Lady Ice

Lady Ice is a 1973 American crime film directed by Tom Gries, and starring Donald Sutherland, Jennifer O'Neill and Robert Duvall.^[3] The story concerns an insurance investigator who becomes involved with a wealthy young woman he suspects of fencing stolen jewelry.

In a Miami hotel room, insurance agent Andy Hammon surprises Tony Lacava, a jewelry fence, at gunpoint and retrieves a diamond necklace that Lacava had concealed under his clothes.

While working at a garage, Hammon encounters Paula Booth, a wealthy young woman who leaves her car to be repaired. He makes a lewd comment toward Paula and is summoned to see the garage owner, Booth's father, who fires him. Hammon steals Paula's car and she pursues him until she loses him at a draw bridge. Later, at her home, Paula encounters Hammon again, who presents himself as criminal and proposes a partnership. Hammon later shows her the necklace that he took from Lacava. Paula reports the encounter to her father.

Department of Justice official Ford Pierce shows Hammon the body of Lacava, who has been killed, and reveals that Paula, her father Paul and their partner Eddie are all under investigation as Booth senior has a large amount of unexplained wealth. Eddie tells Paula he thinks Hammon is a threat to a future deal worth $3 million and suggests killing him, but Paula protests. Hammon is attacked in his home by the thugs who killed Lacava, but they leave when Paula arrives. Hammon reveals to Paula that he is an insurance investigator from Chicago and he knows that a further shipment of jewelry is arriving soon.

In Chicago, a jewelry store is robbed. Pierce and his agents separately follow Eddie and Paula but lose both of them. Hammon, however, successfully follows Paula to a meeting with Eddie and the Chicago robbers, where they buy the stolen jewelry, and eventually to Nassau. Hammon meets with Paula and her contact, Brinker, and offers them $500,000 for the jewels. Hammon deduces that the stolen gems are being recut and sold as new jewelry items. Brinker collects the jewelry, but he is robbed by a gang hired by Hammon and claims the insurance money for the jewels.

Hammon's employers meet him in the Bahamas and tell him to obtain a signed statement from Paula, stating that the recut jewels are the same as the stolen ones. Hammon meets Paula to negotiate the deal and offers her $600,000 and immunity from prosecution. Paula accepts, and they depart to retrieve the jewels but Eddie arrives and takes them for himself. The police pursue Eddie as Hammon and Paula look on.

• Donald Sutherland as Andy
• Jennifer O'Neill como Paula
• Robert Duvall como Ford
• Patrick Magee como el Sr. Booth
• Jon Cypher como Eddie
• Eric Braeden como Brinker
• Perry López como Carlos

La película fue producida por una compañía llamada Tomorrow Entertainment, una subsidiaria de General Electric. Tomorrow se especializaba en la producción televisiva, pero había incursionado en el cine con Lady Caroline Lamb . ^{[ 4 ]} La película se basó en un guion original de Alan Trustman titulado The Master . ^{[ 5 ]} Richard Colla fue el primer director anunciado. ^{[ 6 ]}

Terrence Malick escribió una versión del guion. Su agente, Mike Medavoy , lo vendió por 50.000 dólares para ayudar a financiar su primera película, Badlands . Malick optó por no aparecer en los créditos de Lady Ice . ^{[ 7 ]}

A George Lucas se le ofreció la oportunidad de dirigir, pero la rechazó para centrarse en encontrar un estudio para American Graffiti . ^{[ 8 ]}

El rodaje comenzó en Miami con Donald Sutherland y Susan George como protagonistas. El rodaje fue caótico. El primer director fue despedido. Se contrató a un segundo director, la primera opción del productor Harrison Starr, pero este insistió en detener la producción y reescribir el guion, a lo que Tomorrow se negó, por lo que renunció. Se gastaron 500.000 dólares antes de que se cancelara la película. ^{[ 9 ]} Tom Gries dijo que leyó el guion el viernes, aceptó el sábado y voló a Miami para trabajar el lunes. El rodaje comenzó dos días después. Gries reemplazó a la protagonista femenina original, Susan George, con Jennifer O'Neill. ^{[ 10 ] [ 11 ]}

El presupuesto original era de 1,5 millones de dólares, pero se disparó a 3 millones de dólares. ^{[ 12 ]}

Leonard Maltin le otorgó dos estrellas a la película. ^{[ 13 ]}

• Lista de películas estadounidenses de 1973

• Lady Ice en IMDb
• Lady Ice en Rotten Tomatoes