Lucky Lady (1975)

Set in the prohibition era of 1930, a widow (Liza Minnelli) who owns and sings in a Tijuana bar joins forces with two men (Burt Reynolds, Gene Hackman) to run alcohol from Mexico to the United States. In addition to running afoul of a large mobster syndicate, the three enter a menage a trois relationship. This film doesn't work at any level. Very often Star Power is strong enough to carry a bad movie but despite the presence of the three major stars, it's a massive failure. The film seems to be trying for a light touch, a throwback to 1930s fast paced comedy and one can see Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow in this at MGM in the mid 1930s but the director Stanley Donen has his hands tied with the lackluster pastiche of a script by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz (just coming off AMERICAN GRAFITTI). There's not a trace of style or wit in the entire movie and one can practically feel how much Hackman wishes he were somewhere else. The cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth inexplicably gives the film a soft look as if filmed thru gauze. John Kander and Fred Ebb (CHICAGO) wrote two mediocre songs for Minnelli to sing in the film. With Robby Benson, John Hillerman, Geoffrey Lewis, Val Avery, Emilio Fernandez and Michael Hordern.