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Jane Feinberg
Casting -
Ben Nye
Makeup Artist -
Fred Stafford
Sound Editor -
Dick Smith
Makeup Artist -
Ann Roth
Other -
Mike Fenton
Casting -
Dan Perri
Title Designer -
Richard Macdonald
Production Design
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CinemaSerf 7/2/2022 7:04:44 PM
As a man who quite literally loathes the very idea of a dentist, let alone actually going to visit one - this film adds an extra dimension of ghastliness to the already fairly hideous underlying premiss. That centres around "Babe" (Dustin Hoffman). He is an ordinary history student who is horrified when his older brother is brutally murdered. Why? Well, he sets out to investigate and before long is embroiled in a nazi-hunting plot to track down "Szell" (Sir Laurence Olivier) who is, himself, trying to stay one step ahead of some government agents whilst he tries to track down an huge cache of diamonds. It turns out that this evil creature thought the now deceased brother knew the location of the gems, and of course that puts "Babe" in quite considerable peril and so soon, he is next on the interrogation list. This torture gives the idea of getting a drilling an whole new meaning, as the sound of the dental whirring does more than enough to compensate for the lack of actual visuals. Though the ending is fitting, I found it all just a bit too convenient, but Hoffman is superb here, as are Sir Laurence and an international cast that add depth to this really quite disturbing plot. Even now, when we are so much more used to graphic violence and gore on screen, this is potently gruesome and effective.
Dustin Hoffman
BabeRoy Scheider
DocWilliam Devane
JanewayIrving Metzman
Accident Witness (uncredited)Laurence Olivier
SzellTreat Williams
Central Park Jogger (uncredited)Fritz Weaver
Professor BiesenthalRichard Bright
Karl