Robert Lansing appeared in many film and television projects and was best known for features like the 4D Man and Empire Of The Ants. He also turned in a fine performance in the “Assignment: Earth” episode of Star Trek. With his stern voice and rugged good looks he was a natural and did everything from westerns to courtroom dramas.

In Scalpel Lansing plays a plastic surgeon operating in the epitome of deep South Georgia. The Southern Gothic starts as a reading of the will drama but takes a perverse turn when the mother lode of cash is left to Lansing’s daughter, Lansing being snubbed by his father for having a rather shady past. The daughter however, had run away from home and has not been heard from since. While Lansing is roaming around town one evening a stripper is beaten savagely and left in an alley by a club bouncer, her face horribly disfigured. Lansing, as a doctor specializing in this sort of thing, offers to help. The victim has no ID since she was only wearing a G-string when found and is unable to speak. Since he has no idea about what “Jane Doe” looks like he uses his disappeared daughter’s face as a model. This could come in handy, thinks the surgeon.

This Arrow release has an interesting feature option for viewing the film. Shot by Edward Lachman bathed in a golden Southern hue, you can watch the film as intended or without this unique touch. While the film may seem a little like a made-for-television feature at first, it builds into a quite perverse little drama oozing with Southern sleaze. The restored film looks majestic and the disc has the usual top-notch extras.