A Outra Face

The Naked Face is from the Golam and Globus Israeli production company that for a time was producing films for the US market. As I recall, Shelley Winters stole an emerald ring off of a film set when she wasn't paid for her work.

They were able to attract good casts, and The Naked Face, bad as it was, had one: Roger Moore, Rod Steiger, Art Carney Elliott Gould, and Anne Archer.

The story concerns a psychiatrist (Moore) who is being possibly set up for murder of his secretary and a patient - or, as he suspects, someone is trying to kill him.

Steiger plays a detective holding a grudge due to Moore's testimony in a case where a defendant killed his partner and won an insanity plea.

Absolutely gratuitous scenes of violence and torture, very unpleasant. Also Anne Archer walked in and out of Moore's office for no apparent reason as she never disclosed her problem

The film isn't particularly well photographed. And it's not particularly good.

Bryan Forbes ("The Stepford Wives" '75) directed this adaptation of a Sidney Sheldon novel in addition to writing it for the screen. Sir Roger Moore tackles a change of pace role, playing Dr. Judd Stevens, a Chicago psychiatrist. One of his patients is murdered for no apparent reason, and his secretary is horribly tortured before being killed. Lt. McGreary (Rod Steiger) is a volatile police detective, bearing a grudge against Stevens, who's very quick to consider the doctor a prime suspect. The story then unfolds as one would expect it to, as Dr. Stevens must evade attempts on his life while trying to prove his innocence and keep McGreary out of his hair.

"The Naked Face" really isn't deserving of some of the talent here. Made on the cheap by the Cannon Group (basically because some of their other product during this time had under performed at the box office), it adequately entertains without being remarkable in any way. Viewers may feel underwhelmed by the twists that the story provides, and the climactic reveal and confrontation fail to be that satisfying. Editing, photography, and pacing are all reasonably well done, although that music score by Michael J. Lewis is awfully melodramatic. The last second shock ending is quite annoying.

Moore is okay, no more, as our somewhat reserved main character, while Steiger is given yet another opportunity to rip the scenery to shreds. Elliott Gould is actually good as McGreary's partner Angeli. Lovely Anne Archer is appealing as always in her small role as one of the patients. David Hedison lends solid support as Stevens's good friend (and brother-in-law) Dr. Peter Hadley. The main attraction, however, is Art Carney in a likable turn as a sly private detective. The film gets just a little bit better when he turns up.

Fans of these actors and this genre may enjoy this one. At least it delivers one memorable sequence involving one of the attempts to kill off Stevens.

Six out of 10.

This is a truly ugly little movie - from start to finish, it lacks warmth, familiarity. Indeed, it begins and ends in a cemetery. Its look gives it a low budget feel- though the high powered cast must have made it more expensive than it looks.

the movie is saved by its choice of actors. This must be one of the most unusual casts assembled: Art Carney, Roger Moore, Anne Archer, Elliott Gould, Rod Steiger, David Hedison (known particularly to Americans for the TV series, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea but I think he also served as Felix Leitner in one of the Bond movies). What a group.

The sight of Roger Moore as a pathetic, terrified, weak, indignant psychiatrist is also truly disorienting. As he runs and pushes chairs against doorknobs to stop one man chasing him, trembling in fear, it's VERY hard to not cry out "007, WAKE UP! One karate chop will do it!

I think the best of a generation of American actors were Rod Steiger, Jason Robards, Marlon Brando, and George C. Scott. Steiger's role isn't a wonderful one - but he is as usual, fascinating to watch to see the accents, looks, manners, that he will choose to portray the character.

I am very fond of Elliott Gould - though he underplays his role here. Anne Archer is lovely - as she is as the wife of Harrison Ford in all the Tom Clancy/Jack Ryan movies, and of course as the wife of Michael Douglas in Fatal Attraction.

Art Carney is absolutely extraordinary - very amusing - it's as if his dialogue was written by someone other than the sleepy TV movie of the week folks who wrote the other dialogue.

This is worth watching - if you don't expect too much. E.g., if you want to see Roger Moore play another role - and I like Moore very much -it's fine. He's also charming and funny in the comedy, That Lucky Touch with Susannah York.

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.

Moore plays a psychiatrist caught in a web of intrigue and murder, as his patients become victims of a sinister plot. Steiger and Gould play a pair of detectives assigned to the case, but their disdain for Moore affects little progress in solving the case, and he turns to wily amateur sleuth Carney, to solve the mystery before he becomes the next victim. Generally well constructed thriller, with occasional brutal, graphic and somewhat gratuitous violence that might offend. The scene in which Moore's office is ransacked is especially cold and callous in its excess.

Some neat twists are employed by actor-turned-director Forbes, with solid performances from Moore, Steiger and Gould in particular. Moore's normally nonchalant persona is replaced here with suitable concern, as he's pursued by sadistic villains with little inclination for mercy. The executions are particularly nasty and the tone is never far from dark and threatening. In some ways, "The Naked Face" is similar in vein to both "Still of the Night" and "Colour of Night" in terms of its content, and has a render reminiscent of a Brian De Palma thriller (though it lacks De Palma's signature styling).

Despite the sophisticated elements, the dialogue is only functional and at one hour and forty-five minutes, the film does overstay its welcome. Worth a look, but nothing spectacular.