It's hard if not impossible to believe the studios tossing around names like Marlene Dietrich and Simone Signoret when casting the the role of Lisa Schindler, the down-on-her-luck cosmetics saleswoman who wanders into the lives of bon vivants Paul and Jennifer Montgomery (deliciously cast James Caan and Katherine Ross). Such were the days when true Hollywood icons were available to lend gravitas to what could be standard horror fare.

The thing is, "Games" is hardly standard. It's wickedly evil, perverse, and calculating --- playing you like a piano, much the way Ross and Caan's characters typically play their party guests. The film takes place almost entirely in a fantastic set-piece brownstone owned by the couple, filled with off-putting expressionistic artwork and baroque/Gothic decorations. It's obvious neither Paul nor Jennifer work for a living, and placing a sophisticated cypher like Signoret among them, who oozes both charm and menace with equal ease, is a superb set-up.

All three of these characters enjoy playing "games" and suffice it to say, things take a turn for the worse rather quickly when Signoret gifts Jen and Paul a pair of antique dueling revolvers.

Curtis Harrington's direction really ignites this film: he plays with a lot of transposition and editing tricks that really heighten the suspense and paranoia. The last third of the film contains many moments that are downright terrifying, especially given the way they're set up and performed.

And of course, the script measures up to it, leading you down various false alleys and never giving you much clue as to what's going to happen next. When it's over, you can't believe you didn't see it coming, but that's part of the fun of "Games." It weaves a spell over you much like that mystical crystal ball of Madame Schindler's.

Paul Montgomery and his wife Jennifer (James Caan and Katharine Ross) are wealthy New Yorkers who amuse themselves by holding parties in their townhouse and playing sadistic games on their friends.

Then they meet Lisa Schindler, an older cosmetics saleswoman played by Simone Signoret. She faints as soon as she enters their home and spends the night. The woman may be psychic and definitely fits into the gameplaying nature of the couple, as she sets up some simulated situations for them to argue about, like a grocery deliveryman (Don Stroud) potentially having an affair with Jennifer, just to see how they'll react.

When the deliveryman comes back the next day, Paul threatens him with a gun after he sees the man make a pass at his wife. But it's all a joke on his part, as the gun fires blanks, until the second shot murders him and they have to hide his body. But when do the pranks stop? When they encase the man in plaster? Or when his ghost keeps walking through the house?

While the part of Lisa was originally intended for Marlene Dietrich, Simone Signoret makes sense, as the film she may be most famous for, Diabolique, has a similar tone. It's interesting that in 1967, as everyone was moving to the New Hollywood, Harrington had an eye to the glory days of the past.

A mindgames playing couple played by James Caan and Katharine Ross invites an intriguing older lady into their lives. Simone Signoret plays an aging cosmetics saleswoman invited to spice up their lives. The couple thought they were experienced, but could they be outplayed by her? The performances by all three are good. The tension is predicated on the likability of the couple Caan and Ross. That's questionable. They are written with too much callousness. They don't play nice normal people and I don't really care what happens to them. But it's a good exercise of whodunnit for the mind. At its core, it mattered very little the outcome. It makes the movie less than what it could have been.