This thrilling movie deals with two sisters threatened , a killer and a FBI agent who pursues him . Coming home late one night Kelly (Lee Remick) is attacked in her garage by an asthmatic nasty named Red Lynch (Ross Martin) who convinces her he knows of all her daily life , particularly her employment at the bank where she works as bank teller. He terrorizes her into agreeing to help him rob the office a lot of money or he says he will murder her and also the teenager sister Toby Sherwood (Stefanie Powers) who lives with her . Then Kelly agrees but out of threat calls the FBI and speaks with Agent Ripley , a stalwart G-man (Glenn Ford), but the lines goes dead when the psychopathic extortionist comes into the house and attacks Kelly again . The FBI agent is hot on the trail of sadistic murderous , fighting the clock .
This stylish picture is packed with intrigue , nail-biting suspense, thrills , chills and formidable interpretations with acting uniformly magnificent. Taut noir thriller has an asthmatic psycho killer excellently played by Ross Martin who steals the show and gives an unnerving portrait of evil . Gorgeous Lee Remick as accosted woman , an effective Glenn Ford as obstinate Inspector and a likable and very young Stefanie Powers . Classic musical score by Henry Mancini , Blake Edwards's usual . Evocative cinematography in black and white with ominous atmosphere by Philip Lathrop , reflecting splendidly the San Francisco locations. The motion picture is stunningly produced and directed by Blake Edwards . After successful drama as ¨Days of wine and roses¨ and directly following ¨Breakfast at Tiffanys¨ , Blake launched himself in a new direction with this suspenseful movie . Edwards went on filmmaking sophisticated slapstick comedies as ¨Pink Panther¨, ¨ A shot in the dark¨ and ¨The great race¨ and another thriller as ¨The Carey treatment¨ . Rating : Better than average . Worthwhile watching . The tension grabs hold of you from the start to the end and maintains you on the edge of your seat .
