I wish I had counted every time the word tomato was used to describe Barbara Bain's character. She's a great femme fatale in this film noir spoof made for TV that seems to be the closest thing to the real deal with Richard Boone the sleepy eyed detective and Michael Dunn as his wisecracking sidekick. There's a great opening on a Greyhound bus where a sailor proceeds to talk a complete strangers ear off for the entire journey, and when they arrive, he nonchalantly turns around and shoots the man with a silencer. Bain shows up at Boone's detective agency to try and find out what happened which leads Boone and Dunn into a complex mystery involving crime boss Victor Bueno and other assorted colorful characters with colorful names yet brains of empty canvases.
The diminutive Dunn steals every moment, and his wisecracks don't seem at all out of character as everything that comes out of his mouth displays a personality of this nature. Everybody else seems to be set up for one of his takedowns, and he is excellent. Bain should be referred to as the teary-eyed vixen because she breaks down and cries every time there is a twist in the plot, but there's more to her than meets her tear ducts. Her look reminds me of Faye Dunaway in "Chinatown", and the atmosphere definitely is very similar. The art directors did a really good job of creating a noir looking atmosphere, and it pays off in the end. A shocking twist at the end had me stunned. One of the best nostalgic TV movies of the early '70s.
The diminutive Dunn steals every moment, and his wisecracks don't seem at all out of character as everything that comes out of his mouth displays a personality of this nature. Everybody else seems to be set up for one of his takedowns, and he is excellent. Bain should be referred to as the teary-eyed vixen because she breaks down and cries every time there is a twist in the plot, but there's more to her than meets her tear ducts. Her look reminds me of Faye Dunaway in "Chinatown", and the atmosphere definitely is very similar. The art directors did a really good job of creating a noir looking atmosphere, and it pays off in the end. A shocking twist at the end had me stunned. One of the best nostalgic TV movies of the early '70s.