Theo Robertson
Having thought that the mid 1970s was something of a golden era where American TVMs were produced I gave DEATH CRUISE the benefit of the doubt when I saw the relatively high rating on this page and expected more than something you'd get on the Hallmark channel but to be honest it seems like I wasted my time The plot summary on the main details gives away the premise a bit too quickly . This is indeed how the plot unravels but there's far too much screen time dedicated to the characters all of whom are crashing bores . I've always got the impression these exotic cruise ship passengers are invariably badly dressed yawn merchants who quite literally suck the life out of everybody around them and this is exactly how they are portrayed in this TVM The murderer in the midst isn't the most obvious person you'd think off and it does have some unintentional funny moments such as two characters finding a fellow passenger has gone overboard and the female character blurting out " Darling I want to have a baby " but if you're watching a film that feels like THE LOVE BOAT mixed in with MURDER SHE WROTE you'll find yourself not only siding with the murderer but feeling he hasn't murdered enough passengers
Itsamoomoo
Every time this movie used to re-air on late night TV in the late 70s and early 80s I would always make time to sit in front of the TV and watch it. To see the lovely Kate Jackson, handsome Richard Long, the "great" Polly Bergen whom I've never seen anywhere else except for this TV movie, the endearing Tom Bosley, and another "great" whom I've never seen outside this movie, Celeste Holme. This is truly the love boat on a cruise to murder and mayhem and boy was it ever good!! And every time I would watch it I would always forget who the real murderer was.As expected, someone here is already criticizing the movie as if that really is a big help to anyone. This is a great TV movie and worth watching each and every time. I can't say that about half the movies I've seen this month.If you ever get a chance to watch it on TV someday, which isn't likely, watch it. In light of "The Girl Most Likely To" finally coming out this year on DVD, maybe there's hope for a DVD release of "Death Cruise."
robertconnor
When did 'Made For TV' movies begin? Hundreds of mini-masterpieces are going to be lost unless some bright spark begins to preserve and restore each and every print.This little 1974 'tv gem' has a delicious cast succumbing to a hackneyed Agatha Christie plot. Can you spot the killer(s) before it becomes obvious? Jackson is both gorgeous and fascinating... she spent so much of her career trying to cover her neck and throat (Charlie gave her so many scarves and polo-necks), yet amidst the halter-necks and scarves here, some scenes show a lovely (and perfectly normal) neck. Am I missing something? Also, an agent or personal manager with more smarts might have suggested she was SUPERB at playing hard-faced beauties... she should have been the QUEEN of gorgeous villains!Did I spoil the plot?
Brian Washington
This is a pretty decent movie of the week from the Spelling-Goldberg production house. This movie is pretty much like Murder, She Wrote, which came out ten years later. Michael Constantine does a pretty decent job as the ship's doctor, who also happens to be an amateur detective and the cast, which is made up of many of the top stars of the small screen at the time did a pretty credible job playing the victims. Also, this happens to be one of the final appearances of Richard Long, who would die a few months later.
AD
