THERE IS A BOMB IN the BOMBE
Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe: Natasha “Nat” O’Brien (Jacqueline Bisset) is a renowned pastry chef invited to London to prepare a royal banquet. Robert “Robby” Ross (George Segal), her ex-husband, is a fast-food mogul nicknamed “the Taco King,” representing mass-market cuisine. Max Vandeveer (Robert Morley) is the rotund, witty (read homosexual) editor of Epicurious magazine, obsessed with fine dining and responsible for assembling the world’s most fabulous meal. After he publishes an article highlighting his favorite chefs and their signature dishes, the chefs begin dying in grotesque ways that mimic their specialties. Chef Louis Kohner, known for baked pigeon, is found roasted in an oven. In Venice, lobster chef Fausto Zoppi is discovered drowned in his lobster tank. Each murder corresponds to the order of courses in Max’s ultimate menu, suggesting a deliberate pattern. Natasha and Robby, both suspects at different points, race across Europe to prevent further killings. Natasha realizes she is the final course—her famed ice cream pastry or bombe—making her the killer’s ultimate target.
Directed by Ted Kotcheff from a screenplay by Peter Stone (Charade) and based on the novel of the same name by Nan & Ivan Lyons, this is one of the great unsung Queer films of the 1970s. Featuring a sublimely queer turn by Robert Morley, an actor who played his share of gay roles over the years (see Essay One: 86 Queer Films Made Under the Hays Code: Oscar Wilde), but, reportedly, was not queer in real life. I am pleased to say that, for his work on this movie, Morley won the Best Supporting Actor award of 1978 from both the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) and the National Society of Film Critics (NSFC).
Bon Apitite!
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