No Way to Treat a Lady

Marred only by Eileen Heckart's broad caricature of an overbearing Jewish mother, this 1968 cat-and-mouse thriller based on William Goldman's book is fiendishly clever, with a tour-de-force performance by the late Rod Steiger as a serial killer who adopts a variety of guises (among them an Irish priest and a gay hairdresser) to dupe his victims. George Segal holds his own as the low-level cop whom the killer contacts after he has been "a naughty boy," while a ravishing Lee Remick costars as Segal's free-spirited girlfriend. Look for Everybody Loves Raymond's Doris Roberts as a woman who unwittingly thwarts one of the murders. Although extra-less, the disc sports a handsome transfer and a solid Dolby Digital mono soundtrack. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)