Directed by Arthur Penn
The first scene of this film is a billboard reading Lend a Hand, which, as the camera pans away, immediately becomes End a Hand—a crucial detail as the main character later has to lend her hand to make the mad director’s blackmail plot hold together.
Where in the World is Mary Steenburgen? Getting murdered in an abandoned parking lot in a Carmen San Diego hat-and-trench combo after stashing mysterious bags at a bus station. Cut to normal life LA, where Steenburgen’s other character, Kate McGovern, is having an ordinary actress-y kind of day, replete with ungrateful boyfriend, until she nails a surprise audition and gets the part. Confused yet? You will be, even as Steenburgen makes this triple-play billable.
Anything for a part. Steenburgen tackles a three-in-one
The pseudo-casting director (Roddy McDowell) turns out to be the nefarious butler-cum-dogsbody to mad director Dr. Lewis (Jan Rubes), who invites Katie to their snowbound mansion. There they film Katie as a replacement for the former lead, played again by Mary Steenburgen in the memorable first scenes.
Katie doesn’t ask one probing question when it comes to what happened to the former lead. In fact, Katie is peachy-keen with everything Mr. Murray, the casting director, and Dr. Lewis throw at her, including a terrible haircut—the doctor and his henchman’s real crime—and some serious Jane Eyre nightgowns. It’s only when they cut off her finger that she freaks out, as one would. Nobody likes waking up with blood on the bed sheets.
Murder victim’s screen test
This is a cautionary tale, but Katie ignores every single ominous note these two throw at her. Steenburgen does an excellent job as the corpse, the victim, and the murderer. It’s too bad she has to be doped up for the last third of the movie. Evelyn, the blackmail victim and elegant heiress, is absolutely her best rendition.
Dr. Lewis has a lot of stairs for someone with mobility issues; space-wise, this all would’ve worked so much better for him in a two-bedroom condo, but the creepy snowy mansion loans a lot to the unheimlich themes. There’s some excellent dismal up-north winter weather that keeps the players trapped in Gothic gloom. Angles, mirrors, and windows abound, as do twins, twinning, and even triplets.
Hitchcockian, unheimliech, whatever you want to call this, it hits the perfect tone.
The plot unravels into some triple-character chaos as Katie acts as Evelyn and vice-versa. The mad director learns that you can’t always count on your goon as he might get stabbed in the neck by your hostage. Finally, Dr. Lewis is foiled by another rendition of the same woman, so thwarted thrice, really.
Trio of harpies
Chasing Katie, who’s still in a sedated stupor, his foot is snapped up in a bear trap, so he now has even more mobility issues. The first time the sun shines is just after this old coot’s death.
She looks stumped as to how to make herself look more like herself. So hard!
The lesson learned from Dead of Winter? Listen to your gut, even when it’s starving for a part.
-MH