How Awful About Allan (TV 1970)

After an eight-month stay in a mental hospital, a tormented man comes home to live with his sister; but a mysterious boarder may be trying to kill him.

Director:

Curtis Harrington

Writers:

Henry Farrell (teleplay), Henry Farrell (novel)

Stars:

Anthony Perkins, Julie Harris, Joan Hackett

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anthony Perkins	...	Allan
Julie Harris	...	Katherine
Joan Hackett	...	Olive
Kent Smith	...	Raymond
Robert H. Harris	...	Dr. Ellins
Molly Dodd	...	Inmate
Billy Bowles	...	Harold Dennis
Trent Dolan	...	Eric
Bill Erwin	...	Dr. Ames (as William Erwin)
Jeannette Howe	...	Katherine - Child
Kenneth Lawrence	...	Allan - Child

Storyline

After a fire which killed his father and scarred his sister, a guilt-ridden victim of psychosomatic blindness is released from a mental hospital and goes back home to stay with his estranged sister. However, it appears that someone is out for revenge and wants to drive him crazy.

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Plot Keywords:

boarder | mental hospital | blindness | fire | tape recorder | 

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Taglines:

Allan, Wouldn't You Be Better Off Dead?

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Genres:

Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some violent images and mild thematic elements

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Che succede al povero Allan?

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aaron Spelling Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Anthony Perkins had special contact lenses made that he could barely see through, so he'd actually be nearly blind while filming his scenes. He popped the lenses in just prior to filming and was led onto the set by a crew member.

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Goofs

When Katherine and Olive go to Allan's room after Allan destroys the tape recorder, you hear the firm knocking on the door before Katherine even touches the door and after she touches the door.

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Quotes

[after rescuing his sister from a house fire]
Allan: I'm blind.

User Reviews

Nice Performance by Perkins

How Awful About Allan (1970)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Made-for-TV thriller has Anthony Perkins playing Allan, a tormented man who is facing various forms of trauma and blindness due to the shock of his house catching fire and him not being able to save his father who he hated. After an eight month stay at a psych ward, he returns home to live with his sister (Julie Harris) but slowly starts to lose his mind as he believes a guest staying in one of the rooms is trying to kill him. Outside of the good performance by Perkins this film offers very little else. Even at just 75-minutes the thing bored the hell out of me and I can't tell you how many scenes there are of Perkins just walking around to see if someone is there or not. After a while this gets rather boring especially when it keeps happening over and over. I'm pretty sure the director was going for a psychological horror film in the same vein as PSYCHO but the screenplay doesn't come close to it and that includes the twist ending here, which is easy to see coming because there's nothing else it could have been. One nice touch is how the blindness is shown in the film as the special effect is quite nice. Perkins, playing the same type of character as Norman Bates, thankfully doesn't try to replay that role and instead gives a different type of performance. He's good in the film but often he doesn't have too much to work with. Harris doesn't add anything nor does the supporting cast. Those who enjoy these Made-for-TV horror films might want to check it out but others should stay clear.