Flareup

The title sequence treats us two Raquels, as a bikini bar dancer. Her friend, Sandra Giles, is shot to death in front of her and many tourists at a Las Vegas hotel/restaurant, by her estranged, lunatic husband, Luke Askew, who blames her fellow dancers for turning her against him. He resolves to kill them all! Raquel flees to Los Angeles, where she is befriended by James Stacy, handsome enough so we don't resent his good luck. Of course, credulity is strained by this overlong pedestrian script, but there's an obligatory car chase and kindly professionals, both police and doctors. Will Askew prevail? Or will he get to Raquel, despite James's love? The ending is not exactly as expected.

Alan Morris guns down his estranged wife in cold-blood, and blames her friends namely Vegas showgirl Michele for turning his wife against him. She was there when it happened and he goes after her. This leads her to flee Vegas and make her way to Los Angeles, but Alan tracks her down. Late 60s flabby psychedelic psycho stalker on-the-run thriller that's thick on melodramatics but lacks tension despite moments of searing cat- and-mouse action and neon noir shades. However it remains hypnotic due to the wonderful presence of Raquel Welch and vivid Las Vegas and Los Angeles backdrops beautifully projected by agile camera-work. Sometimes the locations are much more of a character on screen then its leaden stars. Even though it's seedy in context and the nightlife shows, it's probably a touch too polished in presenting it, but its acts of violence have a touch of brutality. Pacing is somewhat a problem, as it seems to get lost in the neon lights, glitter and dance numbers. But the romance angle simply lulls between Welch and Stacy's characters and the script awkwardly goes about it. This just makes the film drag, until it reaches the fiery conclusion (now I know what the title means) between Welch and the steely Luke Askew. It's hearty in execution and well-made by director James Neilson, but generically crafted and less than exciting.

"What's a girl gotta do to get a job around here"?

Las Vegas dancer Raquel Welch is stalked by the crazed ex-husband of her best friend (who blames Rocky for breaking up his marriage). After a violent opening, film turns to more routine melodrama, as Welch runs from place to place, eventually hiding out at the Old Zoo in L.A.'s Griffith Park! Some nifty location work, lots of costume changes for our star, good supporting work from the underrated James Stacy. Yet, the film is too clean, too slick to be convincing--especially as it deals with seedy nightclubs and topless dancers. Much was made in the presskit of Raquel's dance routine, but it's laughable instead of memorable. Welch is rather over-the-top here; she really flourishes under a looser direction, and Disney-vet James Neilsen is just too mechanical for her. **1/2 from ****

This is a tedious and decidedly low voltage attempt at an action thriller and vehicle for the then quite popular Raquel Welch.

The main drawbacks are the script which features cardboard characters and implausible situations, along with the leaden direction. The undistinguished cast has little to work with, but Ms Welch must be called to account for one of the worst performances of her career. This is saying a lot considering her body (no pun intended) of work. She is alternately vapid and wooden or hysterically shrill.

Ms Welch "portrays" a Las Vegas exotic dancer on the run from the deranged ex-husband (Luke Askew) of her friend and fellow dancer. It seems the Askew character blames Welch for the dissolution of his marriage, so after he blows away his former wife at an outdoor cafe in broad daylight he seeks to do likewise to poor Raquel.

Welch flees to Los Angeles pursued by the killer and immediately takes up with James Stacy. In watching their scenes together one has the impression that the filmmakers were simply going through the motions of providing the obligatory male love interest for Ms Welch. There is zero chemistry between them and the whole Stacy character seems virtually superfluous.

I found the pace of this film quite slow with little tension or suspense. One never really empathizes with or cares much for the central character. The psycho murderer, instead of being menacing and scary, is merely boring and dull.

Ironically, though she plays a go-go dancer, Ms Welch's considerable physical attributes are not put to good use here. She has one dance number (wearing only a moderately revealing outfit) that is tepid at best. The other dance routines by others (some of which are performed topless) come off much better. In fact these rather brief sequences and some fairly colorful and interesting Las Vegas and L.A. locations are all this misfire has going for it.

I just watched this movie and this was a Raquel Welch movie that I had never seen before. Let me say right off that I'm not one of those people who trash RW's acting. I don't understand those people. They seem ignorant to me. She's not a trash actress. She can act. She can say lines. She can emote. She can make you believe at times. That's all you need to be an actress. And if you're gorgeous on top of it then movie goers should be thankful. You don't have to be Meryl Streep.

Okay, so I very much enjoy the actress and icon known as Raquel Welch. I also really enjoy go-go dancing which this movie has in abundance. I don't care for strippers. I don't care for pole dancing. I don't care for topless dancing. I don't care for dirty dancing. But I love go-go dancing. I can't put my finger on why I like it so much, but to me it's the perfect marriage of dance and female beauty. It's exquisite to watch. So they could have put lots more in and I would not have complained one bit. And there is one go-go dancer at a LA club called The Losers who is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Wow. Just a total knockout. She's worth the price of admission all by herself.

Okay, so the movie. Well, there's this wacko dude who kills at the drop of a hat. He has a psychological problem. He can't stop killing. That's not good. He also wants to kill Raquel Welch. That's not cool. She's trying to avoid him and that's not easy. People keep telling him where she is. Morons. There's a lot of stalking going on with this guy. I guess you could say that this is basically a stalker movie.

Raquel gets into a romance with a guy. He's the proverbial nice guy. He's a guy who lives in Los Angeles and he doesn't have a car. Everybody in Los Angeles has a car. I know because I lived there for 10 years. And I had a car. But not this guy. Raquel does not hold that against him which is surprising I guess you could say. He romances Raquel who falls for him fairly easily. She needed a nice guy in her life and she found one. But be careful, Raquel......the stalker is still out there and he's still stalking you.

Some people said this movie is flat and boring. They must have been in a bad mood. It's not flat and boring at all. It has a lot of tension and some explosive and violent action. And of course lots of go-go dancing. And lots of beautiful women. What's boring about that? Some people are hard to please I guess. They want every movie to be like Star Wars or JAWS. Those movies were sociological and psychological earthquakes. Not every movie is going to be like that. So just eat your popcorn, shut the heck up, and enjoy the movie.

I enjoyed this. I'm glad I finally got to see it. I gave it a "7".