1990 - QUICK CHANGE, a funny crime comedy

A film tailor made for Bill Murray's deadpan comedy talents.  Quick Change tells the story of a disgruntled city employee in New York who pulls off a bank robbery with his best friend and girlfriend. As he tries to get out of New York with the loot he is pursued by a police chief played in this case Jason Robards Jr., and thwarted at every turn by the residents of New York City

This is a funny film with clever situations and a good cast of supporting actors to play off of Murray.  Robards an actor not always known for comedy ( he performed in plays written by Eugene O'Neill for god sake) matches Murray as the harassed Chief of Police.

 

This comedic nightmare version of New York was photographed by Michael Chapman who had previously shot another nightmare film about New York, a little film called Taxi Driver.

 

Murray co-directed the film with the screenwriter Richard Franklin.  The running time is 89 minutes.  The film didn't do very well at the box office, but it is a funny film.

89 minutes.

1983 - PSYCHO II, is the further adventures of Norman Bates

Where to begin.  This is not some cheap rip off of the original Psycho.  The producer was an assistant to Hitchcock, the director of photography was Dean Cundey who had worked with Spielberg and Carpenter and Jerry Goldsmith scored the film.  Most importantly the director was Richard Franklin, a friend of Hitchcock's and an expert on his  films

If you set aside the thought that this was a completely unnecessary film sequel, even on it's own merits Psycho II does not work very well.  The whole idea that Norman Bates has been declared sane and allowed to return to the Bates motel seems pretty ridiculous.  Anthony Perkins plays Norman Bates as such a complete weirdo at the beginning of the film that it's impossible to believe that anyone would think he is healthy enough to be allowed out in the general public.

Vera Miles returns as Marion Crane's sister and apparently she married Sam Loomis after the original events of Psycho.  She's upset that Norman has been released and plans to drive him crazy in order to send him back to the insane asylum.  Miles has a daughter played by Meg (whatever happened to my career) Tilly who befriends Norman.

Franklin tries to invoke the spirit of the first film.  There are cinematic quotations from North by Northwest, and the shower and swamp scenes in the first film.  The famous butcher knife makes it's appearance as the body count begins to mount up.  Franklin may have been an admirer of Hitchcock but he lacks Hitchcock's touch in staging vivid murders.

The whole mess finally grinds to a halt with a ridiculous twist ending that unfortunately allowed Psycho III and Psycho IV to be made

Psycho II with it's plot holes and red herrings is a complete disappointment and doesn't even work as a slasher film.

113 minutes, written by Tom Holland