Jo Heims Movies

In this Counterculture vs. Establishment romance, Frank Harmon (William Holden) is a middle-aged businessman, recently divorced and a bit bitter about the state of his life and the world in general. One morning, he discovers a pretty, hippie-esque girl who calls herself Breezy (Kay Lenz) asleep on his front porch. Frank asks her to leave and she politely follows suit; she forgets her guitar, however, and returns the next day to retrieve it. Breezy also asks Frank if he would be so kind as to let her take a bath; he agrees, and even lets her sleep at his house that night. A few days later, Breezy turns up at again at Frank's doorstep, with a cop in tow -- after being arrested for vagrancy, she told the police that she lived here with her uncle Frank. Frank plays along and, against his better judgment, agrees to let her stay with him. After spending some time together, Frank and Breezy begin opening up to each other, discussing their feelings on a variety of issues. A friendship grows between them that, in time, becomes a love affair, but Frank's friends find fault in his new romance, and he breaks it off -- a decision he comes to regret. This was the first film Clint Eastwood directed in which he did not star, something he would not do again until Bird in 1988. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Play Misty for Me marked Clint Eastwood's debut as a director, and it gave him the then-unusual opportunity to play a regular contemporary guy in a thriller about sex, obsession, and stalking. Eastwood's Dave Garver is a self-centered California jazz disc jockey struggling with the idea of committing to his on-again, off-again girlfriend Tobie (Donna Mills). One night he meets the mini-skirted Evelyn (Jessica Walters) in a bar, and he goes home with her for what he assumes is a one-night stand. Dave discovers, however, that Evelyn has repeatedly called his show requesting that he "play 'Misty' for me," and she is not about to go gently into the night now that she has bedded him. Even though it touches on the early-'70s flashpoints of sexual liberation, studio execs expressed doubts about why anyone would want to see a movie featuring Eastwood as a deejay. Eastwood reportedly answered that he was not sure either, but he thought it was a good suspense story, and he offered his services as director for free. Play Misty for Me wound up making five times more than it cost and is a precursor to such erotic thrillers as Fatal Attraction (1987) and Basic Instinct (1992). Eastwood mentor Don Siegel appears early on as a bartender. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Elvis Presley plays Guy Lambert, a musician (so far, so good) who is touring Great Britain (something Elvis never managed in real life). Jill Conway (Annette Day), a wealthy heiress, is a big fan of Guy's who has developed a very serious crush on him; her family wants to keep her away from the romantically-inclined singer, so they send her to Belgium, not realizing that Guy has a string of gigs set up there. En route to Brussels, a pair of hapless jewel thieves (Norman Rossington and Chips Rafferty) hide their loot in Guy's luggage, which makes the singer the unwitting target of three equally inept detectives (Harry, Herbert, and Sylvester Wiere). While wooing Jill and avoiding her treacherous uncle Gerald (John Williams), Guy also finds himself pursued by the worldly Claire Dunham (Yvonne Romain). Elvis sings nine songs along the way, including "Long Legged Girls with Short Dresses On" and "Baby, if You Give Me All Your Love." 18 months after Double Trouble was released, Presley's career was revitalized by his 1968 comeback special, though he would also release four more films before it aired. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A half-Navajo man accepts the help of a white rancher after suffering a rattlesnake bite, not knowing that the rancher actually intends to hunt him for sport. This suspenseful western follows the man's attempts to survive in the wilderness and evade the rancher's violent attacks. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

A mystery woman leads an ordinary man down an evil path in this intriguing horror story. Rick Turner (Robert Alda) is a man haunted by a recurring dream in which a beautiful woman in a flowing white gown dances for him. The dream is robbing Rick of his sleep and driving a wedge between him and his fiancée Donna (Ariadna Welter), so he's startled when one day he passes a shop window and sees a doll that looks just like the woman in his dreams. The owner of the shop, Frank Lamont (Neil Hamilton), informs Rick that the doll was custom-made for a client, and Rick arranges to deliver it to her himself. Rick arrives at the luxurious apartment of Bianca (Linda Christian) to discover she is the very image of the woman in his dream, and she appears to know him already. Rick learns that both Bianca and Frank are members of a mysterious satanic cult that uses the dolls as part of their ceremonies; Rick becomes a regular visitor to their meetings and becomes deeply involved with Bianca after Donna is suddenly bedridden. But does Bianca have a plan for Rick that he doesn't yet suspect? The Devil's Hand was also released under the title Live To Love. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this routine crime melodrama, detective Steve Keenan (Robert Knapp) is faced with several problems at one time. He has a reputation for using excessive force in dealing with criminals, so when he kills a gangland boss during an arrest, there is some room for doubt about the circumstances leading up to the killing. In the meantime, Keenan is dogged by an unidentified man out to avenge the death of the gangster. Aside from that continually evolving situation, there is some mystery surrounding a woman who gets involved with Keenan. The setting is Los Angeles, and the city plays its own role in the film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide