''No Way to Treat a Lady'' is a 1968 American
psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting.
In terms of context and co ...
film with elements of
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
, directed by
Jack Smight
John Ronald Smight (March 9, 1925 – September 1, 2003) was an American theatre and film director. His film credits include ''Harper'' (1966), '' No Way to Treat a Lady'' (1968), ''Airport 1975'' (1974), '' Midway'' (1976), and ''Fast Break'' ...
, and starring
Rod Steiger
Rodney Stephen Steiger (; April 14, 1925July 9, 2002, aged 77) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely assoc ...
,
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress in ...
,
George Segal, and
Eileen Heckart
Anna Eileen Heckart ( Herbert; March 29, 1919 – December 31, 2001) was an American stage and screen actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years.
Early life
Heckart was born Anna Eileen Herbert in Columbus, Ohio. The daughter of Esther (), ...
. Adapted by
John Gay
John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peac ...
from
William Goldman
William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. He won Academy Awards for his screenplays '' ...
's 1964
novel of the same name, it follows a
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
in New York City who impersonates various characters in order to gain the trust of women before murdering them.
Released in the spring of 1968, the film earned $3.1 million domestically, and received largely favorable reviews from critics, with praise for Steiger's performance and the film's blending of horror and dark humor. Segal was nominated for a
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Best Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film. Actors of all n ...
for his portrayal as Detective Moe Brummel.
A musical comedy adaptation by
Douglas J. Cohen was produced in 1987, and revived
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
in 1996.
Plot
Christopher Gill is a
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
fixated on his late mother, a noted stage actress. Gill preys on older women. A
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
theatre owner and director, he adopts various disguises in order to put his victims at ease and avoid identification, impersonating characters such as an Irish priest, a policeman, plumber, a flamboyant
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
hairdresser, and a
transvestite
Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western c ...
. Once gaining his victims' trust, Gill strangles them to death before painting a pair of lips on their foreheads with garish red lipstick.
Detective Morris Brummell is investigating the murders. Brummel is quoted in the newspaper that the latest murder was well-planned and well-executed. This appeals to Gill's ego, so he starts telephoning Brummel to chat about the murders and the state of the investigation. Brummel is able to elicit a few scraps of information about Gill, but for the most part Gill succeeds in taunting him without giving away his identity.
Away from work, Brummel's own overbearing mother wants her son to be more like his doctor brother and settle down. She is scornful of his career choice. Brummell's new love interest is Kate Palmer, who glimpsed Gill minutes before he committed the first murder, though not well enough to identify him in a way that would aid the investigation. Palmer manages to win over Brummell's mother by claiming she is planning to become Jewish, and by pretending to dominate her son.
In what turns out to be their last phone conversation, Brummel turns the tables on Gill and insults him. Gill subsequently targets Palmer. This is obviously for reasons other than his mother fixation, as Palmer does not fit the profile of his previous victims. He may be jealous of Palmer, or perhaps wants revenge on Brummell for the insults.
Gill attacks Palmer in her apartment, but is forced to flee before he can do her serious harm. During the police manhunt that follows, Gill is seen entering his theatre via a side door. Investigating the sighting, Brummell chats amiably with Gill (the detective at that point cannot be sure the man before him is Palmer's attacker). When he sees in the theatre lobby a painting of an actress with her lips highlighted in deep red lipstick, which Gill volunteers is a portrait of his mother, he knows he has his man.
Brummel confronts Gill with his suspicions, but Gill remains cool. Brummel goes to check out the costume room, and on his way back, as he is passing the theatre stage, Gill attacks him with the backstage rigging. Brummel is staggered, but is able to fatally shoot Gill before he attacks again. In his death swoon Gill revisits the murders he committed, as his deranged mind has recast them.
Cast
Production
Screenplay
Goldman wrote the original novel while experiencing
writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...
, when writing ''
Boys and Girls Together
''Boys and Girls Together'' is a 1964 novel by William Goldman. The title is taken from lyrics in the song, "The Sidewalks of New York".
Background
Goldman says his creative impulse behind the book was his desire to write a long novel:
At the tim ...
'' (published in 1964). He was inspired by an article about the
Boston Strangler
The Boston Strangler is the name given to the murderer of 13 women in the Boston, Massachusetts, area during the early 1960s. The crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo based on his confession, details revealed in court during a separate case, ...
which suggested there might be two stranglers operating, and Goldman wondered what would happen if that were the case and they got jealous of each other.
