Al filo del abismo

This is one of those movies in which even the plot twists meant to surprise the viewer are obvious, almost from the very start. Jack Scalia plays an ex-cop who, while working for a home-security firm, meets the beautiful Kathryn Harrold. She's unhappily married to the ominously-wealthy Will Patton. Soon Scalia and Harrold are involved in a passionate affair and ... well, you can figure out where this story is going. Most plots are old plots and they can still be made to work if done with proper care. "Deadly Desire" scrapes by but never rises above the level of a routine made-for-TV movie. The main problem is that Scalia's lust for Harrold never seems quite great enough to make plausible his blindness to the plot which is steadily enveloping him. For her part, while poised and attractive, Harrold never quite exerts enough allure to make her a convincing "femme fatale." The lack of fire in their relationship leaves a soft spot in the center of the story.

Jack Scalia's career began when he modeled briefs in print ads which used poses and expressions emphasizing his pleasing physique, sultry sexuality, and pubic bulge. As an actor, he's never much developed beyond the "pretty boy" stage, though he seems to have a modest flair for light comedy. This flair isn't much used in "Deadly Desire" but, even at age 39, he still looks good stripping down for "beefcake" scenes. There are five of them in this movie, three of them coming in sexual encounters with Kathryn Harrold. In one of these encounters you get a quick, dimly-lit view of his bare butt but, most of the time, attention is focused on his chest. Sometimes Scalia shaves his chest but here he displays a patch of black hair on his sternum.

Although acquitted of negligent homicide a few years earlier, a former LAPD policeman named "Frank Decker" (Jack Scalia) has accepted a job as a security guard working for an old friend named "Gus" (Joe Santos) who stood by his side through thick and thin when things were really bad. To that extent, things have begun to work out well for him and as a side benefit he even gets free membership at a wealthy country club due to his occupation. While there he happens to meet a married woman named "Angela Menteer" (Kathryn Harrold) and not long afterward he is sent to her house to install security equipment. The problem is that, even though he tries his best to stay professional, things begin to spiral out-of-control in a way that he could never imagine. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this made-for-television crime-drama turned out to be much better than I anticipated in large part because of the chemistry displayed between Jack Scalia and Kathryn Harrold. I also liked the performance of Will Patton (as Angela's husband "Giles Menteer"). Likewise, having an intricate plot and a surprise ending certainly helped in that regard as well. In any case, those looking for a more modern type of film noir from the 90's could certainly do worse and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

Its a good movie with good ending. most of the movies about married wife with rich powerful husband But wife having an affair, thats always ends up bad.

a lonely married woman living in big house , starts an affair with security guy, But till the mid of the movie that wife is not what she seems.

good acting .

I just remember about ten years ago watching this movie on the USA cable network and saw it listed on the IMDB. The best I remember this movie features some hot and steamy scenes of the beautiful Kathryn Harrold, and to make things better I just learned that Kathryn grew up in a rural Virginia county just north and east of me she's part of southwest Virginia! I live in Buchanan county and Kathryn is a Tazewell county native! It's so nice to know that a beautiful actress grew up not far from the place you live! This is old and never hardly gets reruns but I'm glad I saw it and I always remember the region and birthplace of the beautiful Kathryn!