This is a weird one. I do have to say that however shocking this film is, and however twisted the final reveal is, I guessed the killer in the first five minutes. Be warned...you deviants out there will be less shocked than the sane. The Girl in Black Stockings? Slut! Hussy! Worry not, as the film begins she has been slashed a hundred times. Her face is slashed off...her intimate parts are slashed off...her inner thighs are slashed... Okay, stop right here. She won't be the last. Our feature today is 1957's "The Girl in the Black Stockings," directed by Howard W. Koch.
In a resort town near Park City, Utah, horror has come. While being romanced by David (Lex Barker), Beth (Anne Bancroft) spots a body at the lakeside...yep, the aforementioned former skank. She screams and Sheriff Jess Holmes (John Dehner) arrives. Suspects? Everyone! Every guy at the resort was two-timed by Marcia, the deceased. Every dame had her BF stolen by her. The resort, Parry's Lodge, is owned by the grouchy Edmund Parry (Ron Randell) and his sister Julia (Marie Windsor). Oh, Edmund? Paralyzed from the neck down...or so we think. Sheriff Jess has his doubts. Paralyzed from what? Accident? Disease? Nope...a broken heart after being jilted by the love of his life. His sister Julia tends to his every need, including wiping his nose. How about the hunk David? He had a date with the deceased but broke it to go out with Beth. Beth? She likes David and knows what happened when Marcia also liked a guy.
More guests, Harriet Ames (Mamie Van Doren), actress/model, struts around in swimsuits and tries to get in the pants of an older, has been actor, Norman (John Holland). There are more...you'll see. Then another murder...a mysterious stranger from Pittsburgh...huh? Sheriff Jess has suspects but they even begin to get shredded in ways that are equally ungodly. Harriet? She gets drunk and makes a pass at Edmund in his wheelchair. Paralyzed from the neck down, this is awkward for Edmund, and the look on his sister's face is priceless. More murders. Every clue points to something incredibly twisted and wrong.
Is Mamie Van Doren too beautiful to be slashed a hundred times? Is the killer a jealous guy or a defensive dame? Is Edmund really paralyzed? The final reveal will cause you to take a shower and clean all the grime off. Oh, did I mention Hoss (Dan Blocker) from "Bonanza" is also in this? Always good to see him, of course not as good as seeing Mamie Van Doren in her white swimsuit. See a prurient Film Noir mystery, "The Girl in Black Stockings."
