Too Scared To Scream (1985) On the Cusp between Neo Noir and American Giallo

"Only murder in the                 building"

Directed by Tony Lo Bianco (his only directing credit).  

Written by Neal Barbera and Glenn Leopold. Cinematography by Larry Pizer (All Neat in Black Stockings, Phantom of the Paradise, The Clairvoyant). Music composed by Georges Garvarentz

The film stars Mike Connors (Sudden Fear, Swamp Woman, and an early TV vet eventually starring in the successful Mannix TV Series 1967–1975 ) as Lieutenant Alex Dinardo, Anne Archer (Fatal Attraction) as Detective Kate Bridges, Leon Isaac Kennedy (Hammer) as Detective Frank, Ian McShane (Sexy Beast, Deadwood TV Series 2004-2006 ) as Vincent Hardwick, Ruth Ford as Irma Hornady. 

Mike Connors as Alex Dinardo

Ian McShane as Vincent Hardwick

Anne Archer as Kate Bridges

With John Heard (Cutter's Way, After Hours) as Sid, Lab Technician, Carrie Nye as Graziella, Maureen O'Sullivan (The Thin Man, The Big Clock, Where Danger Lives, The Tall T) as Mother, Murray Hamilton (Anatomy of a Murder, The Graduate, Jaws) as Jack, Val Avery as Medical Examiner, Sully Boyar as Sydney Blume, Ken Norris as Mike, Yvonne Talton Kersey as Mamie, Victoria Bass as Cynthia Oberman, Beeson Carroll as Barry Moyer, and Chet Doherty as Edward. 

Never even heard of this one. It's a one off by Lo Bianco who is more noted for his acting roles, starting  in Doris Wishman's The Sex Perils of Pauline, Tony, how Noir of you... It's the mid sixties, and its gonna be typically, just T&A. It was a grindhouse flick that only had to play two weeks to make all its money back. It was one of the film business's avenue to making a living. 

Tony started on a TV soap opera, then did Pauline, then does more TV, Get Smart, and N.Y.P.D., etc., etc., He starred with Shirley Stoler in The Honeymoon Killers and was next in New York set Neo Noirs The French Connection, Serpico, The Seven-Ups, back on TV in Police Story and in between more filmwork, Nixon, Kill The Irishman and back to various appearances on TV. 

It was produced by Mike Connors. It's his project, starring himself as Lt. Alex Dinardo a N.Y.P.D detective. 

Story

Lo Bianco for his first and only film, directs it adequately enough. The acting is good, the bizarre opening sequences Visual Style filmed by Larry Pizer, creates the Noir mood beautifully. capturing Ian McShane as Vincent Hardwick doing his elaborate "makeup" ritual. 

It starts with a LP dropping onto a turntable and the needle hitting the vinyl and we hear Charles Aznavour belting out I'll be there, which just enhances it all. Vincent begins with him writing in his diary or journal. 

The LP - Charles Aznavour belting out "I'll Be There." 

Lights!!!

Action - Vincent writing in his diary

At first I'm thinking this guy must be some famous eccentric Broadway actor, as we watch him powder his face and do his eyeliner. Then he clips on a bow tie, and now we're expecting a tux, no?, but surprise, surprise, he slips into a red Royal Arms doorman's coat and matching military cap.

Now you realize he just another spin on your typical New York nut job. 

We cut to a street scene near a club and watch a stretched 1983 Cadillac Sedan DeVille limo with chauffeur picking up a couple. Cynthia and Barry. he drives  and drives them to the Royal Arms. 

The Caddy pulls up near Sydney Blume who is walking his small lap dog. Cynthia and Barry argue over her not wanting to stay out and party. Barry gets annoyed makes a bad joke about herpes, this disgusts Cynthia who hops out of the Caddy. Barry follows.

Sully Boyar as Sydney Blume

Barry follows. Cynthia is wearing slit gown with nothing underneath and Sydney is getting an eye full as Cynthia flashes Sydney while she and Barry verbally tussle. The chauffeur is amused by it all.  

Beeson Carroll as Barry Moyer and Victoria Bass as Cynthia Oberman

Harry Madsen as Lyman

Barry, now pissed off and suspicious, hops back into the Caddy and tells his chauffeur to pull up and walk back and see if Cynthia comes out again. 

Meanwhile we watch Cynthia go through the lobby and to the elevators. Vincent pops out and welcomes Miss Oberman, and escorts her to the elevator.

Cynthia blows Vincent a kiss as the doors close. 

In the lobby the phone starts ringing Vincent picks it up. Its Irma who invites Vincent up for a piece of a Black Forest cake she just baked.

Irma's all glammed up. Is she hoping that maybe she can entice Vincent into a game of hide the sausage? She even mentions a TV program that they could both watch, wink, wink. 

We cut to Cynthia entering her apartment. She flicks on the light, talks to her pet myna bird. 

She walks into her bedroom turns on the light and strips out of her gown and hangs it in the closet. 

She removes her robe from the closet and lays it on her bed. 

She walks into her bathroom and takes her shower.

We get a quick cut to the front door of the apartment closing, then more quick cuts between Cynthia in the shower and the POV of someone coming down the parquet wood floor of the hall. 

We cut back to Cynthia and watch as she finishes showering, drying off, and then going back out to the living room to scold the myna bird and then hits the button on her answering machine. 

Here's where we find out she works for an escort service. It's a message about another client from the booker. 

While listening she goes to another closet and is grabbed by one arm from an assailant hiding behind the clothes. its the first jump scare in the film. We see an upraised hand holding a knife comes down in good Hitchcock / Psycho homage. 

