''Knife for the Ladies'' is a 1974 American Western

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by Larry G. Spangler and starring

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villaino ...

Ruth Roman Ruth Roman (born Norma Roman; December 22, 1922 – September 9, 1999) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. After playing stage roles on the East Coast, Roman moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in films. She appeared in ...

and

Gene Evans Eugene Barton Evans (July 11, 1922 – April 1, 1998) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television series, television films, and feature films between 1947 and 1989. Early life Evans was born in Holbrook, Arizona and raised i ...

. It was the first production from the company Bryanston Pictures.

Plot

A private detective, Burns, is hired to travel out west to an Arizona town to investigate the murders of several prostitutes, each killed with a knife. The town has already lynched a local horse trader for the murders on the word of a small boy, Seth. Once there he meets a disgraced "two-fisted" sheriff, a sullen undertaker, and the local heiress. After proving the trader was innocent, Burns comes to terms with the sheriff, and they begin to work together. A number of subplots ensue: Burns and the sheriff shoot the man responsible for the lynching, the mortician blackmails the heiress to preserve her secret, and they discover that the heiress is using her arsenic to treat syphilis. The main plot is resolved with a surprise reveal, and Burns, the Sheriff, and his niece Jenny leave town on the next stagecoach out of town.

Cast

as Sheriff Jarrod *

as Elizabeth *Jeff Cooper as Burns * John Kellogg as Hollyfield *

as Hooker *

Richard Schaal Richard Schaal (; May 5, 1928 – November 4, 2014) was an American film and television actor born in Chicago, Illinois. Career In 1962, Schaal joined Chicago's famed Second City, becoming skilled in sketch and improvisational comedy. Schaal ...

as Ainslie *

Diana Ewing Diana Ewing (born January 4, 1946) is an American actress. Early years Born in Honolulu, Ewing acted in plays at Punahou School and Honolulu Community Theater, in her teenage years. She is the daughter of William H. Ewing (who was a newspape ...

as Jenny *Derek Sanderson as Lute *Jon Spangler as Seth * Peter Athas as Travis

Reception

James Evans from ''

Starburst MicroPro International Corporation was an American software company founded in 1978 in San Rafael, California. They are best known as the publisher of WordStar, a popular early word processor for personal computers. History Founding and early su ...

'' magazine rated the film four out of ten stars writing, "''A Knife for the Ladies'' isn't a great western nor is it a good horror movie but it has its charms."

References

External links

* * * 1974 films 1974 horror films 1974 independent films 1970s serial killer films 1970s Western (genre) horror films American independent films American serial killer films American Western (genre) horror films American detective films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films English-language independent films English-language Western (genre) horror films English-language crime films {{1970s-US-film-stub