What I like about this film is that it is not played for camp. It is completely serious and the stars, Shirley Stoler and Tony Lo Bianco, do not take their roles in a comical manner in any way. Initially, my only issue with the film is the lack of motivation for the character of Martha Beck (outside of sexual manipulation) who is obviously jealous of the other women in Ray Fernamdez's life but didn't seem at all the violent type. Of course the first woman they bilk is sparred, but the other ones are not so lucky, and by the time Martha strikes, my misgivings were satisfied.
Stage, screen and TV actress Shirley Stoler is unforgettable, whether as the Nazi guard in "Seven Beauties" or her supporting role in "The Deer Hunter", or in temporal short-term and recurring roles on the daytime soaps. Stoler is quite attractive here even though her minimal smiling often makes her look sinister. She would cross paths with one of the victims here, Marilyn Chris, when they worked together on "One Life to Live" in the mid 1980's with Chris as restaurant owner Wanda Wolek and Stoler as reformed ex-con Roberta Coleman, at one time related to Dorian Lord through marriage. She returned years later as the vengeful widow of a mobster, sharing scenes with Tony winners Phyllis Newman and Elaine Stritch.
Lo Bianco oozes sleazy charm as the manipulative Ray, but Stoler easily dominates the film with her commamding presence that is surprisingly vulnerable. Dortha Duckworth is convincingly pathetic as Stoler's ailing mother. Doris Roberts is instantly recognizable as Stoler's roommate in the opening scenes. This has deservedly won a cult following over the years, and is probably regarded as a classic of the genre because of how serious it is without being even unintentionally funny, baby dated for being filmed on a very low budget in black and white, but that actually adds to the atmosphere and thus makes it a real classic.
Stage, screen and TV actress Shirley Stoler is unforgettable, whether as the Nazi guard in "Seven Beauties" or her supporting role in "The Deer Hunter", or in temporal short-term and recurring roles on the daytime soaps. Stoler is quite attractive here even though her minimal smiling often makes her look sinister. She would cross paths with one of the victims here, Marilyn Chris, when they worked together on "One Life to Live" in the mid 1980's with Chris as restaurant owner Wanda Wolek and Stoler as reformed ex-con Roberta Coleman, at one time related to Dorian Lord through marriage. She returned years later as the vengeful widow of a mobster, sharing scenes with Tony winners Phyllis Newman and Elaine Stritch.
Lo Bianco oozes sleazy charm as the manipulative Ray, but Stoler easily dominates the film with her commamding presence that is surprisingly vulnerable. Dortha Duckworth is convincingly pathetic as Stoler's ailing mother. Doris Roberts is instantly recognizable as Stoler's roommate in the opening scenes. This has deservedly won a cult following over the years, and is probably regarded as a classic of the genre because of how serious it is without being even unintentionally funny, baby dated for being filmed on a very low budget in black and white, but that actually adds to the atmosphere and thus makes it a real classic.