The Woman Hunter

If your main goal in life is to watch old films with LOTS of footage of the beautiful Barbara Eden wearing bikinis, fashionable clothes and traipsing about Mexico, then I have a film for you! One reviewer gave this very ordinary film a 10--mostly because this was what they were looking for in a movie! Clearly, this is among their favorite films! However, for most viewers this isn't really enough reason to recommend "The Woman Hunter"--an at best ordinary made for TV film from the 1970s. While Miss Eden IS radiant here, some of her other work of this period (such as the creepy made for TV film, "The Stranger Within") is much better.

Eden plays Dina Hunter--a super-rich heiress who is emotionally ill following a tragic accident. Not helping much is her husband, Jerry (Robert Vaughn)--a man who seems more interested in business than spending time with his sexy wife on a Mexico vacation. During this time, a stranger, Paul Carter (Stuart Whitman) obviously deliberately ingratiates himself with the family and soon Dina realizes this was no accident. What follows is mildly interesting at times, but too often it just seems very rushed and sloppy. Even the surprising twist at the end doesn't save the film because it's handled VERY poorly--ending with an impossibly well-aimed rock and an explosion that seems to come out of no where. All in all, the film had some decent ideas but comes off as very superficial and silly.

Barbara Eden stars as a woman named "Dina Hunter" who has just inherited a fortune due to the death of her father. Because she was accidentally involved in the death, her husband "Jerry Hunter" (Robert Vaughn) accompanies her to Acapulco so that she can recover both mentally and emotionally. While there she meets a man named "Paul Carter" (Stuart Whitman) who she believes is a murderous jewel thief intent on killing her and taking her jewelry. Now, considering the presence of accomplished actors like Robert Vaughn and Stuart Whitman one would think that their mere presence would be able to lift this film up from mediocrity. Sadly, that is not the case as this "made for television" movie fails to capitalize on their abilities. Fortunately, Barbara Eden manages to keep the film from completely crashing due to her beauty and charm. Even so, the lack of action and suspense is definitely noticeable and the final product suffers accordingly. Somewhat disappointing.

When I grade a movie, I start at five and add or subtract the pros and cons from there. There are a couple of things which I like about this film: Its ability not to betray its ending, and its scenery (mother nature sure was kind to this spot in Mexico AND to Barbara Eden). But, in my opinion, it has more cons than pros: It shows a few too many times bare from the waist up, the character, "Paul"'s aging bod, and him recording his babblings of his encounters with the "Hunter" couple. (The latter is extensively written into the flow of the pic.) Is it also a BAD thing that there are so many shots of Miss Eden? Other impressions are of its excessive slow-movingness and, at times, echoy audio (especially during some indoor scenes). The basic story is of a wealthy couple, vacationing in Acapulco, being of interest to artist "Paul", of whom Mrs. Hunter becomes increasingly suspicious, after some initial sparks between the two. (She is tempted, no doubt, as a result of her husband mixing too much business with what was supposed to be post-wreck pleasure for her.) I wouldn't discourage anyone from spending time and/or a little money for THE WOMAN HUNTER. Maybe this person's negatives will be somebody else's positives.

I found this video on the $3.00 bargain bin at Wal-Mart. Typical 1970s made for TV shlock. Barbara stars as a rich heiress(how come in the movies they all look like Barbara Eden and not like Barbara Hutton?)vacationing in the Bahamas with husband Robert Vaughn. It seems that Stuart Whitman is following her and recording her every move in his little 1972 tape recorder.(His middle-aged body is displayed in various forms of undress for those of you into pot bellies and flab.)Barbara finds Stu's tape recorder and goes to the police, but everyone thinks she's batty because all rich women think everyone wants to kill them. Very lame story, dreadful acting and predictable plot. The only reason to watch this film is to finally get to see Barbara's navel. Other than that stick to the reruns of "I Dream of Jeannie".

Just watched this Barbara Eden made-for-TV movie on YouTube. She plays Dina Hunter, a rich woman with husband Robert Vaughn on vacation in Central Ameraca after getting in a car accident in which she may have caused something awful. A man named Paul Carter (Stuart Whitman) is posing as an artist and following them. Oh, and the movie begins at a party in which a woman is murdered and has her necklace taken from her which for a while seems unrelated to the rest of the picture. And Larry Storch is one of those patrons who tells lame jokes at his only appearance. I'll stop there and just say that I liked the whole premise including the twist ending and was also intrigued by the music score and some nice glamorous shots of Ms. Eden. So on that note, I consider The Woman Hunter worth a look for anyone interested in these obscure telefilms.