Eiskalt (1975)

Eiskalt: Directed by Ivan Nagy. With Don Murray, Diahn Williams, James Earl Jones, Lilia Skala. When disturbed New York City (NYPD) cop Lacy rescues Sally, a beautiful cellist, from deranged crook Rabbit by shooting Rabbit in cold blood, he sets off a spark of publicity that brands him the city’s hero.

“Don Murray, in an intense, forceful performance, plays Ed Lacy, a well-regarded NYC law officer and 18 year veteran of the force. One night, he shoots and kills Rabbit (James Earl Jones), a flamboyant extortionist who terrorizes conductor / musician Sally (Diahn Williams) inside her apartment. The twist is that Sally soon develops doubts about her saviour; as her memory of that night returns, she believes that Rabbit was unarmed when he was gunned down. When she changes her story, an increasingly unhinged Lacy resorts to threatening and scaring her.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a good, gritty NYC cop drama, directed in efficient no-frills fashion by Ivan Nagy. It gets most of its juice from commanding central performances. While at first one might feel some sympathy towards Lacy, as they see a promising career go down the drain, he ultimately reveals a very dark side to his personality. The lovely Diahn Williams is appealing, while Jones gets to have some fun playing a decidedly offbeat antagonist. Several familiar faces in the cast include Lilia Skala, Treat Williams (playing Lacyu0026#39;s partner, in his film debut), Hank Garrett, Dick Anthony Williams, Conchata Ferrell, and Josh Mostel. Danny DeVito is listed in the end credits, but is hard to spot.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film is admittedly violent, but the narrative (by Don Petersen, inspired by a real life story) is compelling, especially when itu0026#39;s told from Lacyu0026#39;s perspective. Location shooting and a vibrant music score by Brad Fiedel u0026amp; Tom Mandel are definite assets (this was one of the earliest scores for Fiedel, whou0026#39;s best known for his u0026quot;Terminatoru0026quot; theme).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis seems to be a largely forgotten film nowadays, but any movie lover whou0026#39;s fond of 70s cop / crime cinema will likely find it interesting if they seek it out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSeven out of 10.”