¿Quién mató a Mary?

While the tagline is hilarious—"Somebody just murdered your friendly neighborhood hooker"—the crime thriller Who Killed Mary Whats'ername? is far from funny. It's a whodunnit without police intervention, because, since the victim was a prostitute in skid row, no one really cares about finding the killer. Red Buttons, a retired boxer with nearly constant references to his diabetes, is determined to take matters into his own hands and find out what happened to Mary.

Along the way, he recruits his daughter, Alice Playton, another hooker who knew the deceased, Sylvia Miles, the landlord and pimp, Dick Williams, and a young filmographer who had filmed Mary before her death, Sam Waterston. Who's helping because they care, and who's really guilty? You'll have to watch this extremely dated 1970s flick to find out. The one drawback is the dated filming style. If you normally like movies where a rugged hero gets immersed in a seedy environment, you might be able to get through the slang, hair, fashions, stereotypes, and camera-work. If the dated-ness will bother you, try a more modern version. This type of premise has been made dozens of times through the years.

DLM warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie is not your friend. It's nearly exclusively filmed with a hand-held camera, and without warning the camera will zoom in and out. It will probably make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"