Clint Eastwood's directorial debut and therefore inevitable. Written by (ideas person) Jo Heims and Dean Riesner (Dirty Harry, also 1971). Clint produced, directed and starred. Perhaps the goal was for him to diversify away from ultraviolent roles.
This is a psychological and a bit late to that party. Somehow smoothy radio DJ Clint can afford a very swank abode in or near Carmel-By-The-Sea, California where Clint himself deigns to reside. We're given a grand tour of the urban areas, the cliffs and cliff-top drives, the beaches and redwood forests. I wonder how much is left now. Jessica Walter, sporting a haircut almost as fatal as Clint's, stalks him to Don Siegel's Sardine Factory bar after he finishes one night and the rest, as they say, is Psycho. Or perhaps Single White Female (I don't remember). Obviously it paved the way for Basic Instinct.
There's a strange loss of momentum at the two-thirds mark with some very spurious love scenes and a visit to the Monterey Jazz Festival. Clint's preferred partner in those scenes, Donna Mills, is the same shape as Sondra Locke (short and blonde) so I guess that was his type. He probably should have done something more linear as a first go.
Roger Ebert: four stars. Suspense? What suspense? The "Semi-Obligatory Lyrical Interlude" works! Geez. I felt that Eastwood's passivity/reactivity got annoying. Roger Greenspun. Recalls "other, better movies": Vertigo, maybe Laura. Fails to make sense. Siegel's character is named Murphy but Siegel is no Murphy. IMDB trivia: a precursor to Fatal Attraction.