In Broad Daylight

Also original! Of course I won't tell the movie, like most others do. I will only say this: it's absolutely worth seeing! Richard Boone, an actor I love, is excellent. Stella Stevens, when she was attractive and sexy, is no less good in the role of the adulterous wife. There is also the sweet Suzanne Pleshette in the role of a caregiver. John Marley, was much more convincing in "Love Story" (1970) and "The Godfather" (1972) here, as a detective cop is not perfectly credible. Instead, a very beautiful and very smart dog is also in the cast. Robert Day, the English director, was a good craftsman, directing episodes of famous TV series such as "The Avengers", "The Invaders", "The Streets of San Francisco", "McCloud", "Kojak", "Dallas". He also directed "She", the boring "cult" film with Ursula Andress. This "In Broad Daylight" is perhaps his best film.

"In Broad Daylight" is an enjoyable made for TV movie, but in order to get the most of it you really need to suspend that nagging voice within you telling you how ludicrous the story really is. This is not a huge problem...but the story is very difficult to believe.

Tony (Richard Boone) is a famous actor who recently lost his sight. As a result, he's working with a therapist (Susanne Pleshette) to learn to adapt to everyday life. However, during this time Tony learns that his wife is cheating on him and so he concocts a complicated plan. First, he starts pretending to do poorly with his rehab--pretending to get lost and having great difficulties finding his way outside his apartment. In reality, he's VERY adept at such things. Second, he works out an intricate plan to go to his lawyer's apartment and kill his wife since that's her lover. But to do this, he dons makeup and pretends to be a nice Greek man who can see just fine. While it seems to work very well, a cop investigating the case (John Marley) is determined to find out who killed Tony's wife.

There are 1001 different problems which could have arisen during the complicated drip to and from the lawyer's home. Yet, inexplicably, Tony does a near perfect job...something a blind person MIGHT be able to pull off but unlikely....and even more unlikely since he only recently lost his sight. Additionally, the umbrella angle came off as a bit silly--particularly when Tony goes to retrieve it. Still, despite all this, it's an interesting little made for TV film and never bores.

Got a bit tense towards the end. Felt as good as a Columbo episode. Bravo!

Enjoyably Far-Fetched. As someone pointed out, this was written by Larry Cohen, which explains the Columbo-esque feel to the movie. Whereas, Columbo is 25% planning and murder and 75% Columbo harrassment, this one is visa.

Despite the well-to-do characters and sunny scenery, this film is quite noir, especially the frenetic last 1/3 or so. And the ending is Noir As F___!!

I really love these old Movies of the Week!!

This was a great script from the prolific Larry Cohen, who wrote episodes for "Columbo," "Arrest and Trial" (a forerunner of "Law and Order") and episodes for Kraft Suspense Theater and "The Defenders." He has also written feature films.

I'd love to see this film again - I wish it would come out on video. It stars Richard Boone as a newly-blinded actor and Suzanne Pleshette as his teacher. Though the Boone character puts on a big show for Pleshette of refusing to accept his blindness, he coldly and calculatedly trains himself to act as a seeing man so that, in disguise, he can get rid of his wife and her lover.

It's a suspenseful story, a fascinating character-study and all around great entertainment. For some reason, this kind of TV movie fare has gone out of style and been replaced by women at risk films, rather slow-moving versions of Robin Cook and Mary Higgins Clark novels and the like. But we mystery buffs old enough to remember the '70s remember - with nostalgia - this kind of film.