Don't Answer the Phone

aka The Hollywood Strangler

(1980)

94 minutes

Directed by Robert Hammer

Cast: James Westmoreland, Ben Frank and Flo Lawrence

Thriller / Exploitation

A deeply disturbed photographer and Vietnam War veteran named Kirk Smith terrorizes Los Angeles by going around strangling lingerie-clad young women in their homes. He also spends time taunting Lindsay Gale, a young psychologist, by calling her on a radio call-in show to describe his sexual hang-ups and misogynistic ways. The local police detective, Lt. McCable, is always two steps behind in trying to catch the psycho .