A Knife for the Ladies (1974)

In the arid expanse of the Southwest desert, the tranquility of the small town of Mescal is brutally shattered by a series of gruesome murders. At the heart of the terror is a knife-wielding maniac, whose victims are predominantly women of the night, but whose first prey was Travis Mescal, the sole heir of the town's founding family. The town's grizzled Sheriff, with his worn-out badge and weathered resolve, struggles to unearth the truth behind the bloodshed, his inability to solve the case only heightening the town's palpable fear. In desperation, the town elders summon the services of Investigator Burns, a private detective renowned for his tenacity and shrewdness. Upon arrival, Burns is immediately met with the Sheriff's cold indifference and the veiled hostility of the town's inhabitants, each harboring secrets as vast as the desert itself. As the body count rises, Burns must navigate through a maze of deception and suspicion, unmasking dubious characters while battling his own mounting tension with the stubborn Sheriff. The shadow of the killer looms large over Mescal, his motive echoing chilling tales from the annals of the infamous Ripper. As Burns delves deeper into the mystery, he finds himself locked in a deadly showdown with an enemy as elusive as a desert mirage and as deadly as a coiled rattlesnake. The film, 'A Knife for the Ladies', is a thrilling ride through a desert town held hostage by fear, each sun-bleached alley hiding a clue, each whispered secret bringing Burns closer to the heart of a terrifying enigma.

A Knife for the Ladies is a horror movie featuring Jack Elam and directed by Larry G. Spangler.

A Knife for the Ladies is currently streaming for free (ad-supported) on Tubi TV.

It is also possible to buy A Knife for the Ladies on Amazon Video.