They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)

When a woman's body is found mutilated on a beach, her Doberman is thought to have turned on her and killed her. When an autopsy shows she was murdered, a small town cop (James Garner) must sift through the victim's secret and unconventional lifestyle to find her killer. Directed by James Goldstone (RED SKY AT MORNING). A potentially taut and engrossing murder mystery is bungled by a flabby script with unnecessary small town "humor" (there's an embarrassing bit about a nipple that's just plain offensive) inserted into the proceedings, not to mention a disturbing undercurrent of homophobia through out the film. Outside of the provocative (for 1972) lesbian angle and the smutty innuendos, this could have been a TV movie. The large cast includes Katharine Ross, June Allyson (very good in her one big scene), Peter Lawford, Tom Ewell, Hal Holbrook, Arthur O'Connell, Edmond O'Brien, Harry Guardino and Ann Rutherford.