Pretty Poison
1968
Recently released from prison, psychotic arsonist Dennis Pitt teams up with a high school student, who believes him to be a secret agent. Read more
| Starring | Anthony Perkins, Tuesday Weld, Beverly Garland, John Randolph |
|---|---|
| Director | Noel Black |
| Genres | Drama |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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Stepping into a role created by Anthony Perkins can never be easy, but Melrose Place star Grant Show makes a decent stab at re-creating the darkly comic eccentricity that made the original 1968 thriller so compelling. In addition, Brian Ross's screenplay re-uses Lorenzo Semple Jr's adaptation of Stephen Geller's novel She Let Him Continue, but, overall, this TV movie lacks the sustained atmosphere of Noel Black's version. However, Show's portrayal of the one-time arsonist trapped in a twisted dreamworld is more than matched by Wendy Benson's performance as the seemingly sweet schoolgirl who has her own reasons for allowing Show to indulge his fantasies.
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Ever since this corrosive tale of insidious madness and deceptive innocence in Small Town USA, buffs have sought out... read more on Time Out
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Bizarre black comedy-melodrama, quite successfully mixed and served.
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Most helpful members' reviews (3)
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
cult written all over it
A brief reference was made in an article I read on 1970’s cinema which made me curious so I thought I’d give it a look. A somewhat deranged Anthony Perkins gets released form an institution and settles in a small town. The factory he finds a job at, release chemicals into the river which Perkins takes exception to and enlists the help of a high school cheerleader, Tuesday Weld, to help disrupt the factories pollution.
This starts out as an ecology movie with a twist, as the Perkins character is either a dangerous or innocent ideologist, but then he, (and the audience) gets more than he bargained for. I really liked this film. It has a ‘small town happy in it’s ignorance’ feel, where so long as they remain ignorant, they’ll always be happy. What’s great about this film is that it kind’a makes the viewer feel the same way.
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- chungking from London
- Posted 03 Nov 2005 20:32
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Sweet as you like
A welcome re-release for this 60s classic, which hopefully will give it the wider audience it so deserves.
Anthony Perkins is superb as the psychotic Dennis Pitt, as is Tuesday Weld his supposedly 'normal' girlfriend.
All in all, this is one of the best re-releases of the year. -
strange?
I never got to grips with this quite. it's interesting to try and figure out who is doing what. It's good movie I gues.
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Most recent members' review
View all -
strange?
I never got to grips with this quite. it's interesting to try and figure out who is doing what. It's good movie I gues.
-
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
cult written all over it
A brief reference was made in an article I read on 1970’s cinema which made me curious so I thought I’d give it a look. A somewhat deranged Anthony Perkins gets released form an institution and settles in a small town. The factory he finds a job at, release chemicals into the river which Perkins takes exception to and enlists the help of a high school cheerleader, Tuesday Weld, to help disrupt the factories pollution.
This starts out as an ecology movie with a twist, as the Perkins character is either a dangerous or innocent ideologist, but then he, (and the audience) gets more than he bargained for. I really liked this film. It has a ‘small town happy in it’s ignorance’ feel, where so long as they remain ignorant, they’ll always be happy. What’s great about this film is that it kind’a makes the viewer feel the same way.-
- chungking from London
- Posted 03 Nov 2005 20:32
-
Sweet as you like
A welcome re-release for this 60s classic, which hopefully will give it the wider audience it so deserves.
Anthony Perkins is superb as the psychotic Dennis Pitt, as is Tuesday Weld his supposedly 'normal' girlfriend.
All in all, this is one of the best re-releases of the year. -
strange?
I never got to grips with this quite. it's interesting to try and figure out who is doing what. It's good movie I gues.
-
0 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Pathetic film.
I randomly came across this film,read the synopsis, got a hunch that it would be good and rented the film. Within two minutes of watching the film i could tell the film would be rubbish. You can immediatly predict the ending and there is no entertainment in the middle to keep you excited. All it is about is a guy who creates fantasy worlds and immediatly after he gets released from the prison hospital he thinks he's a Secret Agent. Convinces a girl he's a spy, who also turns out to be a nut case. There's no depth to these two characters at all and so no point to this film.
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Critics' reviews (6)
-
Stepping into a role created by Anthony Perkins can never be easy, but Melrose Place star Grant Show makes a decent stab at re-creating the darkly comic eccentricity that made the original 1968 thriller so compelling. In addition, Brian Ross's screenplay re-uses Lorenzo Semple Jr's adaptation of Stephen Geller's novel She Let Him Continue, but, overall, this TV movie lacks the sustained atmosphere of Noel Black's version. However, Show's portrayal of the one-time arsonist trapped in a twisted dreamworld is more than matched by Wendy Benson's performance as the seemingly sweet schoolgirl who has her own reasons for allowing Show to indulge his fantasies.
-
Ever since this corrosive tale of insidious madness and deceptive innocence in Small Town USA, buffs have sought out... read more on Time Out
-
Bizarre black comedy-melodrama, quite successfully mixed and served.
-
The connoisseur's Bonnie and Clyde
-
Tightrope Tension
-
Alarmingly good
Buy from the LOVEFiLM shop
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- Pretty Poison
- DVD: £12.93
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Recently released from prison, psychotic arsonist Dennis Pitt teams up with a high school student, who believes him to be a secret agent.... -
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