Un détective à la dynamite

After they bribed Kirk Douglas to appear in this movie, with just enough left over to convince Eli Wallach to abandon his dignity, they must not have had any money left over for such trivialities as original music composition. So they bought the rights to some Bewitched out-takes. Gets worse, though. Douglas goes out on a date with a dish to a nightclub where they dance the Swig or the Swoop or the Boof or something, and then get into a fake car in front of a green screen. And he's already a half-century old. He's not getting 22-year-olds in any universe outside of Hollywood movies. I sure hope this is Kirk Douglas's worst movie b/c I'd hate to find one worse.

Yes, in this typical comedy crime flick from the mid sixties, showing a cool detective, I would have bet my last shirt on George Peppard for the gumshoe role; check his filmography, Universal Studios, and also his usual characters for this period. This character should have been for him and not Kirk Douglas, what a midcast. But this isnot a crap, only a detective plot, plenty of charm and atmosphere of this unique period for the movie industry, directed by a TV director, involving rich people. Paul Newman as Harper for instance should have been the best, or why not Steve Mc Queen, though they were both too good for this kind of junk. This is too light hearted, but amusing.

Cheesy does not even begin to describe it. Some of the most wooden acting and clunkiest dialogue I have ever experienced. It's actually like a Carry On film without the laughs. Not that Kirk Douglas has a cast-iron reputation as a discerning, talented actor, but his appearance in this is just embarrassing. Likewise Eli Wallach. Then there's this plinky-plonky music running along through many scenes, often totally at odds with the mood and images images it accompanies. Add to this some very weird editing and timing. People laugh (at things that are not remotely funny) or respond to things that are said a second too late. And I know it's of its time etc., but the women in the film are all such bimbos and doormats that even I as a man found it offensive at times. Not even "so bad it's good". Just brutal.

Ghastly vanity project by a fading star. Most bad movies have a camp, unintentional comedy value but this doesn't even have that.

Sylvia Koscina is very lovely to look at. She also has an amazing bubble flip that never gets missed, even after getting out of bed or wearing a wig over it.

Automobiles furnished by Lincoln-Mercury.

"A Lovely Way to Die" is a lot like Frank Sinatra's "Tony Rome" combined with "Dirty Harry" and it kind of works....sometimes. For the most part, it is a disappointment and could have been a lot better.

When the story begins, you see that Jameson Schuyler (Kirk Douglas) has two things he loves...womanizing and beating the crap out of criminals. After his latest violent arrest, he knows he's going to be disciplined...so he quits the police force. Soon after this, a hot-shot attorney (Eli Wallach) approaches Schuyler and offers him a job. He's to keep an eye on a flakey rich lady who is being indicted for murder...and do odd jobs as needed.

Schuyler is a bit of a pig, though what makes the film harder to like is that the accused woman is simply annoying. She is flaky and very inconsistently written. Considering she's on trial for murder, you'd think she'd take this seriously...which she clearly doesn't. And, because she doesn't care, the audience is inclined to feel much the same. An okay film up until the very stupid ending, and it could have easily been better.