Dressed to Kill Review

Dressed to Kill is a 1980 American erotic thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma. Starring Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, and Keith Gordon, the film depicts the events leading up to the murder of a New York City housewife (Dickinson) before following a prostitute (Allen) who witnesses the crime. It contains several direct references to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho, such as a man dressing as a woman to commit murders, significant shower scenes, and the murder of the female lead early in the picture.

Released in the summer of 1980, Dressed to Kill was a box office hit in the United States, grossing over $30 million. It received largely favorable reviews, and critic David Denby of New York Magazine proclaimed it "the first great American movie of the '80s." Angie Dickinson won the Saturn Award for Best Actress for her performance. Nancy Allen received both a Golden Globe Award nomination for New Star of the Year, as well as an inaugural first-year Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress (a distinction that she shared in 1980 with Neil Diamond who also received both a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in The Jazz Singer and won the Worst Actor Razzie Award for the same role). Caine also stood out for his double role of the healing, reserved psychiatrist and the psychiatrist's murdering, gender-role conflicted alter ego.