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No Way to Treat a Lady (film)
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Wikipedia article
'No Way to Treat a Lady' is a 1968 black comedy thriller directed by Jack Smight, with a screenplay by John Gay adapted from William Goldman's novel of the same name. The film starred Rod Steiger, Lee Remick, George Segal and Eileen Heckart. Segal was nominated for a BAFTA for his role as Detective Moe Brummel.
Plot
Christopher Gill (Rod Steiger) is a serial killer fixated on his late mother, a noted stage actress. Gill preys on older women. A Broadway theatre owner and director, he adopts various disguises, e.g., priest, policeman, plumber, hairdresser, etc., to put his victims at ease (and avoid being identified) before strangling them and painting a pair of lips on their foreheads with garish red lipstick.
Detective Morris Brummell (George Segal) is investigating the murders. Brummel is quoted in the newspaper that the latest murder was well-planned and well-executed. This appeals to Gill's ego, so he starts telephoning Brummel to chat about the murders and the state of the investigation. Brummel is able to elicit a few scraps of information about Gill, but for the most part Gill succeeds in taunting him without giving away his identity.
Away from work, Brummel's own overbearing mother (Eileen Heckart) wants her son to be more like his doctor brother and settle down. She is scornful of his career choice. Brummell's new love interest is Kate Palmer (Lee Remick), who glimpsed Gill minutes before he committed the first murder, though not well enough to identify him in a way that would aid the investigation. Palmer manages to win over Brummell's mother by claiming she is planning to become Jewish, and by pretending to dominate her son.
In what turns out to be their last phone conversation, Brummel turns the tables on Gill and insults him. Gill subsequently targets Palmer. This is obviously for reasons other than his mother fixation, as Palmer does not fit the profile of his previous victims. He may be jealous of Palmer, or perhaps wants revenge on Brummell for the insults.
Gill attacks Palmer in her apartment, but is forced to flee before he can do her serious harm. During the police manhunt that follows, Gill is seen entering his theatre via a side door. Investigating the sighting, Brummell chats amiably with Gill (the detective at that point cannot be sure the man before him is Palmer's attacker). When he sees in the theatre lobby a painting of an actress with her lips highlighted in deep red lipstick, which Gill volunteers is a portrait of his mother, he knows he has his man.
Brummel confronts Gill with his suspicions, but Gill remains cool. Brummel goes to check out the costume room, and on his way back, as he is passing the theatre stage, Gill attacks him with the backstage rigging. Brummel is staggered, but is able to fatally shoot Gill before he attacks again. In his death swoon Gill revisits the murders he committed, as his deranged mind has recast them.
Cast
Production
Writing
Goldman wrote the original novel while experiencing writer's block, when writing 'Boys and Girls Together' (published in 1964). He was inspired by an article about the Boston Strangler which suggested there might be two stranglers operating, and Goldman wondered what would happen if that were the case and they got jealous of each other.'Butch Cassidy' Was: My Western, 'Magic' Is My Hitchcock' 'Magic' Is My Hitchcock
By RALPH TYLER. New York Times 12 Nov 1978: D23.
Development
In October 1966 it was announced that Sol C. Siegel had signed a three-picture deal with Paramount Pictures, of which the first was to be an adaptation of 'No Way to Treat a Lady'.MOVIE CALL SHEET: 'Brigade' Next for HoldenMartin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 11 Oct 1966: C12. In December Siegel hired John Gay to do the script.MOVIE CALL SHEET: Christopher Lee Signed
Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 5 Dec 1966: D29. (Jack Smight later said Goldman refused to do the screen adaptation claiming that a novelist should never
adapt his or her work for the screen.)
In March 1967, Jack Smight signed to direct.Smight Will Direct 'Lady'
Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 28 Mar 1967: c8. By May, Rod Steiger was playing the leadBatman Really Living It Up in London
Dorothy Manners:. The Washington Post and Times-Herald 12 May 1967: D12. and George Segal joined the cast in June.Miss Redgrave Star of 'Cyril'
Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 3 June 1967: b7.
Paramount was helmed by Robert Evans at the time, but Smight said he received more assistance from his executive Peter Bart. "He was enormously helpful to me under some very trying circumstances," said Smight.
Tony Curtis was Evans' choice to play the detective, but Smight insisted that the role go to George Segal.
Shooting
Filming started in June and mostly took place in Brooklyn Heights, New York. The original plan was to shoot three weeks in New York and do all interiors at Paramount's studio but in the end Smight and Siegel decided to shoot the entire film in New York.Rubbernecks Stretch Film-Makers' PatienceYeager, Robert. Los Angeles Time13 Aug 1967: c13.
"It's Steiger's film," said Segal. "He runs around doing all sorts of different roles and I just stop by and watch him... It's a big, comfortable Hollywood production and I have banker's hours."He Likes His Classics Uncensored
Crawford, Linda. Chicago Tribune 13 Aug 1967: e14.
Eileen Heckart made the movie during the day while appearing at night in 'You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running'.Who's Doing What in Hollywood!
NORMA LEE BROWNING. Chicago Tribune 18 July 1967: a3.
Filming was completed by September.CBS Film Unit Signs Producer
Los Angeles Times 18 Sep 1967: d27.
Sol Siegel was reportedly unhappy with the ending, but was overruled by the director and star.Steiger Film Role: Mr. Everything
Haber, Joyce. Los Angeles Times 12 Mar 1968: c10.
The novel was re-issued under Goldman's name in 1968 to coincide with the release of the film. The 'New York Times' called it "dazzling".Criminals at Large
By ANTHONY BOUCHER. New York Times 14 Apr 1968: BR22.
Smight was entitled to 15% of the net profits. He says he never received any, but blames this on studio accounting.
In other media
Theatre
In 1987, Douglas J. Cohen adapted the film into a musical comedy, which was revived Off-Broadway by the York Theatre Company in 1996. That production was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical Revival.In 2000 the band Mu-Kau's album [https://open.spotify.com/track/3RRTPDkJO3qEn8aLd133fV Re-Arrange Me] opened with the song Ladyboy Pt 2. It's lyric that ain't no way to treat a lady inspired by the film. The song title was subsequently changed to Re-Arrange Me.
See also
*List of American films of 1968
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
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