Deadly Illusion

This film essentially begins with a New York City private detective known simply by the last name of "Hamberger" (Billy Dee Williams) being offered $100,000 by a rich man named "Alex Burton" (Dennis Hallahan) to kill his wife. Although he has no intention of doing going through with it, Hamberger accepts a down payment of $25,000 and then heads out to the house where the man's wife lives. When he gets there, he tells "Sharon Burton" (Morgan Fairchild) of her husband's murderous plans and, after spending the night with her, returns to his apartment. Not long after that he is arrested for the murder of Sharon Burton. However, upon being taken to the morgue he meets the real "Alex Burton" (now played by John Beck) and discovers that the body identified as being that of Sharon Burton is not the same woman he met at the house. And since his prints have been recovered from that house, he realizes that he has been set up. To that effect, he is given only a couple of days to find the real killer or be charged with the crime. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that-considering the cast-I honestly expected this to be a better movie than it actually turned out to be. As it was, the acting wasn't that good and the plot was so completely unrealistic that it was nothing short of laughable. That being said, I cannot in good conscience rate this film any higher than I have. Slightly below average.

Billy Dee Williams plays Hamberger, the rogue private detective who gets the girl(s) and solves the case. You really don't need to know more, as this is the entire movie! Morgan Fairchild is still beautiful, even with the 80's big hair look. The plot line had initial promise - Hamberger is approached by an unknown person to kill that persons wife. This person and the wife both turn out to be other than advertised, but there the story started to lose my interest. Gratuitous sex and violence have always been par for the course in Hollywood of course. Here, the obvious intent to sell tickets with this fare, as well as - admittedly - one of the hottest actresses of the time, soured me.

Quite a modest, but diverting modern crime noir featuring the likes of Billy Dee Williams, Vanity, Morgan Fairchild and John Beck. Director / writer Larry Cohen was the man behind the production, until he was replaced halfway through by director William Tannen. This makes the atmospheric tone rather uneven and the script does have its random occurrences (Williams stuffing his face with a pickle/ or chicken and getting in a confrontation with an elevator door?!) and continuity problems that seem to be more so noticeable the further along it goes. The climatic revelations leaves us with many loose plot ends and a disappointing pay-off. Nonetheless it's Williams' performance along with a luminous Vanity that adds life to this rather formulaic cut and dry presentation. Playing it tough, but with a sardonic edge ("Everybody is kicking my arse today"); a fashionable Williams made for a likable suave, if brash presence (well-dressed and also sweet talking the ladies) as his private eye character Hamberger finds himself set-up for murder after taking up an offer to knock off someone's wife. Instead he informs the lady of the deal, so she can flee. However she ends up dead, Hamberger is the prime suspect and he finds out the man who made the offer and the lady he met up with that night wasn't who he was to believe. Now it's a race against the clock to find the real killer.

Technically is competently pulled off with some sturdy set-pieces; like its great intro with a sweet cameo by Joe Spinell, a spectacular fist-fight in a large Christmas tree, Williams finding himself in a helicopter-by shooting and against the odds holding a chair while his aggressor aims up with a scythe. Not to forget the climatic shootout at Shea Stadium. The New York location work is very well pulled off. The narrative is busily structured, where one thing leads onto another and this follows Williams' luckless character. Outside Williams and Vanity; Morgan Fairchild gives an icy performance, John Beck does rather little and Joseph Cortese fairs up much better.

Lackluster thriller that fails to deliver on its promising premise. The film follows private detective Billy Dee Williams as he becomes embroiled in a complex web of murder and deception.

Despite a talented cast, including Morgan Fairchild and Vanity, the film's acting is subpar. The dialogue is clunky, and the characters' motivations are unclear. The plot twists and turns, but the surprises are predictable and lack impact.

One of the major problems with "Deadly Illusion" is its poor pacing. The film drags on for long stretches, with too much repetition and not enough tension. The action scenes are few and far between, and when they do arrive, they're poorly choreographed and lack excitement.

The film's attempts at style and glamour fall flat, with too much emphasis on Vanity's looks and not enough on her acting abilities. Morgan Fairchild fares slightly better, but her character is underdeveloped and lacks depth.

Overall, "Deadly Illusion" is a disappointing thriller that fails to deliver on its promise. With poor acting, a lackluster plot, and too much repetition, it's a film that's easily skippable.

Enjoyable private detective movie with some punchy dialogue and old school noir tropes. Larry Cohen wrote and co-directed this so there's lots of quirky Cohen touches. However it's uneven in spots and has lulls, most likely due to the change in directors. Billy Dee Williams is terrific as the lead character Hamberger, a private dick who's framed in a fairly routine plot that you've seen before. But the plot's not the selling point. See it for the dialogue, charismatic performance by Williams, and offbeat Cohenisms. Vanity and Morgan Fairchild provide the pretty. I'm a little confused as to why this movie has such a low score here. It's not groundbreaking but it's solid entertainment that doesn't take itself too seriously.