No Way to Treat a Lady (1968)

89% of critics liked it
(9 reviews)
60% of users liked it
(807 ratings)

New York detective Moe Brummell (George Segal) is assigned to track down a serial killer who has been preying on lonely middle-aged ladies. Each of the bodies is discovered with a lipstick kiss drawn on the forehead. We know (but Brummell doesn't) that the murderer is Christopher Gill (Rod Steiger),… More New York detective Moe Brummell (George Segal) is assigned to track down a serial killer who has been preying on lonely middle-aged ladies. Each of the bodies is discovered with a lipstick kiss drawn on the forehead. We know (but Brummell doesn't) that the murderer is Christopher Gill (Rod Steiger), a round-the-bend actor whose hatred for his mother has driven him to his killing spree. Gill is fond of adopting a different personality and costume with each killing (a priest, a homosexual, a plumber etc.), making him doubly difficult to trace. When Brummell comments to the media that he's up against a criminal genius, he finds himself the reluctant recipient of Gill's anonymous phone calls, wherein the killer plants cryptic clues leading to his next crime. It may not be readily apparent from the previous sentence, but No Way to Treat a Lady is a comedy-albeit a jet-black one. Moe Brummell is hampered with an archetypal Jewish mamma (Eileen Heckart), who in her own way is as deadly as the elusive Christopher Gill. Lee Remick plays Brummell's girl friend, who, as the only person who might be able to identify Gill, is placed in harm's way at the film's climax. A curious by-product of No Way to Treat a Lady is the fact that Rod Steiger was cast in the lead in the 1976 biopic W.C. Fields and Me on the basis of the third-rate Fields imitation he offers to George Segal during one of his taunting phone calls. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 48 min.
Directed By: Jack Smight
Genres: Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Mar 20, 1968 Wide
On DVD: Sep 3, 2002

Critic Reviews

Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Steiger is fine in tricky mystery directed by Jack Smight.
Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily
A terrific mystery thriller that's both suspenseful and human. Segal is especially winning.
Lori Hoffman, Atlantic City Weekly
Amazing performance by Rod Steiger
Nell Minow, Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
First-class thriller with a deliciously twisty William Goldman script and a deliciously twisted murderer.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A thoroughly enjoyable film about a pitiless serial killer of middle-aged women, that is played for laughs at the expense of the women victims.

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

This is a very strange movie, and not in a good way. Half of the time it's pretty good, though, and there are a couple of funny things that happen. The other half it's stupid and boring. This movie's just okay.

Cast

            Rod Steiger as Christopher Gill

            Lee Remick as Kate Palmer

            George Segal as Morris Brummel

            Eileen Heckart as Mrs. Brummel

            Murray Hamilton as Inspector Haines

            Michael Dunn (I) as Mr. Kupperman

            Martine Bartlett as Alma Mulloy

            Barbara Baxley as Belle Poppie

            Irene Dailey as Mrs. Fitts

            Doris Roberts as Sylvia Poppie

            Ruth White as Mrs. Himmel

            Val Bisoglio as Detective Monaghan

            David F. Doyle as Lieutenant Dawson

            Kim August as Sadie

            Tom Aheame as Father O'Brien

            Sam Coppola
            
            James Dukas as Police Artist

            Joey Faye as Superintendent

            Glenn Kezer as Officer

            Al Nesor
            
            Bob O'Connell
            
            Patricia Ripley as Woman

            Vincent Sardi
            
            Zvee Scooler as Old Man

            P. Jay Sidney as Medical Examiner

            Burr Smidt as Detective Sergeant

            Don Koll as Detective

            Louis Basile as Customer

            John Gerstad as Dr. Shaffer

            Tony Major
            
See full cast