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After pulling off a million-dollar robbery, Dolph Kostis (Ivor Salter) leaves his partner, Lylle Corbett (Cameron Mitchell), for dead and prepares to make his getaway—with the money and his lovely companion, Darlene (Jayne Mansfield). All they have to do is take a small boat (borrowed from their luxurious hotel) to the small, deserted island where Kostis has hidden the real getaway boat, and they’re home free.
Unfortunately, nothing goes according to plan for Kostis and Darlene. As they prepare to make their escape, the hotel manager, Livio Morelli (Aldo Camarda), discovers their identity, and he sends his sister, Sandra (Dodie Heath), to sabotage the hotel’s boat—so he can kill Kostis and Darlene and take the money for himself. But when Sandra gets to the boat, she finds it already occupied—by Corbett, who managed to survive his fall from the rocky cliff. Soon, all five of them reach the mysterious deserted island—which turns out to be no longer deserted. There, they find crazy old Madame Benoit (Isa Miranda), who’s returned to the island to die, accompanied by her butler, Janis (Pinkas Braun).
On the island, the money goes missing. So while Kostis is the only one who knows where the escape boat is hidden, another one of the island’s occupants is the only one who knows where the money is hidden. And as the money continues to change hands, the island’s greedy inhabitants are killed off, one by one—while those who remain get greedier and more desperate.
Dog Eat Dog (also known as When Strangers Meet) is a campy ‘60s B-movie thriller, filled with over-the-top melodrama and cheesy fight scenes accompanied by jazzy music. Mansfield (who, incidentally, was pregnant with Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay at the time of filming) has no real purpose in the movie, other than to be Jayne Mansfield—and she does a great job of it. Her character adds a little trashiness to the movie—in an unpredictable, Anna Nicole kind of way. She’s blonde and ditzy. She gets into a catfight. She propositions every man on the island. And she gets to say lines like, “Crackers! You’re cute!” Though she doesn’t really have a solid role in the movie, without Jayne, it would be just another B-movie.
This movie definitely isn’t for everyone. If you prefer Oscar-worthy performances and deep, dramatic screenplays, please don’t see this movie. Don’t even think about it. But if you enjoy a bit of over-the-top campiness, Dog Eat Dog really is an irresistible little cult flick.
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