Rendezvous mit Leiche (1978)

Rendezvous mit Leiche: Directed by Lamont Johnson. With Farrah Fawcett, Jeff Bridges, John Wood, Tammy Grimes. A woman’s husband is murdered and she and her lover must find the killer or stand accused of doing it themselves.

“Quirky comedy drama, very much in the 1960s/1970s mould. (Think of a film starring the actor Richard Benjamin and you wonu0026#39;t be far off.)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFun and lightweight, while avoiding being popcorn for the eyes. This is a film that deserves a far more positive reception than that on its release in 1978. A comedy which harks back to the u0026#39;screwballu0026#39; comedies of the 1930s u0026amp; late-1960s. With a quick-spinning romance thrown in to add to the appeal of the leads, a well-cast Jeff Bridges u0026amp; Farrah Fawcett. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie is an enthusiastic comedy that, despite this energy, is a well-honed production. With a storyline that has dead bodies that start piling up, murder u0026amp; mayhem afoot, and a climactic maniacal chase around the basement of a New York department store. This film could easily have been made in the 1930s with Clark Gable or Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn or Carole Lombard. Or Barbra Streisand u0026amp; George Segal. Slightly less rapid patter than in days gone by perhaps, and a story set at a marginally more u0026#39;pacedu0026#39; speed. Nonetheless this is a film with a clever script (well put together by Reginald Rose) that gives the characters just the right amount to say, and at the right times. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe plot line does not labour nor over-explain itself, leaving the viewer with just the right amount of information/number of scenes to deduce what is going on for themselves: spot on. With all the extras required of this type of film: a brand new romance, slightly larger-than-life oddball characters, and the u0026#39;bad guysu0026#39; operating in the background to events. A rapid sequence of occurrences culminate in a fun – almost circus-like – but also appropriately dramatic conclusion. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere is great comic timing by the leads, especially Jeff Bridges who u0026#39;ownsu0026#39; the scenes with his easy voice, long u0026amp; leggy moves, and an almost clown-like perfection to the comedy in his role. In turn Farrah Fawcett also gives a good performance (in what was the actressu0026#39;s first lead role in a film). She avoids playing her role as too glamorous – it would have been easy for her to slip into doing so, this film being made in her u0026#39;Charlieu0026#39;s Angelsu0026#39; heyday – which gives her character more credibility. Sweetly lovable, with an adorable babe in her arms (played, I must add, by a very winning little toddler of an actor!), Farrah Fawcett plays the rich-manu0026#39;s-wife who married the wrong type of man – a career-obsessed u0026amp; greedy executive – with just the right amount of piquancy. She makes us believe in her hope for a happier change to a life with Jeff Bridgesu0026#39; less mercenary shop assistant/unpublished writer. The two leads complement each other to perfection.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis film was a surprise find on the TV programme one early afternoon. Not a film I was at all aware of – even as an admirer of Jeff Bridges. So a real treat! The two leads play opposite each other well: depicting their characters as human enough to be likable, but caught up in bizarre series of events that take over their lives; while under all the excitement is a touching and budding romance.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNot too zany, and a plot just about believable, this is true entertainment.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA must-see for Jeff B. or Farrah F. u0026#39;completistsu0026#39;. Or just for an enjoyable couple of hoursu0026#39; viewing. If you bear in mind when watching this sweet comedy that this was the 1970s, when the u0026#39;glossu0026#39; of the films of the next decade hadnu0026#39;t yet kicked in, then you will expect the style of cinematic enjoyment this film provides. A somewhat retrospective piece, and a film of offbeat exuberance. Well worth the viewing, this film provides a u0026#39;zestfulu0026#39; afternoon of TV distraction.”