In the past, the two William Shatner movies that I've trotted out to demonstrate what an effective actor he can be are "The Intruder" ('62), in which he plays a white supremacist, and "Incubus" ('66), the only film ever made in Esperanto. Hoping for another Shatner "I" film to add to this arsenal, I threw "Impulse" ('74) into the ol' DVD player, but I'm afraid I've gone to the well once too often, as this picture finds everyone's favorite spacetrucker in full blowhard mode, overemoting with a vengeance and giving full rein to the trademarked "Shatnerian" acting tics. Here, Shat plays Matt Stone, who we first meet as a young boy in the act of killing his mother's lover, a la Norman Bates. Flash forward 30 years, and Matt has grown into a handsome, smooth-talking con artist with an unfortunate tendency to murder his lady friends in a frothing rage. In this film, a mature but still attractive Ruth Roman, as well as a mother-and-daughter household, come into Matt's/Shat's sphere of influence. In the picture's action highlight, an old acquaintance of Stone's, played by a pipe-smoking, badly dubbed Harold "Oddjob" Sakata, has a mano a mano with our seedy psycho inside a deserted car wash. I know this all sounds pretty cool to read about, but trust me, the film is often dull and something of a labor to sit through. Only those with a deep and abiding love of Shatner in full "E Plebnista" histrionic mode (and indeed, his Matt Stone will often remind many of the evil Capt. Kirk from the old "Enemy Within" episode, right down to the scratches on his face!) should sign on here. I must admit that Bill is always fun to watch, even when sporting some truly awful '70s fashions, as he does here (dig that red trousers and tank top combo!), at the same time owning that this film is a hopelessly muddled affair. I'm giving it 5 stars because Shatner is so fascinating for me to look at when he overdoes it, but those with zero tolerance for his thesping charms will have a tough time here. To quote one of his old commercials, "Promise."
