One Shoe Makes It Murder (1982)

A down on his luck ex-cop (Robert Mitchum) is hired by a casino owner (Mel Ferrer) in Lake Tahoe to find his missing wife (Cathie Shirriff). He locates her in San Francisco but just minutes after visiting her, she commits suicide by jumping out the window of a high rise. But was it suicide ..... or murder? Based on the novel SO LITTLE CAUSE FOR CAROLINE by Eric Bercovici and directed by William Hale (S.O.S. TITANIC). This modest noir-ish (there's even a voice over by Mitchum) murder mystery is decent enough although Mitchum has done the weary detective bit for so long that he's merely coasting here. Both he and Angie Dickinson (as an ex-call girl) seem a bit mature for the roles they're playing however. Still, both are true Stars so they hold the screen but the tired material lets them down. The plot seems overly complicated and near the end when Mitchum explains everything, I'm still not sure who did what to who! There's a strong score by Bruce Broughton. With Howard Hesseman, Jose Perez and John Harkins.