kate miller ( angie dickinson ) be have problem in her marriage and otherwise enough to see a psychologist . when her promiscuity get her into trouble and it also involve a bystander and liz blake ( nancy allen ) and who become wrap up in an investigation to discover the identity of a psycho killer . dress to kill be somewhat important historically . it be one of the early example of a contemporary style of thriller that a of this writing have extension all the way through hide and seek ( 2005 ) . it odd then that director brian de palma be basically try to crib hitchcock . for example and de palma literally lifts part of vertigo ( 1958 ) for dress to kill infamous museum scene . dress to kill shower scene and as well a it villain and method of death have similarity to psycho ( 1960 ) . de palma also employ a prominent score with recurrent motif in the style of hitchcock favorite composer bernard herrmann . the similarity do not end there . but de palma and whether by accident or skill and manage to make an oblique turn from and or perhaps transcend and his influence and with dress to kill have an attitude and structure and flow that have be influential . maybe partially because of this influence and dress to kill be also deeply flaw when view at this point in time . countless subsequent director have take their hitchcock like de palma and hone it and improve nearly every element and so that watch now and after 25 year worth of influenced thriller and much of dress to kill seem agonizingly pace and structurally clunky and plot wise inept . one aspect of the film that unfortunately hasn not be improve be dress to kill sex and nudity scene . both dickinson and allen treat u to full frontal nudity ( allen be from a very skewed angle ) and and de palma have linger shot of dickinson breast and strongly implicit masturbation and and more visceral sex scene than be usually find in contemporary film . quite a few scene approach soft core porn . i be no fan of prudishness quite the opposite . our culture puritanical and monogamistic and sheltered attitude towards sex and nudity be disturb to me . so from my perspective and it lamentable that dress to kill emphasis on flesh and it pleasure be one of the few aspect in which others have not strongly follow suit or trump the film . perhaps it have be desire and but they have not be allow to follow suit because of cultural control from conservative stuffed shirt . de palma direction of cinematography and the staging of some scene be also good enough that it be difficult to do something in the same style well than de palma do it . he have an odd and characteristic approach to close ups and and he fond of shot from interest angle and such a overhead view and james whale like track across distant cutaway in the set . of course later director have be flashy and but it difficult to say that they have be well . view for film making prowess and at least and the museum scene be remarkable in it ability to build very subtle tension over a dropped glove and a glance or two while follow kate through the intricately nested cube of the metropolitan museum of art . on the other hand and from a point of view care about the story and and especially if one be expect to watch a thriller and everything through the museum scene and slightly beyond might seem too slow and silly . because of it removal from the main genre of the film and it primary concern with directorial panache ( as well a cultural fact external to the film ) and the opening seem like a not very well integrated attempt to titillate and be risqué . once the first murder occurs and thing improve and but because of the film eventual influence and much of the improvement now seem a bit clichéd and occasionally hokey . the performance be mostly good and although michael caine be underused and and dickinson have to exit sooner than we would like ( but the exit be necessary and very effective ) . dress to kill be at least likely to hold your interest until the end and but because of fact not contain in the picture itself and hasn not exactly age well . at this point it be perhaps best to watch the film primarily a a historical relic and a an example but not the best and even for that era of some of de palma directorial flair .