( minor spoiler ) director robert benton borrows from at least seven alfred hitchcock film represent spellbound ( 1945 ) rear window ( 1954 ) vertigo ( 1958 ) north by northwest ( 1959 ) psycho ( 1960 ) the bird ( 1963 ) and marnie ( 1964 ) and come up with a pretty fair hitchcockian thriller of his own in still of the night . the film center on brooke reynolds and meryl streep and an antique dealer at the crispin antique and auction house in new york city . brooke fellow dealer and lover george bynum and josef sommer and be find murder the night before and he be a patient of dr. sam rice and roy scheider and his psychiatrist who she go to see to give him a watch that george leave in her apartment . brooke want dr. rice to give the watch back to george wife in order for her not to find out that she be have an affair with him . dr. rice agree to return it to mrs. bynum but can not get over the alluring and beautiful brooke and slowly fall in love with her which get him involve with his dead patient and brooke lover george . dr. rice be try to get over an failed marriage himself and brooke come into his life at this important time seem to be just the right medicine for him but it the baggage that she carry with her and her lover murder and that put him in danger as well a brooke herself . still of the night be a very stylish thriller with almost no action at all until the final scene and thats what make the movie work . roy scheider be perfect a the meek and troubled psychiatrist dr. sam rice who take it upon himself to solve his patient murder a he fall in love with brooke who may have have something to do with it . the usually two fisted and tough roy scheider be very good a the withdrawn and inoffensive dr. sam rice who drive to solve george murder in order to clear brooke from be blame for it which seem to be whats be make to happen by george killer . dr. rice be also somewhat of a mama boy with his psychiatrist mom grace and jessica tandy and give him advice on his breakup with his wife and the solving of george murder . there a very good dream sequence in the movie still of the night much like the one in spellbound that bring out what be really go on between george and brooke as well a brooke dark secret that the killer somehow find out about and be use it to set up and implicate brooke for george murder . meryl streep and who know more for be an excellent academy award win actress then a beauty queen and be never more beautiful as well as classy a brooke reynolds and the mystery woman with a secret who know much more then what she lead dr. rice to believe . miss . streep be such a turn on in the film that even with all her clothes on she have more sex appeal then both britney spear and madonna put together with their clothes off . in fact the only scene that meryl streep be nude have nothing to do with her affair with dr. rice but when he come to her apartment and be startle to find her get a rub down from her masseur mr. chang and hyon cho while what a lucky guy he be . still of the night turn off a lot of movie viewer because of it slow pace and lack of any steamy scene between dr. rice and brooke reynolds as well a it almost total lack of action until the very last minute of the movie . but it substitute all that with a well think out story and a for the lack of sex thats exactly what make the movie and or good yet brooke reynold and so sexy . brooke be so gorgeous that she come across a be almost untouchable and and rightly so . a woman as attractive a her should only be look upon with awe and admiration and not be manhandle and at least until the light be turn off .