Erreur fatale

Seeing Joe Penny in anything is a treat. Here is plays a not so nice guy out to no good. By doing away with a stranger that he takes the place of as a missing brother to our leading lady, played by Veronica Hamill. Wish she'd get another hair do. Her hair is jet black and hangs straight down her face making her look like Vampira. Not attractive. A little long in the tooth for such long hair. But Penny makes up for this. He's wonderful as he spins his web of violence to the fateful end. Nice to see Leigh Taylor Young, even though it's briefly, as a hot to trot lady out to get her man. And Daniel Hugh Kelly plays Hamill's boyfriend cop very well doing what he can to help her in her troubles. But, it's Penny that makes this movie a hit.

Joe Penny does a great job in this movie. Playing the bad guy Joe gives another fantastic performance. Pretending to be the long lost brother Joe's character spins the web at every turn. He has to do whatever he can to "protect" his new life and brings even more trouble as the story line goes on.

For anyone who is a Joe Penny fan, if you haven't seen this one by all means watch it! Joe always does great no matter what character or story he is in and this is another one that speaks to his talent.

Veronica Hamill also does great as a lawyer who wishes to find her long lost brother. She thinks she has but what she doesn't realize is the trouble ahead when trusting someone who is not what they seem to be.

This is a nasty thriller that would have suited Hitchcock. Joe Penny is the impostor and really bad guy, who declares himself as nothing less from the beginning. The interest of the film is to follow and expect his gradual exposure. By chance he chooses as his next victim a brilliant and successful lawyer (Veronica Hamill) who is beautiful enough, and you expect him to betray himself by seducing her, but he sticks to his role play as her long lost and stipulated brother, so he lets her alone to target others, until he finds the occasion to move in for a definite settlement.

It's a most unpleasant feature getting nastier all the time, while you get caught up with it with the same kind of obsessive interest as with Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt". The problem here is that Veronica Hamill has no doubts at all and refuses to listen to those off others, until she reaches hard evidence. That's a very logical procedure when you are subject to a meticulously calculated deceit - you wish to believe in innocence as long as it is convincing, until it is proved the opposite. Many have experienced this painful process, so the film is permanently actual.