Development
In October 1966 it was announced that
Sol C. Siegel had signed a three-picture deal with
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, of which the first was to be an adaptation of ''No Way to Treat a Lady''. In December Siegel hired
John Gay
John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peac ...
to adapt the novel into a screenplay. (Jack Smight later said Goldman refused to do the screen adaptation claiming that a novelist should never adapt his or her work for the screen.
)
In March 1967, Jack Smight signed to direct. By May, Rod Steiger was playing the lead and George Segal joined the cast in June.
Paramount was helmed by
Robert Evans
Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930October 26, 2019) was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), and ''Chi ...
at the time, but Smight said he received more assistance from his executive
Peter Bart
Peter Benton Bart (born July 24, 1932) is an American journalist and film producer, writing a column for ''Deadline Hollywood'' since 2015. He is perhaps best known for his lengthy tenure (1989–2009) as the editor in chief of ''Variety'', an ...
. "He was enormously helpful to me under some very trying circumstances," said Smight.
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...
was Evans' choice to play the detective, but Smight insisted that the role go to George Segal.
Filming
Filming started in June and mostly took place in Brooklyn Heights, New York. The original plan was to shoot three weeks in New York and do all interiors at Paramount's studio but in the end Smight and Siegel decided to shoot the entire film in New York.
"It's Steiger's film," said Segal. "He runs around doing all sorts of different roles and I just stop by and watch him... It's a big, comfortable Hollywood production and I have banker's hours."
Eileen Heckart filmed her scenes during the day while appearing at night in ''
You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running
''You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running'' is a collection of four unrelated one-act comedy plays by Robert Anderson.
In ''The Shock of Recognition'', playwright Jack Barnstable auditions Richard Pawling for a role that requires nudi ...
''.
Filming was completed by September.
Sol Siegel was reportedly unhappy with the ending, but was overruled by the director and star.
The novel was re-issued under Goldman's name in 1968 to coincide with the release of the film. The ''New York Times'' called it "dazzling".
Smight was entitled to 15% of the net profits. He says he never received any, but blames this on studio accounting.
Release
Box office
''No Way to Treat a Lady'' premiered on March 20, 1968, and grossed $3.1 million at the U.S. box office.
[
]
Critical response
Wanda Hale of the ''New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' praised the film for Steiger's "tour-de-force performance" and its blending of humor and the macabre. ''The People
The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881.
At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...
'' critic Ernest Betts likened the film to the works of Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
, praising Steiger's performance and summarizing: "The film has a macabre humor which just takes the edge off the horror and is sometimes hilarious."
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote of the film: "Beneath all the outrageous make-up, hairpieces, disguises and belly laughs in ''No Way to Treat a Lady'', there is a curious and ironic comment about the land of stifling mother love... There is nothing wrong with this sort of sheer sensation for its own sake as long as the gags and Steiger's masquerades maintain their bold effrontery. When they don't, however, as happens with increasing frequency toward the end, the mind begins to wander."[
Actor George Segal was nominated for a ]BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Best Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film. Actors of all n ...
for his portrayal of Detective Moe Brummel.
Home media
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global.
The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...
released the film on DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on September 3, 2002. Under license from Paramount, Scream Factory
Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
released the film on Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
for the first time on December 21, 2021.
Related works
In 1987, Douglas J. Cohen adapted the film into a musical comedy
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
, which was revived Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
by the York Theatre Company
York Theatre is an off-Broadway theatre company based in East Midtown Manhattan, New York City. In its 50th year, York Theatre is dedicated to the production of new musicals and concert productions of forgotten musicals from the past. Each se ...
in 1996. That production was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...
for Best Musical Revival.
See also
*List of American films of 1968
This is a list of American films released in 1968.
'' Oliver!'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Top-grossing films
# '' 2001: A Space Odyssey''
# '' Funny Girl''
# '' Planet of the Apes''
# '' Rosemary's Baby''
# '' The Odd Couple''
# ...
References
Sources
*
External links
*
*
*
*
{{William Goldman
1968 films
1960s black comedy films
1960s comedy thriller films
1960s serial killer films
1960s mystery films
American black comedy films
American comedy thriller films
American mystery films
American police detective films
American serial killer films
American films about revenge
Cross-dressing in film
Films based on American novels
Films based on works by William Goldman
Films directed by Jack Smight
Films produced by Sol C. Siegel
Films scored by Stanley Myers
Films set in New York City
Films shot in New York City
Films with screenplays by John Gay (screenwriter)
Paramount Pictures films
1968 comedy films
1968 drama films
1960s English-language films
1960s American films