Games

1967

1h 40m

Mystery & Thriller

List

57%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

48%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

Wealthy and bored, Paul (James Caan) and Jennifer Montgomery (Katharine Ross) while away their hours in a New York City apartment filled with pinball machines and other amusements. The couple's routine is upended when door-to-door saleswoman Lisa Schindler (Simone Signoret) drops by and is suddenly taken ill. The Montgomerys let her spend the night. And soon, the sophisticated Lisa and her hosts embark on a new set of very adult -- and very dangerous -- games.

Read More

Read Less

Audience Member

Paul Montgomery and his wife Jennifer (James Caan and Katharine Ross) are wealthy New Yorkers who amuse themselves by holding parties in their townhouse and playing sadistic games on their friends. Then they meet Lisa Schindler, an older cosmetics saleswoman played by Simone Signoret. She faints as soon as she enters their home and spends the night. The woman may be psychic and definitely fits into the gameplaying nature of the couple, as she sets up some simulated situations for them to argue about, like a grocery deliveryman (Don Stroud) potentially having an affair with Jennifer, just to see how they'll react. When the deliveryman comes back the next day, Paul threatens him with a gun after he sees the man make a pass at his wife. But it's all a joke on his part, as the gun fires blanks, until the second shot murders him and they have to hide his body. But when do the pranks stop? When they encase the man in plaster? Or when his ghost keeps walking through the house? While the part of Lisa was originally intended for Marlene Dietrich, Simone Signoret makes sense, as the film she may be most famous for, Diabolique, has a similar tone. It's interesting that in 1967, as everyone was moving to the New Hollywood, Harrington had an eye to the glory days of the past.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Despite its age, this mystery/thriller holds up pretty well, though the main plot twist becomes obvious a bit too early.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I'd read some so-so reviews before seeing this film, but I mostly wanted to see a young James Cann and Katherine Ross, along with an older Simone Signoret. It's an okay darkly comic film about increasingly macabre pranks/head-games are played by the various characters.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

good thriller but odd n creepy

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Crafty, serpentine thriller--Bullets and blanks...and red herrings...!!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I saw this movie as a kid and loved it. I wanted to see it again and finally found it on DVD at an affordable price. I can see why I liked it and why it made Simone Signoret one of my favourite actresses from a very early age. She is great in this. I highly recommend this film. It keeps throwing unexpected twists at you.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Curtis Harrington

Director

Simone Signoret

Lisa Schindler

James Caan

Paul Montgomery

Katharine Ross

Jennifer Montgomery

Don Stroud

Norman

Kent Smith

Harry Gordon

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

55%

41%

What's the Matter With Helen?

88%

87%

The Incident

96%

91%

Wait Until Dark

60%

39%

The Legend of Lylah Clare

100%

71%

Pretty Poison

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Shot on the Universal Pictures lot, this has the staid, well-lit look of the studio's voluminous TV product.

Jun 27, 2013

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Judith Crist

Vogue

Pretentiously posh and pointless nonsense.

Feb 27, 2020

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

It's a whodunit, a cheap variation on Les Diaboliques, that never becomes as interesting as it should have been, yet is entertaining without being particularly challenging.

Rated: B-

Jul 20, 2011

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jun 26, 2005

Full Review

Jules Brenner

Cinema Signals

Rated: 1/5

Nov 8, 2004

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Wealthy and bored, Paul (James Caan) and Jennifer Montgomery (Katharine Ross) while away their hours in a New York City apartment filled with pinball machines and other amusements. The couple's routine is upended when door-to-door saleswoman Lisa Schindler (Simone Signoret) drops by and is suddenly taken ill. The Montgomerys let her spend the night. And soon, the sophisticated Lisa and her hosts embark on a new set of very adult -- and very dangerous -- games.

Director: Curtis Harrington
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Oct 2, 2007
Runtime: 1h 40m