Murder Once Removed (1971)

A doctor (John Forsythe) is having an affair with the wife (Barbara Bain) of one of his patients (Richard Kiley). The patient suspects the doctor may kill him and fix it so it looks like a natural death. To this end, he takes precautions to protect himself but the diabolical doctor proves too smart for him. Directed by Charles S. Dubin, this murder mystery is well done including a twist of an ending that I didn't see coming. But there's no getting around how contrived the whole thing is which lessens one's enjoyment. It was interesting to watch John Forsythe in an atypical role instead of the usual stolid generic types he normally plays and his casting helps give the film a bit of an uncertainty to the proceedings it otherwise may not have had. But as a murder mystery, it's no Agatha Christie. With Joseph Campanella, Wendell Burton and Reta Shaw.