There was a reason Angie Dickinson was a favorite of Sinatra's Rat Pack; just check out the opening shower scene that doesn't leave much to the imagination. Elements of Hitchcock's "Psycho'" intrude on the plot of this often violent film, with Dickinson's character making an early exit in deference to the story line. Top billed Michael Caine is also a sporadic presence in the picture, though if you count his alter ego, he makes quite a few intrusions into the story with drastic consequences. Dennis Franz shows up in support as the smarmy Detective Marino investigating Kate Miller's (Dickinson) murder, looking in all respects as if he's trying out for a role in 'Hill Street Blues'. Some of the action (or maybe the editing), gets a little clunky when Miller's son Peter (Keith Gordon) gets involved in the case, while Nancy Allen delivers her own steamy presence in a scene where she strips down to her all black under garments. The killer, when revealed, may or may not come as a surprise, depending on how many murder mysteries you might have seen, but for this viewer, it was a neat bit of calculated misdirection by director Brian De Palma.
Review of Dressed to Kill
