Stone Cold Dead (1979)

That was an excellent one.

Just what I expected

Crappy film

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Richard Crenna is once again solid as a rock, playing a dedicated police sergeant named Boyd. Working the mean streets of Toronto, he has a distaste for the way the world has gone to seed. He also has a vendetta against slimy, diminutive pimp Julius Kurtz (an oddly, but amusingly cast Paul Williams), and would love nothing more than to pin SOMETHING on him. When a rooftop sniper begins methodically taking out hookers, it's up to Boyd to solve the case. Giving him assistance are veteran prostitute Monica Page (Linda Sorensen) and sassy undercover detective Sandy MacAuley (Belinda J. Montgomery)."Stone Cold Dead" is based on the novel "The Sin Sniper" by Hugh Garner, and written for the screen by George Mendeluk, making his filmmaking debut. It's particularly interesting for a Canadian audience, to see the sleazier sights and sounds of late 70s Toronto. In general, it doesn't tell a *great* story, necessarily (some people will likely figure out the identity of the sniper ahead of time), but it *is* entertaining, offering a fair amount of grit. It combines elements of the Italian murder mysteries known as "Gialli", crime dramas, and exploitation cinema, and viewers will delight in the abundant nudity and sordid (ultimately sad) aspect to the tale being told. It's greatly enhanced by a fine score by under rated Canadian composer Paul Zaza. There are even some nice little touches here and there, such as the ice skating sequence, and Boyds' method of feeding his fish at scheduled times by phoning his own number.Crenna is well matched against Williams, who gets to play his slimy role with a bit of nuance and humour. Sorensen is well cast as the potential love interest for Boyd, and Montgomery is a real ball of fire as the female cop. She even gets to belt out two numbers. There are various other familiar faces present to any veteran viewer of Canadian cinema: Chuck Shamata, Alberta Watson, Monique Mercure, Jennifer Dale, Frank Moore, George Touliatos. Legendary Canadian boxer George Chuvalo has a brief cameo; also look fast for a young Michael Ironside at around the 82 minute mark (he's not seen clearly, but that voice is unmistakable).Trashy, and pretty violent, "Stone Cold Dead" is very fine entertainment for people eager to check out some Canuxploitation.Seven out of 10.

Hard-nosed detective Boyd (Richard Crenna in fine rugged form) and street smart undercover vice cop Sandy MacAuley (well played with sassy aplomb by Belinda J. Montgomery) work together to catch a sniper who's picking off prostitutes. Boyd's investigation puts him in the path of smooth pimp Julius Kurtz (a surprisingly credible and effective portrayal by Paul Williams) and high class call girl Monica Potter (a sharp performance by Linda Sorensen). Writer/director George Mendeluk relates the compellingly sordid story at a steady pace, offers a vivid evocation of Toronto's lurid urban underbelly, maintains a grim'n'gritty tone throughout, and delivers a satisfying smattering of tasty gratuitous female nudity. Moreover, there are sturdy supporting contributions from Alberta Watson as the forlorn Olivia Page, Chuck Shumata as Boyd's fed-up partner Sgt. Tony Colabre, Andre Cousineau as pathetic junkie Bernice Carnival, and Monique Mercure as helpful shrink Dr. Bouvier. Dennis Miller's slick cinematography gives this picture a glittery neon look. Paul Zaza's pulsating score hits the funky spot. Worth a watch.

Another well plotted thriller, sees a prostitute hating nut taking out his victims with a fancy rifle, silencer attached. That's not all, our nut has a camera mounted on his rifle, so at the point of shot, he takes a series of photos until they are, as the title refers. Obviously typecast, is Sly's good mate, caring cop, Richard Crenna, out to bust this pimp, Kurtz, and awesome piece of acting from Paul Williams, who just outdoes the others. His women, including one of his favorites, are being taken out. Again this is a highly constructed thriller, where your guesses to to the killer will waiver from one to another. Some real American style violence, one scene with a disgruntled black pro who takes it in the neck, some blood cascading out, is a little sick. Her john, (a professor) staggered, trying to plug the flow of blood, apanic, becomes an informant for Crenna in the case, who keeps the poor guy's spit clean reputation intact. There are some scenes you don't expect to see in a film, like this. Still quite hot looking, 50's pro (Belinda Montgomery-great in the part) where time has worn her through this profession, becomes romantically involved with Crenna. She suggests to him "Lets do something that I haven't done for ages". They go ice skating, Crenna, not a good skater, by any means. Also we get to see the time activating gadget for feeding his fish which starts with a phonecall. Crenna's female friend, who's working undercover, to try and bust his arch rival, Kurtz, is fun too. She takes her undercover role a little too seriously, her demise near the end, came as quite a shock in it's first viewing. Stone Cold Dead is a solid rate thriller, that does tend to fall a bit into sleaze here and there. But we learn a little bit more about people in this flick. How many other films like this, do that. A must for psychological thriller fans, good performances, all round. The actress who plays Montgomery's daughter is creepy as.

Within the dark wet streets of any city, there lurks the criminal thoughts of any of it's equally dark inhabitants. Some are good, others bad and still others are downright lethal and often lead to murder. This black 1970's murder, mystery was originally written by Hugh Garner and directed for the screen by George Mendeluk. It's the story of Decective Sgt Boyd (Richard Crenna) who despite his years of police service to the Dept. cannot fathom the endless violence which continues night after night. In this latest crime spree, there seems to be a night-time sniper who is killing ladies of the night or prostitutes for no apparent reason. In addition, there are suspicious characters like a local drug lord named Julius Kurtz (Paul Williams) who also has a stable of Whores and secret ties to the police. Personal involvements to several women in the stable makes the case difficult for Boyd as he is interested in helping them. The movie is slow to develop and the audience is thrown more than it needs when it comes to trying to pinpointing the killer. Still with Williams and Crenna playing off one another the film makes for interesting viewing. Recommended to mystery buffs and fans of both stars. ****