Contrary to some reviewers' comments, I thought that Roger Moore acted well enough here, portraying emotion such as when talking about his dead wife.
Rod Steiger and Elliot Gould were both good, though I assume that the former's hairpiece reflected what a police lieutenant, rather than a Hollywood star, could afford.
When the reason for the murders, murder attempts and general mayhem became apparent, it was something of an anticlimax as they didn't seem that necessary. The attempt to run down Dr Stevens in the passageway was particular hamfisted.
I'm tempted to see if I can buy a copy of the book on which the film is based, in the hope that it might fill in the several plot holes.
It was strange how the private detective, Morgens,chose to meet Stevens in a particularly isolated and forbidding area
As others have said, the ending was unsatisfactory and suggested there might be more trouble ahead.
Like other reviewers, I was half-hoping that Moore would switch into his Bond persona when he was being beaten up, but I guess that would have prompted me to complain that his Stevens character was not macho enough to do that.
I'm tempted to see if I can buy a copy of the book on which the film is based, in the hope that it might fill in the several plot holes.
EDIT: I bought a copy of the book, which the film generally followed, though the former did include two meetings at their homes that Dr Judd had with the sex-mad ex-actress and the lover of a gay patient at their homes. But the book did end on a clear and positive note, unlike the film - why did they have to tack on that final scene? One or two plot holes were explained, but not convincingly.
