Nightkill

source: Nightkill

Nightkill was going to be the breakout feature film debut for Jaclyn Smith of Charlie's Angels. It wound up being quite a bit less than that and not even making it to the big screen. Smith is joined by two television series veterans, Mike Connors of Mannix and James Franciscus of Mr. Novak. And of course big screen legend Robert Mitchum who hadn't been involved in a scare film like this since Cape Fear. Smith is most unhappily married to Mike Connors who is a tyrannical tycoon. But she is having an affair with Connors's number two Jim Franciscus. One fine day with both all three at the spaciou home that Connors and Smith have, Franciscus slips some poison into Connors's drink and he dies. What to do with the body? After what is done with it, it's Franciscus's corpse that Smith finds where they had stored Connors. And now there is a police detective played by Mitchum poking around in a most officious like manner, almost like he understudied the Peter Falk school of plodding detective work. You might think you know where this is going, but I assure you that you don't. It gets real terrifying for Jaclyn Smith as she doesn't know who to trust or believe. The spacious vistas of Phoenix, Arizona were not properly used in the cinematography of Nightkill. Mitchum doesn't come in until some 35 minutes after the film begins, but a few flecks of those famous rumpled eyelids and he's dominating the proceedings from then on. NIghtkill is not the greatest of mystery thrillers, but it's reasonably entertaining for those who will want to empathize with what Smith is going through.

I really thought Nightkill was going to be lousy. A murder-gone-wrong movie in the '80s starring one of Charlie's Angels? I thought I'd turn it off after ten minutes, but after that time, I was hooked! Yes, Jaclyn's Smith's hairdo is dated, and a few scenes are a "tv-ish", but if you're one of the many people who enjoy this genre, you might want to check this one out. The reason I kept watching Nightkill was because Jaclyn's marriage to Mike Connors wasn't your typical "evil husband must die" relationship. He's very wealthy, and he's not a nice person, but Joan Andre wrote his character to be subtly instead of blatantly cruel. He belittles their Mexican housekeeper, treats his subordinates like peons, and gets impatient with his wife. Everything he does and says, though, are things someone in his position might think is okay. He's not a blatant bad guy; he's just insensitive and rude. So, when Jaclyn's lover James Franciscus kills him, it's understandable that she's not jumping for joy. All she wanted was a divorce, not his death. But, since she's now an accessory-and since she's the lead in an '80s thriller and therefore goes along with a terrible idea-Jaclyn agrees to hide the body and pretend her husband is still alive until she and James can run away together. Gee, do you think everything's going to go smoothly? Definitely not, especially when policeman Robert Mitchum starts sniffing around. I'm sure you know why I rented this movie in the first place; we all know how much I love Robert Mitchum. He has such great energy in this movie, and I can't help but think he arranged for Michael Anderson, Jr. to have a cameo, since they played father and son twenty years earlier in The Sundowners. One warning about Nightkill: make sure you have a strong stomach. Parts of the movie get pretty gruesome, to counteract the good looks of the three main leads, I guess. Also, if you liked seeing Jaclyn Smith and James Franciscus playing the Kennedys, you can see them together again in this movie! Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to gruesome images and an upsetting scene with an animal, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

"Nightkill" was an attempt to make a modern take on the classic noir movies of the 1940s and 1950s. I say "attempt", because the end results are somewhat disappointing. In fairness to the movie, I will say that the movie never commits the ultimate cinematic sin by being boring, and it's always welcome to see Robert Mitchum. But it's often a strange movie - the husband is bumped off very quickly, and the love interest soon after exits the movie instead of sharing the subsequent problems that come up for the female lead. Also, there are long chunks of the movie when essentially NOTHING of serious consequence is happening. The other big problem with the screenplay is that while it tries to deceive its audience, most people watching will be able to guess most (if not all) of the twists and revelations that happen near the end fairly quickly. Though the twists and revelations that happen don't answer ever question viewers will have piled up in their minds up to that point. In short, the movie is a noir tale for those who have never seen one before in their lives, and who happen to be VERY forgiving of cinematic shortcomings.

I disagree that this is bad cinema. Surely it is not great cinema. But the performances are quite good and it has a good ending. I got my copy from an on-line auction, as its a very rare film and didn't get much showing at theatres. If you like dark mysteries and Robert Mitchum, and if you can find it, give it a try.

