Review of The Woman Hunter

An otherwise routine TV-movie gets a shot in the arm from some lovely location filming in Acapulco and from some lingering views of the still-stunning, 41 year-old Miss Eden. Eden was something of a TV-movie staple at this point in her career and many of her flicks are fondly remembered. Though there isn't anything incredibly stellar about this one, fans of hers will not want to miss it. She plays a glamorous and wealthy woman who comes to Acapulco to regroup after an emotionally and physically damaging car accident in which she struck and killed a man. Though she had hoped her husband Vaughn would be a significant part of her rest and relaxation, he is ensconced in endless business shenanigans, opening the door for hirsute mystery man Whitman to slither into her life. Whitman seems bent on moving into her territory as quickly as possible and eventually Eden wonders what he's after; her jewels or her life! At this point, the already moderately campy film goes off the radar with Eden enacting catatonic stares into space and performing a hysterical Latin dance at a party in order to prove that Whitman can only look at her necklace. Then she begins to freak out and runs around in a red pantsuit that has a "Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island" style shirt under it. Soon, all is revealed following a frenetic chase along a winding mountain road (recalling her hideous accident several months earlier.) Eden is nothing short of luscious here, showing off her fantabulous body at every opportunity. She is occasionally unintentionally funny as she wades in the water while wearing her cover up or swims with humongous false eyelashes on, but she's always watchable and likable. (One does half expect her at certain points to simply cross her arms and tilt her head in order to excise herself from her troubles, but, alas, she's playing a mere mortal here.) Another preposterous moment has her, after displaying an unending wardrobe of slinky clothes, reaching into a closet for something to wear and having the closet ostensibly EMPTY except for a pantsuit and blouse! Vaughn isn't given a great deal to do here, but is fairly well cast. (Actually, both Eden and Vaughn are old for their roles. This is her first marriage at what would have been 38??) It's hard to believe his character isn't interested in making it with Eden, though. She's got it going on here. Whitman spends an undue amount of time yammering into a tape recorder. The rest of his time is spent trying to convince the audience that he's sexy, often shirtless, near shirtless or even supposedly naked! He's not as repellent as, say, Ernest Borgnine or George Kennedy might have been in the role, but he's hardly the stud he's presented to be either. Where the heck was Hugh O'Brian when they needed him? Chaplin, as one of Vaughn's business associates, has a pointless role and is virtually unrecognizable. Lucero, a noted Mexican actor and one that Sam Peckinpah liked to use as well, plays the local police chief. Storch has a tiny, unnecessary part in the pre-credits party sequence and then is gone for good. His wife Norma is unbelievably stiff, awful and zombie-like in her role and actually shows more life when dead than when her character was alive, flinching as her killer yanks jewels off her "deceased" body while dramatic music blares and breathing obviously throughout! The opening party, by the way, is filled to the brim with oddball, garishly dressed extras who look like they're auditioning for some celebrity look-alike contest. Later, Vaughn comments that his wife draws attention because of her rare blonde hair, but at a party immediately following, she's surrounded by other blondes during her vigorous "dance"! Incidentally, and not at all integral, Eden's character is named Dina Hunter, so the title can be read more than one way: The Woman Hunter or The Woman, Hunter. The whole film is a painless 70+ minutes long and has in its favor the tireless parade of Eden's bra-less wardrobe and fun hairdos and hats, a series of eye-opening settings and enough of a mystery to keep viewers on their toes. Sit back, watch and enjoy!