A Knife for the Ladies (1974)

The town of Mescal has been the scene of a number of mysterious deaths.

Travis Mescal, son of the town’s father, was the first victim, and his mother Elizabeth (Ruth Roman) is offering a $500 reward for the person who brings the killer to justice.

The more recent victims have all been whores serving the men — including the late Travis — in this once prosperous silver town that has fallen on hard times. All have been found with their throats slashed.

And since against Sheriff Jarrod (Jack Elam) doesn’t seem to be up to solving the case, town leader Simeon Hollyfield employs a young detective named Burns (Jeff Cooper) to investigate.

In fact, on the way into town, Burns comes across a man who’s been hanged because he was thought to have killed a whore named Nina.

Burns quickly concludes that someone hanged the wrong man. And that there’s still a killer loose in Mescal.

Jeff Cooper as investigator Burns in A Knife for the Ladies (1974)

Jack Elam as Sheriff Jarrod of Mescal in A Knife for the Ladies (1974)

Review:

A slasher film set in the Wild West that isn’t the least bit scary, in part because we never get to know the victims.

And a bit of a surprise twist at the end can’t overcome a second-rate script or a film filled with second-rate performances.

This isn’t one of Elam’s better performances. Cooper is too pretty to be taken seriously. And Diana Ewing is positively wooden in the role of Jenny.

We do get to see Ruth Roman, past 50 at the time, in her next to last feature film.

And, yep, that’s Hall of Fame Raiders receiver Fred Biletnikoff as one of the cowboys who hangs out with a saloon owner named Hooker, who wants the sheriff’s job.

This marked the first of four films Biletnikoff would appear in during a short foray into acting.

Ruth Roman as Elizabeth Mescal in A Knife for the Ladies (1974)

Diana Ewing as Jenny, the sheriff’s niece in A Knife for the Ladies (1974)

Directed by:
Larry G. Spangler

Cast:
Jack Elam … Sheriff Jarrod
Ruth Roman … Elizabeth Mescal
Jeff Cooper … Burns
John Kellogg … Simeon Hollyfield
Gene Evans … Virgil Hooker
Diana Ewing … Jenny
Derek Sanderson … Lute Doolin
Jon Spangler … Seth
Peter Athas … Travis
Phillip Avenetti … Ramon
Fred Biletnikoff … Horace Doolin
Al Hassan … Riley
Pat Hererra … Nina Torres
Hank Kendrich … Dr. Fairchild
Kit Kenrich … Cora
Brooke Tucker … Myra Lynn
Richard Schaal … Orville Ainslie

Runtime: 86 min.

aka:
Jack the Ripper Goes West
A Knife in the Dark
Silent Sentence

Song: “Evil Lady”
performed by Michael Stull

Gene Evans as saloon owner Virgil Hooker in A Knife for the Ladies (1974)

Brooke Tucker as Myra Lynn, the whore at Hooker’s saloon in A Knife for the Ladies (1974)

Memorable lines:

Burns, upon accepting the case in Mescal: “Mr. Hollyfield, it’s poor pay, but a rich challenge.”

Burns, upon finding Ramon hanging from a tree: “My God. Welcome to Mescal, Mr. Burns.”

Hollyfield to Jarrod, who’s ready to proclaim Ramon responsible for the murders in Mescal: “You’d better be right about Ramon. It’s a long way to the next town. And they already have a sheriff. A young one.”

Fred Biletnikoff as Horace Doolin, one of Hooker’s men in A Knife for the Ladies (1974),

Derek Sanderson as Lute Doolin, one of Hooker’s men in A Knife for the Ladies (1974),

Burns: “Do you think Ramon killed Nina?”
Ainalls: “In this town, Mr. Burns, I’m not asked to make judgments. I’m paid to prepare and bury corpses.”

Burns to Jenny: “Your uncle is caught in a web of new times. And he’s trying to stubborn his way out with his fists.”

Burns: “A French writer once wrote that to know how to wait is the greatest secret to success.”
Jarrod: “He did, huh? Well, that might be alright for a writer, but it ain’t worth a god damned to a sheriff.”