Roger Moore, in a probably futile attempt to move away from his James Bond image, is Dr. Judd Stevens, a mild-mannered Chicago psychiatrist who is caught in the center of a ring of murders. First, one of his patients is killed while wearing Stevens' jacket; then the doctor's secretary is
savagely murdered. Lieutenant McGreavy (Steiger), a tough cop who holds a personal grudge against Stevens, is determined to prove the psychiatrist guilty, whereas his partner Angeli (Gould) is a bit more reasonable. The killings continue, and it becomes clear to Stevens that he must solve the
mystery himself. THE NAKED FACE is intriguing early on; but the deeper the plot gets, the more incredible it becomes. The identity and motivations of the killer are completely absurd, but maybe that's the point--that Stevens is a victim of happenstance. Moore is too mild-mannered to be
interesting, Steiger too hammy to take seriously, and Gould a tough sell as a Chicago cop. Art Carney makes a spirited appearance as a disheveled, eccentric private eye who surrounds himself with timepieces.