SPOILER!!!!! I have just finished watching this film and I was very impressed. I collect Jaclyn Smith's films and most recently acquired this one on DVD. The story took all sorts of interesting twists. Was Wendell dead? Was Katherine (Jaclyn) being set up? I was hooked, and it was remarkable how everything came together. As soon as I saw Donner (Robert Mitchum) putting on gloves near the end, it clicked. We had not seen Wendell's face when apparently he was chasing Katherine but that added a air of mystery at the time, not seeing the 'dead' man's face. Robert Mitchum played a very good phoney detective. This is a rare occasion that nothing major is overlooked in the plot that the victim could have done differently. Katherine did nothing too irrational and didn't seem simply stupid at all. Jaclyn was a pleasure to see, especially knowing she made this film while "Charlie's Angels" was still in production. However, the downside, the moment when she had to display extreme emotion, (I'm sad to say) were sometimes cringe-worthy, the worst was when she was runnning round the house shouting for who she thought was Wendell to come out. But this was required for the role I guess, a very distressed woman. However, when she discovers Steve's body in the place of Wendell's, the film makers choice to make it slow motion with music and no sound of gasping, shrieking or crying was extremely sucessful in my opinion, it worked a lot better, the expressions on Jaclyn's face spoke for themselves easily! And the previous review about having to watch this is a second time is true, I look forward to that in a few months time, noticing the pieces being scattered to come back together later. This isn't Jaclyn at her best, but an excellent thriller with the bonus of featuring Jaclyn.

I was surprised at how nail-biting this movie was, not only at the somewhat unusual plot, but by the dark and brooding performance by Robert Mitchum. Nightkill is a reasonable enough thriller with good twists and turns throughout, and an equally strong conclusion. Jaclyn Smith gives out a not-too-bad performance as Katherine Atwell, but in my eyes I felt as if she was trying a little too hard in some places. Mike Connors though portrays his cold and callous character of Wendel to good effect. You actually despise Wendel! In no doubt, however, it's Mitchum who steals the show; what a twist toward the end! Nice background music too: the score actually tells the story in some parts - very ominous. In a nutshell, Nightkill is a relatively suspenseful film, but what lets it down is the somewhat inept direction and weak dialogue in certain places. 7/10

The movie is appropriately named, "Nightkill", because it is so darkly filmed that the daylight scenes, which are not many, seem like night, and the nighttime scenes will literally leave you in the dark. Since the plot twists and turns, it would be nice to actually see what is going on. Basically, Jaclyn Smith is unwittingly drawn into a complex murder plot, involving her tyrant, millionaire husband, Mike Connors. Once her lover, James Franciscus, does the killing, nothing is explained, and the audience is left to blindly follow what is happening. Personally, I lost interest until the relentlessly downbeat ending. Despite the presence of Robert Mitchum, and some decent acting, technically the film is seriously flawed. - MERK

From some of the first terrifying television, I got to view, since I didn't get to enjoy many shows like "Night Gallery" hosted by awesome Rod Serling and others because I was too young. Until the latter nineteen seventies. This is when I started in on 'thrillers'. But as this was for me a differing effect, for one thing I was in 'crush-ville' for Mrs. Smith and so that complicated my feelings for the movie and drew me further in. I know that some have said that they think of the acting, with these characters as not up to par. Some have said that, I think that this was pretty to view and get into, as stories go. I watched her go through a hard time and watched it grow increasingly more twisted. She had me on the edge of my seat and miles away from my comfort zone. But the movie was a semi-complicated and involved plot for the average viewer, I think. Plus, with betrayal from Lt. Donner (Michael Anderson Jr.), who is supposed to be at least an honorable man and naturally you would believe justice would come from his involvement. I remember very well the part with which he deceives her, right in front of her with a telephone call. He 'acts' as if he is calling to help Jacklyn's character and there is no-one on the other end of the line, unbeknown to her. I remember the hair on my neck standing up as he was just finishing with the phone call, as he hung up with that 'mono-tone' 'killer' look in his eyes. Very chilling for me, considering that it was over twenty five years ago. And sometimes things (Movies) don't always age well. Some, age very well, but not all of course. I am looking for this movie on DVD. I recommend it, but watch it late or in the dark without distraction from front to back. It does deliver classic actor/actress suspense and hair raising excitement. Not everyone may agree, but judge for yourself.(****)

Filmed in Arizona by a mostly-foreign crew, "Nightkill" is one of the clumsiest crime dramas I have ever seen. Robert Mitchum (in a cowboy hat) trails recently-widowed Jaclyn Smith around, hoping to figure out if she had a hand in her husband's death. Jaclyn's wardrobe is of the Dale Evans variety and her dog is named "Cowboy"...seems as if somebody sure bought into the American myth that all westerners talk and dress like descendants of John Wayne! Screenplay by Joan Andre and John Case may have worked better if approached as parody; this mystery thriller just plays tame, with director Ted Post asleep at the controls. Don't be drawn in by the video box art of Jaclyn screaming while taking a shower. She does indeed take a shower in this film, but it is not revealing (nor does it further the murky plot one iota). NO STARS from ****