's back yard. There are too many twists and turns in the film's last 15 minutes so you might wonder who the real killer was unless you pay very close attention. But some clever dialog involving a fake grenade brings on some humor with one of the suspects, and of course, Davis gets in the last word. Too bad she had no more words as this character; She would have been a great addition to the NBC "Mystery Movie" series that dominated Sunday nights in the 1970's.
"The Dark Prince of Genoa City" (Eric Braeden) is seen here sans mustache as an Algerian business tycoon who is wanted in questioning by McClure for Van Ark's father's death, and like "The Young and the Restless's" Victor Newman, he is a commanding character, always threatening his enemies, yet charming when he needs to be, especially with Van Ark. (The two were reunited several decades later when Van Ark joined "Y&R" for a short stint as the original Gloria Fisher.) Most of the action is given to McClure who follows the various suspects around, questions each one, and even gets chased around when an unseen person in a car tries to mow both him and Braeden down in a children's park as a Humpty Dumpty cutout is zoomed in on, seen visibly over a children's swing set. Another tense scene has McClure confronting the dead man's partner (Kent Smith) over an embezzlement charge as Smith shoots at targets in his mansion's back yard. There are too many twists and turns in the film's last 15 minutes so you might wonder who the real killer was unless you pay very close attention. But some clever dialog involving a fake grenade brings on some humor with one of the suspects, and of course, Davis gets in the last word. Too bad she had no more words as this character; She would have been a great addition to the NBC "Mystery Movie" series that dominated Sunday nights in the 1970's.