Exactly why director Eddie Davis and screenwriters Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse decided to remake the noir classic D.O.A. in the form of Color Me Dead is never made clear. Aside from some contemporary updates, there's nothing here that shows that they understand why the original worked so well, and certainly no indication of why the changes they work on it should improve upon the source material. Dead is not a horrible film, by any means, it's just kind of dull and a bit pointless. The basic set-up still works, and that's a good thing, because most of Dead is carried by the premise of a man slowly dying and working to find his killers before the final curtain is rung down. The dialogue has an occasional tang, but too much of it sounds like stuff we've heard in other films, and its late 1960s period flavor works against the tension of the piece. There's an obligatory psychedelic sequence which provides some entertainment but is essentially out of place, and on the whole Davis' direction skimps too much on the all-important tension and suspense; we don't feel strongly enough the urgency that is inherent in the film. It doesn't help that Tom Tryon's performance holds no surprises and is by-the-numbers from start to finish. Carolyn Jones adds greatly as the girl friend, but Dead is for the most part a film that just didn't need to be made.
by Craig Butler
review
