Brian De Palma wrote and directed the 1980 American erotic thriller slasher film Dressed to Kill. The film stars Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, and Keith Gordon and follows a prostitute (Allen) who witnesses the murder of a New York City housewife (Dickinson). It includes multiple allusions to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 picture Psycho.
Dressed to Kill, which was released in July 1980 and grossed over $30 million in the United States, was a box office success. It got mostly positive reviews, with New York Magazine writer David Denby dubbing it ‘the first great American film of the 1980s.’
For her performance, Angie Dickinson received the Saturn Award for Best Actress. Nancy Allen was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year as well as an inaugural Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress in her debut year.
The naked figure in the opening scene, which takes place in a shower, was not that of Angie Dickinson, but rather Victoria Lynn Johnson, the 1977 Penthouse Pet of the Year model. De Palma wanted Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann to play Kate Miller, but she objected due to the violence, thus Angie Dickinson was cast in the role.
Sean Connery was offered and enthusiastically accepted the role of Robert Elliot, but he declined due to prior commitments. Connery then collaborated with De Palma on the Oscar-winning version of The Untouchables, which was released in 1987. The elevator murder, according to De Palma, is the best murder scene he’s ever done.
On July 25, 1980, the film Dressed to Kill opened in Los Angeles and New York City. The picture grossed $3,416,000 in its first weekend from 591 theatres and $3,640,000 in the following weekend from 596 theatres. It was the 21st highest-earning film of the year in the United States, grossing $31.9 million.
When the film was released, it sparked outrage and protests. When the film was exhibited on the University of Iowa campus, members of the Iowa City National Organization for Women and other feminist organizations picketed the screening, distributing anti-film pamphlets and decrying what they viewed as a representation of violence against women as entertainment.
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