Dressed to Thrill

I’m currently reading Laurent Bouzereau’s fascinating book The De Palma Decade: Redefining Cinema with Doubles, Voyeurs, and Psychic Teens, which focuses on the films Brian De Palma made between 1972 and 1981. De Palma is a masterful visual storyteller and one of my absolute favorite directors. I revisit his films often, especially those from the period Bouzereau writes about: Sisters (1972), Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Obsession (1976), Carrie (1976), The Fury (1978), Dressed to Kill (1980), and Blow Out (1981). I might’ve extended the “decade” in question to include two more essential De Palma films, Scarface (1983) and Body Double (1984), but that’s a small quibble. Chapters on each film blend the author’s analyses with his interview excerpts from cast and crew, combining for a robust reading of what I consider to be De Palma’s crowning era as a filmmaker.

As I noted in my previous article “Nancy Drew in a Garter Belt:” Nancy Allen in Dressed to Kill, De Palma’s then-wife, actress Nancy Allen, turns in one of the most memorable and defining performances of the director’s filmography. While reading Bouzereau’s chapter on the film, I was reminded of the cuts De Palma had to make to receive an R rating. Initially, the Motion Picture Association slapped Dressed to Kill with an X rating due to the violent and bloody murder scenes, plus some l salaciously sexual dialogue—including a line uttered by Nancy Allen that likely spawned countless wet dreams about the actress. While attempting to distract Michael Caine’s Dr. Elliott in order to attain potentially incriminating information related to the film’s murder investigation, Allen’s character, intrepid hooker with a heart of gold girl Liz Blake, strips down to her black bra and panties, thigh high stockings, garter belts, and heels. That’ll certainly distract anyone. Further tempting the not-so-good doctor, Liz engages in some sexually explicit banter with him before declaring, “Well, because of the size of that cock in your pants, I don’t think you’re so married.”

Nancy Allen in Dressed to Kill seductively purring “cock” is one of life’s true pleasures. One day we will all return to dust, but some of us were lucky enough to be alive when a scorching hot Nancy Allen in sexy black lingerie blurted out the word “cock” like she was an insatiable sex fiend jonesing for a hit of the only thing that would satisfy her ravenous appetite.

However, it almost didn’t happen. The ratings board’s X rating led De Palma to make a few cuts and edits, including pulling “cock” out of Nancy Allen’s mouth and inserting “bulge” (oh the mental image!). This and other cuts helped secure an R rating. Thankfully though, the uncut film was released in Europe and later restored on DVD and Blu-ray, so the version I’ve watched for years now firmly inserts the “cock” back into Nancy Allen’s mouth, and the world is a better place for it.

When the uncut, X-rated version was reinstated, it allowed us all to all hear Nancy Allen make a meal out of the word “cock.” Oh my, Nancy Allen making a meal out of cock sure does paint a picture, doesn’t it? Not that it’s a picture my imagination hasn’t already painted many, many times before while watching this scene, mind you. Hell, I painted the picture at least twice in the previous paragraph alone! Ahem. Time for a cigarette break…

In closing, one of the main takeaways from this post is that Brian De Palma’s films continue to intrigue and attract me after all these years. They’re complex, layered, disturbing, and darkly humorous—which, funny enough, is also how I might describe myself. Another takeaway is simply that Nancy Allen’s prostitute-turned-detective in Dressed to Kill—and especially Nancy Allen’s prostitute-turned-detective in lingerie talking about cock in Dressed to Kill—is one of my favorite heroines in all of cinema, and one of the absolute hottest to ever singe the screen. Stunning. Even though I’ve tried here, words simply don’t do her justice. In true De Palma’s fashion, the best way to understand this is to let your voyeuristic instincts take over and drink in the majesty that is Nancy Allen in Dressed to Kill.