Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?

The copy of this film that I own has terrible sound quality. I had to turn the volume up all the way and the fuzzy noise was still louder than the dialogue. Despite that, I braved this film from beginning to about three quarters of the way through when I simply couldn't stand the pain anymore. The opening scene of a struggle between a man and a woman (presumably. Most of it is a blur, like when your dad tries to figure out how to work the camcorder) flashes between the "struggle" and still shots of ceramic figurines. This is the director's attempt at using juxtaposition of opposites to induce a feeling of irony in the audience. It fails miserably and is laughable at best. The rest of the movie develops along a muddled plot line of cliche dialogue, ed wood-quality actors, and a delicious flavor of blaxploitation. It is a truly terrible film that is perfect for your next bad movie film festival. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and it is certainly much better than Cats. I urge everyone who likes bad movies to give this one a shot!

Red Buttons is unbelievably riveting as the skid row detective in search of the truth with nothing to lose, not even his non-existent pride. The movie expertly mixes wit, pathos, mystery, and social commentary in a fast-paced classic film noir. The supporting cast play their parts to perfection, and the final solution is both satisfying and incalculable. A hidden gem.

I saw this movie long ago. It was on a VHS tape with a somewhat worn cover. I thought "Red Buttons - I've watched him all my life, and he's a good comedian. But a detective? Well, OK, but I'm not going to get my hopes up." Well, I'll be darned if it wasn't one of the best movies I've seen! The cast is wonderful. It consisted of actors who were already big stars and actors that would become big stars. This movie was well made and under-publicized. I had never heard of it before I saw it in a video rental store. My advice would be to get out the popcorn, and prepare to be impressed. I don't know if it is on DVD yet, but it certainly should be!

Viewed this one for the first time in the summer of 2015.

Discovering it on an ancient ' Prism ' video cassette.

A treat for more than one reason.

If you're of a certain age or just an enthusiast of old films and television, you're in for at least a half dozen surprises concerning the cast. Characters pop up on a regular basis from the 60's and 70's, who, you may not immediately connect the face with a name, but you know you know them.

You have Red Buttons unlike I've never seen him. Don't want to call him a ' tough guy ' but he doesn't take any bull and he knows how to use his fists. Yes, that Red Buttons. Amazingly, it's not at all awkward and he plays it very, very well.

If, like me, you miss his name in the opening credits, you will eventually realize who the amateur film maker was who recorded ' Mary ' in the last moments of her life.

Late 60's , early 70's bleakness, to be sure. Throw - a - way citizens and how large parts of New York, and most other large, American cities, were allowed to deteriorate to the point that they did.

Worth looking for.

A sex worker called Mary Di Napoli is murdered in a deprived neighbourhood on the Lower East Side of New York City and a diabetic ex-boxer called Mickey, shocked at the lack of concern shown by everyone for the dead victim, decides to turn private investigator and catch the killer. Vaguely noirish 1971 murder mystery thriller featuring good location cinematography by Greg Sandor of grimy early 70s New York. Written by John O'Toole and directed by Ernie Pintoff (whose best film is the way out 'Dynamite Chicken') this film features a number of red herrings among it's cast, including bikers, a black dude, a gang of elderly women!, a misogynist businessman, and even Mary's daughter! To wade through all these red herrings Mickey is assisted by his daughter Della, another sex worker called Christine and a guy Mickey meets in a bar called Val. The action scenes - apart from the opening murder scene - don't work as well as the other scenes, but the cast is good and includes Red Buttons as Mickey (the man who gives a damn), Leila Martin as Mary, Sam Waterston, David Doyle, Alice Playten, Conrad Bain, Ron Carey and, taking the acting honours, Sylvia Miles as Christine. And the killer is...