Tod auf Rhodos

Quite terrible international "thriller" that stars George Hamilton as an obnoxious playboy who may or may not be involved in the murders of a bunch of people connected to his father's will.

I guarantee you you won't care whether he is or not, or whether or not he's bonking his sister in a weird relationship the film suggests might lean toward the incestuous, or why the film's called "Medusa," or how Hamilton managed to have a career despite being worthless in pretty much every category necessary to being a successful entertainer. You will only care about the movie ending so that Hamilton's annoying, twerpy jerk of a character will no longer be assaulting your T.V. screen, or rather you will only care if you are still awake, as I certainly wasn't.

Grade: F

Just dreadful film about George Hamilton playing some rich playboy type seeing his sister being engaged at the film's beginning and then, strapped for cash, needing to locate some will so he can continue his relative life of ease. Hamilton and his sister have a very, very close relationship it seems. Anyway, Hamilton owes money to thug/gangster/loan shark/over-actor Cameron Mitchell, and he must do whatever is needed to restore his income. This movie is just flat-out one big bore. It is directed by that awful director Gordon Hessler who could have Vincent Price and Christopher Lee in the same film(even in one film having Peter Cushing as well)and make them boring. Hessler is competent behind the camera lens in terms of framing a picture, etc..., but he has little talent in getting his audience interested in what he films or interested in his hangups which abound in almost all of his films. Hamilton is embarrassingly bad mugging to the camera spouting ridiculous dialog and mimicking the likes of Cary Grant, Clark Gable, and Humphrey Bogart. Overact he does and to the point of nausea for the viewer. I cannot say much in favor of this film: it has nothing it would seem to do with Medusa, the location shots in Greece are made to be quite mundane, and the plot...well, let's just say it makes little sense nor creates little interest. The "payoff" at film's end can be seen miles away, and it is yet another Hessler sick, twisted, perverted aspect. Mitchell is fun to watch considering his enthusiasm for the role, which allows him to flood one man's lungs with water via a garden hose and use a bulldozer to push a man in a car over a cliff. As for the rest of the thespians, they are all Greek to me...nearly. This is primarily a Greek production with an American "star" and a German director. Go figure huh? Lucianna Paluzzi plays Hamilton's very, very devoted sister with little appeal. The only performance which I would say offered any merit is that of Takis Kavouris as a somewhat witty, somewhat eccentric police inspector. He has what little dialog that has any worth. But all in all this one is literally a sleeper. It tries to be artsy and intelligent in parts, even having Hamilton narrate ala William Holden from Sunset Boulevard at the beginning. I was so not impressed! Like the lost city of Atlantis, this one sinks right to the bottom, "like a plastic boat in a bath tub." Again, just dreadful.

Jeffrey (George Hamilton) is a frivolous, quite possibly psychotic playboy. He and his sister stand to inherit the family fortune through their zillionaire father's will. It's not long before those involved with the will begin dying at the hands of a mysterious strangler.

Not even fellow psycho and loan shark, Angelo (Cameron Mitchell) is a match for this shadowy figure!

MEDUSA is a semi-dark, somewhat twisted tale of greed, violence, and murder. There are a few memorable scenes, like Angelo's swimming sequence. Though kooky and dull, this movie is worth watching to witness Hamilton and Mitchell face off in their dueling histrionics. Hamilton is his usual smirking self. So, if you're a big fan of "The Man With The Tan", that'll bump this one up a couple of notches...

George Hamilton. What an argument for birth control. I have never seen this guy in anything worthwhile, yet he still seems to hang around. This terrible film involves his being tiresome and obnoxious. He goes from place to place, acting like an idiot, drunk, living a life he wants to continue. If this is why he needs the money, don't give him any. He serves no purpose at all. The title of the movie is misleading. If someone can explain it to me. I found it in a horror collection. I thought it was about Greek mythology. There is no Medusa. That's the thing that when looked at would turn a person to stone. Just about the same thing happened to me. Only I was snoring the whole time. There is nothing campy or bad movieish about this. It is an hour and half of dreadful dullness. Oh yes, George is known for his tan.

According to what I've read about Medusa it was partially produced by "star" George Hamilton which puts it into the category of vanity projects that tend to become tedious stories that overexpose the actor who in some way feel that their particular talents aren't utilized more. Clocking in at a whopping 103 minutes, Medusa, a title that bares no significance whatsoever to the plot, delivers a dagger to any possibility of Hamilton seen as anything other than a hammy, Warren Beatty clone.

George Hamilton plays the role of Jeff an American playboy, drunk, gambler, screwup delux that is purportedly in line to inherit millions through a will. Jeff has a very unhealthy relationship with his sister, here played by Luciana Paluzzi who has been betrothed to financially successful Theodore Roubanis as Nikos. The fact that Jeff and Sarah are brother and sister when Hamilton is unabashedly American and Italian Paluzzi, thick accent and all, seem so odd that it would have been better to say that perhaps they were former lovers than siblings. They certainly act the lovers part anyway. Jeff desperately needs to be included in the will because he owes money to friend and gangster loan shark Angelo, ( Cameron Mitchell) who in turn owes money to his bosses. Mitchell is the loan bright spot as he appears to have fun as the tough-talking wise ass who seems conflicted with what to do with Jeff. The rest of the film is about Jeff's decline into the depths of darkness as he and a "mysterious" accomplice go on a murder spree in order to extract information about the will. Takis Kavouras rounds out the cast as a Greek inspector with the hairiest hands I've every seen!

Between Hamilton's mugging to the camera and the dragging plot it truly is a task to watch this in its entirety. George even manages to cast his wife, Alana Stewart, in a pointless role as Eleana. Gordon Hessler of MST3K's Master Ninja fame directs this made for television clunker that provides no surprises whatsoever. There is a Greek musical score that is bashed over your skull repeatedly. If a viewer drank a shot of ouzo every time it blares onto a scene you might actually be drunk enough to make it through Medusa in one sitting. I did not succeed.