The Comeback 1978 ***

Pete Walker’s horror-thrillers are usually loaded with nasty gore, but he restrains himself to a couple of gruesome killings in this odd little music-business melodrama, originally planned to star Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry and Melanie Griffith. Something presumably went awry in the casting, since The Comeback’s solace-seeking rock singer is easy-listening king Jack Jones, with support from Pamela Stephenson, both of whom do quite nicely in the roles. Jones plays teen idol Nick Jones, who retired to an English manor where Sheila Keith and Last of the Summer Wine’s Bill Owen are the surly staff. Murder and madness are not far away, and the scripts assertions that Jack Jones’ singing performance are the devils work are not borne out by the rather sunny performances by the star. The Comeback is quite compelling in its own small way; Jones kept the pace with music and film, appearing as a lounge singer in 2013’s American Hustle.