Arthur Penn is one of those directors who had a checkered career. Coming out of live TV, he came into his own in the 1960s with the movies MICKEY ONE, THE CHASE, and especially BONNIE & CLYDE. LITTLE BIG MAN (1970) was his last major success and NIGHT MOVES (1975) was his last critical one. By the time DEAD OF WINTER was made (1987), his career had been in decline for over a decade and he no longer was a force to be reckoned with. He was actually the third and final director on this film.
It has Penn’s edgy camerawork, maximum impact editing and bursts of cringe inducing violence. It also features the typical strong performances from its principal actors. There’s Mary Steenburgen (in 3 roles), Roddy McDowall, and Canadian opera singer turned actor Jan Rubes (remember the man in the original THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY?). There are a number of Hitchcock like elements to DEAD OF WINTER although it’s a reworking of a celebrated B movie, Joseph H. Lewis’ MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS (1945). Jan Rubes character is even named Joseph Lewis.
Down-on-her-luck actress Katie McGovern (Steenburgen), who lives with her injured husband and brother, auditions for a part in an unfinished movie and to her astonishment, is hired on the spot. She is whisked away for a screen test to a house in Upstate New York by the man conducting the audition (McDowall) to meet the producer, a crippled psychiatrist (Rubes). On the way there, a fierce winter snowstorm begins and before long Katie realizes that there is more going on than meets the eye.
After her arrival, she learns that she is expected to play the part of a sibling to a psychotic sister (also Steenburgen) and then after that…she’ll no longer be needed. A few twists and turns later, Katie tries to turn the tables on her kidnappers. What she does and what happens to them makes for a most a harrowing ending. Penn delivers a good, old fashioned thriller in the classic tradition with tense situations and colorful performances that suit the material. It’s not a great movie but it is a well crafted one. McDowall is great and Steenburgen really shines.
The Capsule Critic 