Play Misty For Me

Eastwood displays a vigorous talent for sequences of violence and tension. He has obviously seen Psycho and Repulsion more than once, but those are excellent texts and he has learned his lessons passing well.

For that 80% of the film which constitutes the story, the structure and dialog create a mood of nervous terror which the other 20% nearly blows away.

Clint Eastwood wisely chose a strong, simple thriller for his first film as a director, and the project is remarkable in its self-effacing dedication to getting the craft right.

A highly enjoyable thriller.

There is no purpose to a suspense thriller, I suppose, except to involve us, scare us, to give us moments of vicarious terror. Play Misty for Me does that with an almost cruel efficiency.

I think the fault lies with Clint Eastwood the director, who has made too many easy decisions about events, about the management of atmosphere, about the treatment of performances.

Clint Eastwood's first film as a director, and first investigation into the anxiety at the root of the Eastwood persona

Eastwood's camera is rarely misplaced, and he shows a talent for the thriller genre worthy of a comparison to Hitchcock.

The star chose to cut his teeth on this small-scale movie, and the result -- although inevitably dated by its terrible clothes and period ambience -- stands up well but only as good late night television viewing.

Much of the credit must go to Jessica Walter for her outstanding performance which somehow manages to be chilling while at the same time sympathetic.

Eastwood's imperfect debut movie is a thiller full of personality and zest.

Clint's direction is sometimes shaky but usually assured, and he gets a bold performance from Jessica Walter.