Pretty Poison

A young man named Dennis Pitt has recently been released from a psychiatric hospital and is trying to rebuild his life in the town of Winslow. There he meets Sue Ann Stepanek, a high school student, and falls for her quickly. When his ordinary efforts to win her attention fail, he tells her he is a secret agent on an important mission. She plays along at first, drawn to the story, and the two begin acting out his invented spy scenarios. The fantasy takes a darker turn as their relationship becomes dangerous and ends in violence that changes both of their lives.

Noel Black directed the film, his first feature, working from a screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr.; Marshall Backlar and Black produced it for 20th Century Fox and Lawrence Turman Productions. Anthony Perkins plays Dennis opposite Tuesday Weld as Sue Ann, with Beverly Garland, John Randolph, Dick O'Neill and Clarice Blackburn in supporting roles. Made for about 2 million dollars, the film took a similar amount at the worldwide box office.

On IMDb it holds a rating of 7 out of 10 from around 4,600 votes, and on TMDB it has 6.7 out of 10 from a much smaller number of votes. A film critics' rating of 7.4 out of 10 from 11 reviews places it somewhat above the audience scores. Black went on to direct A Change of Seasons, Private School and Happy Endings.