Taglines: He uses his badge like a bludgeon…She uses her body like a lure!
A Lovely Way to Die movie storyline. In continuing battles with his highers up about what they see as his heavy handed tactics, womanizing Jameson Schuyler resigns as a Detective with the NYPD rather than be reprimanded or fired. His unemployment is short lived as his lawyer friend Tennessee Fredericks, having seen the writing on the wall for Jim, hires him for a short term job as bodyguard for his most recent client. She is wealthy by marriage Rena Westabrook who is one of two charged in the murder of her older husband, Loren Westabrook, a known skirt chaser himself.
The other charged is Rena’s playboy friend Jonathan Fleming, her assumed lover, their motive, according to the DA, being Loren’s money. A proverbial trophy wife, seductive Rena admits behind closed doors that she stayed married to Loren for his money and as such is not too choked up about his death irrespective of who killed him. Jim is not blind to her trophy wife status, she who seems impervious to his very forward come-ons in his attraction to her.
While Tennessee is concerned solely with getting an acquittal regardless of her guilt or innocence, Jim, in addition to shielding her from whomever, but especially reporters in this very high profile case, can’t help in his police detective mentality but also try to find out the truth behind the murder. If he is to do so, he will have to discover exactly what happened on the Westabrooks’ quiet yet argument-filled drive home from the racetrack earlier in the day of the murder.
A Lovely Way to Die is a 1968 American crime neo noir directed by David Lowell Rich and starring Kirk Douglas, Sylva Koscina, Eli Wallach and Kenneth Haigh. The film is notable for two supporting players: Martyn Green, longtime Gilbert and Sullivan specialist and actor / singer / director with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, makes a rare movie appearance, and Ali MacGraw makes her film debut in a walk-on.
A Lovely Way to Die (1968)
Directed by: David Lowell Rich
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Sylvia Koscina, Eli Wallach, Kenneth Haigh, Martyn Green, Sharon Farrell, Ruth White, Philip Bosco, Ralph Waite, Meg Myles, William Roerick, Dana Elcar
Screenplay by: A.J. Russell
Cinematography by: Morris Hantzband
Film Editing by: Sidney Katz, Gene Palmer
Costume Design by: Mary Merrill
Set Decoration by: John McCarthy Jr., John Ward
Art Direction by: Alexander Golitzen, Willard Levitas
Music by: Kenyon Hopkins
MPAA Rating:
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: July 12, 1968 (New York City)
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