"Crime Boss" director Alberto De Martino's "Strange Shadows in an Empty Room" qualifies as a good crime thriller with gratuitous violence about a .44 magnum revolver wielding Ottawa cop searching for the dastard who murdered his sister. Stuart Whitman plays the tough-as-Teflon policeman, Captain Tony Saitta, who is dead certain that an evil physician (Martin Landau) is responsible for dosing his dear sweet sister with poison. It doesn't help matters the physician had an incriminating sexual relationship with the cop's sister. John Saxon co-stars as Sergeant Ned Matthews. The more that Tony investigates the case, the more that he finds that he discovers that he didn't know the girl who was his sister. Martino does a good job of orchestrating the senseless violence that looks good. "Violent Naples" scenarist Vicenza Manning and "Cannibal Holocaust" scribe Gianfranco Cleric have cobbled together an exciting but overwrought shoot'em up with an above-average mystery. The basic problem with this standard-issue actioneer is some of the violence. Our Police Captain doesn't identify himself when he visits a trio of pugnacious transvestites and a walloping fight ensues. Interesting things to spot in "Strange Shadows in an Empty Room" are the careening car chase and a last-minute finale. The car chase deserves recognition, if for no other fact than it is so long and so incredible. Stuart Whitman makes a good police officer. There is even a little frontal female nudity which was a prerequisite in 1970s' movies. "Strange Shadows in an Empty Room" ranks as one of Stuart Whitman's later but better efforts.
Review of Strange Shadows in an Empty Room
