WELCOME TO THE GRAVE

When foul Matra Ross returns to the husband she deserted, best-selling writer Harley, and blackmails him into taking her back (she knows about his long-ago hit-and-run killing of a little girl), it's only a matter of time before Harley's thoughts turn to murder. So this passable little entertainment moves awfully slowly, with Harley taking quite a while to build up the rage required to bash Matra and frame his recently-hired gardener (whom he also kills) for the crime. The housekeeper's wee niece, however, has seen it all--so Harley doesn't get away with it. Neither, really, does McMullen, but pulp-king Harley is an engaging enough anti-hero to carry this unpretentious Connecticut murder-comedy right along.