Cynthia in slow mo  hits floor, but we only see her legs and then we slowly pan towards the answering machine where Cynthia's mother leaves her a touching message. It's a good sequence. 

We cut back to Barry and his chauffeur. The chauffeur is telling Barry that Cynthia hasn't come out and  is up in her room. Barry says fuck it he'll get his action elsewhere, then he flicks his cigar ash on his chauffeur's uniforms lapel. The chauffeur gets back in the caddy and they drive off. 

The next morning we cut to Mamie, Cynthia's maid approaching the canopy covered entrance where Eddie the daytime doorman is sweeping up cigar buts and bitching about Vincent slaking off,  as he goes into the lobby and dumps the sweepings into the trash.

Mamie following declares that he's mad about Vincent getting all the attention, explains to Eddie that Vincent is a gentleman with the ladies just as the elevator door close. 

Mamie gets up to Cynthia's, lets herself in and calls out "Cynthia!" No reply, she repeats it a few times and they puts on some tunes and starts her cleaning routine. Here we get a another jump scare with the myna bird flying out of a closet that's more like a small humorous pressure reliever, before the one it's building too which is of course the discovery of Cynthia's body stuffed in the dryer. 

Here we cut to Detective Alex Dinardo and his homicide squad in Cynthia's apartment gathering evidence. We also meet Detective Frank who appears to be Dinardo's right hand man. We also find out that Cynthia was the daughter of his ex partner Jack Oberman. 

Frank finds a matchbook for a place called the Playpen and Dinardo instructs him to go and check that out while he goes to break the news to Jack. Frank replies ok but expect me to be a bit late in the morning. the myna bird here punctuates his reply with a laugh and again it is good for a chuckle. 

On the way out of the building Dinardo runs into Eddie. He asks Eddie questions about how the Royal Arms is typically operated, and finds out that there is always a doorman on duty day and night, all the tenants have their own keys for the main and back entrances, and that all other guests are always announced. 

Dinardo then asks Eddie what about when he has to go to the john and Eddie explains that they just put up a sign. Dinardo also asks about the night doorman gets Vincent's address and splits.

Dinardo heads to a corner dive bar called The Back Fence. It's a red brick establishment. It's sole decoration consists of a surrounding strip of white paint up against which an unpainted lath picket fence is nailed into the mortar. Jack is an alkie. He got thrown of the force. 

Dinardo breaks the news that his daughter Cynthia was murdered. Its a an emotional scene that Murray Hamilton nails. 

Murray Hamilton as Jack Oberman

One last remark from Dinardo leaves us with the impression that the trouble that got Jack bounced off the force may have been for molesting Cynthia, which probably explains why she became a call girl. But again this is just an assumption. Dinardo assures Jack that he'll get him.

Here we cut to the Hardwick mansion and Vincent reciting prose and holding what looks like a pink  powder puff up near his face. We soon get a reverse shot and see that he has applied makeup to the face of his apparently paralyzed mother who is sitting in a wheel chair. Its a bit overdone and garish, but Vincent seems pleased with his work.  

His mother basically just twitches and can only move her eyes. He must have to do everything for her which makes this all weirder, and weirder the more you think about what all that must entail.

He dotes on her, and the special occasion is her birthday. Vincent has even baked her a cake. 

Dinardo comes a calling, asks Vincent some questions and then splits. 

He makes a call to Frank who tells him that Cynthia left with Barry Moyer. He gets an address and heads over to 770 Park Avenue, Manhattan to visit Barry.  

Barry has one of the penthouse apartments. When Dinardo arrives he finds the door open and eventually finds Barry trussed up naked. 

Barry has one of the penthouse apartments. When Dinardo arrives he finds the door open and eventually finds Barry trussed up naked. Apparently Lyman the chauffer decided to use Barry's ass as an ashtray for a whole pack of cigarettes as revenge kicks for the ash flick on his chauffer's uniform.. 

Dinardo asks him where he he can find Lyman and Barry replies the porno palaces on Broadway. 

That evening we see Vincent answering the phone in the lobby. It's Irma again, this time enticing Vincent with reading passages of poetry to each other. Vincent reminds her that if he does that the lobby will be unprotected.

At police headquarters Dinardo is looking at Lyman Nelson's rap sheet. Alias lefty Harris, two counts of attempted rape, male prostitute, child molestation, assault with a deadly weapon...

We cut back to The Royal Arms to Irma, grabbing a can of mace and taking her trash to the incinerator chute. She doesn't lock her door. 

It all starts going Noirsville when she returns to her apartment she is grabbed by the foot in another jump scare when she sits on her bed, and has her hamstring cut with a straight razor followed by a shadowy figure rising up and stabbing at poor Irma. 

Cut to the next day where we follow Vincent down the street. He's being tailed by an undercover female detective disguised as a Bowery bum. 

Vincent goes into a neighborhood bar and orders something fancy, gets annoyed when the bartender tells him it's not Park Avenue, and insults him which results in him getting tossed by the patrons. 

He is approached by the bum shrugs her off and continues on his way.

We cut to HQ and see Dirnardo using an electric razor. A knock at the door and its the undercover bum giving Dinardo that vacant Skel look.

He tells her knock it off Bridges. 

Kate Bridges removes her woolen hat, and peels off her fake nose. She is there giving her report on Vincent when the call comes in from Frank about another murder in the Royal Arms.  

Dinardo tells Kate to change and meet him at the morgue. At this point all the main characters are in place at around the 35 minute mark give or take.

Noirsville

This is quite entertaining with some nice sequences and worth a watch 6.5 -7 /10.