Titolo Originale : Killjoy – Who murdered Joy Morgan ( film tv prodotto per la Warner Bros Tv trasmesso il 22 ottobre 1981 ).

Durata : 96 minuti.

Genere : thriller.

Regia : John Llewellyn Moxey.

Cast : Kim Basinger, Robert Culp, Stephen Macht, Nancy Marchand, John Rubinstein, Terry Burns, Kelly Jean Peters, Ann Dusenberry.

Storia : Joy Morgan, prostituta scomparsa, viene ritenuta morta. Un poliziotto, Lou Corbin ( Robert Culp ), vecchio amico della giovane donna, indaga in un grnde ospedale su quattro sospettati: il chirurgo Max Heller ( Stephen Macht ), il medico legale Paul Trenton ( John Rubinstein ), la figlia del direttore dell’ospedale Laury Medford ( Kim Basinger ) e la madre di Paul, Martha Trenton ( Nancy Marchand ), la quale è ostile all’imminente matrimonio tra Laury e Max pesando piuttosto a dirottare Laury su suo figlio.

Disponibilità : In Italia il film-tv è uscito pure in videocassetta distribuito da “MFD – Home Video”. E’ disponibile inoltre la cassetta inglese distribuita da “PolyGram Video”.

Passaggi in Tv : In Italia il film-tv è stato trasmesso da Italia 7 e Rete 4, in Germania da Pro 7 e Kabel 1, in Francia da M6 e La 5.

Altri Titoli : In Francia il film-tv è stato trasmesso col titolo “Qui a tué Joy-le fouineur”, in Germania col titolo “Mordintrigen”, in Spagna col titolo “Mataron a Joy”.

Curiosità : La trasmissione del film-tv in Italia ha spesso comportato il cambio del titolo: “Chi ha ucciso Joy Morgan”, “Che fine ha fatto Joy Morgan” e “Bisturi Omicida”. Il film-tv ha vinto nel 1982 l’ Edgar Allan Poe Award come miglior film-tv mistery.

Recensioni : alcune recensioni sul film :

	Film Tv :  “Mistery di impianto molto originale con un buon cast. Buon thriller pensato e girato per la tv che riesce a incollare alla sedia lo spettatore. Nel cast una giovane Kim Basinger”.
	Cine Télé Revue ( rivista francese ) :
	Video woche ( rivista tedesca ) :
	Tv today ( rivista tedesca ) :
	Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews" : C "A made for TV movie that looks and feels like a made for TV movie (it was stale). It's entertaining ala Columbo style, as the last scene has all the suspects in the morgue and the cop, Lou Corbin (Robert Culp), plays a trick on the murderer to get a confession, just like they do it on TV when they wrap up a case. Since I wasn't held in suspense, I instead turned my attention on guessing who did it, using my conditioned experiences from watching such TV shows, therefore I knew it wouldn't be the most obvious one. I did guess who it was about half way through on a hunch, since the plot didn't leave much in clues. Instead, it tried many different twists to throw you off, giving all the suspects a reason for doing the killing. I hate to be a killjoy, but that, unfortunately, was the only enjoyment I got out of the film. The film opens as a blonde woman is being slashed to death with a pair of shears by an unseen assailant. Set in a city hospital, the film pays homage to soap operas like General Hospital, as in numerous scenes a patient is seen watching the unnamed soap opera, as is the bartender where the doctors hangout, Rosie (Ann Wedgeworth). Dr. Paul Trenton (John Rubinstein) is the head of pathology at the hospital; his overbearing widow mother is a doctor at the same hospital; Dr. Max Heller (Stephen Macht) is the poor boy with ambition who worked his way through med school to his position as a heart surgeon and is best friends with the wealthy Trentons. Max is an arrogant playboy and pictured as a surgeon of questionable skills; and, then there is Laury Medford (Kim Basinger), the gorgeous trophy wife that both Paul and Max are seemingly after. Her father is the chairman of the hospital board, which bodes well career-wise for whichever doctor lands her, as he's in a position to help both move up the ladder. At the bar, Paul learns that Laury, his lifelong friend and the one his mother compulsively wants him to marry, has just become engaged to Max. When Paul's mother finds out that he's about to lose her, she goads him to let her help in getting Laury back. Paul is determined to be his own man and tells his mother to mind her own business. Sneakily, Paul has Laury receive a letter addressed to Max from his secret lover, Joy Morgan, one in which she wrote to him about their love and enclosed in it the key to her house. Paul wrote the letter and made sure Laury got it, in order to get Laury's attention that her future husband spends the night with a girlfriend the night he proposes to her. This upsets Laury and she goes with Paul to Joy's house and finds evidence that Max and Joy knew each other. Lou Corbin tails them, suspicious that the missing travel agent Joy Morgan, someone he once dated before she broke it off to date a doctor, is a victim of foul play. Corbin meets individually with all the suspects and only discloses that he's a cop after his investigation is in its final stages. It made for a forgettable film, one that was probably intended as a pilot for a possible TV series. I saw it on the Mystery Channel at 3 in the morning, when I was suffering from insomnia after a particularly grueling day. The B-film left a warm spot in my heart, as it cured my insomnia without me using a sleeping pill and having to worry about side effects.".