Death Scream (1975) (TV)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Richard T. Heffron

Writer:

Stirling Silliphant (writer)

Release Date:

26 September 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

A young woman is murdered in an alley. The crime is heard or seen by the residents of a nearby apartment building...

Plot Keywords:

Murder

Cast

Raul Julia	...	Detective Nick Rodriguez
John P. Ryan	...	Detective Dave Lambert (as John Ryan)
Phillip Clark	...	Detective Johnny Bellon
Lucie Arnaz	...	Judy
Edward Asner	...	Peter Singleton
Art Carney	...	Mr. Jacobs
Diahann Carroll	...	Betty May
Kate Jackson	...	Carol
Cloris Leachman	...	Mrs. Singleton
Tina Louise	...	Hilda Murray
Nancy Walker	...	Mrs. Jacobs
Eric Braeden	...	Kosinsky
Allyn Ann McLerie	...	Alice Whitmore
Dimitra Arliss	...	Mrs. Kosinsky
William Bryant	...	Harry Whitmore

Also Known As:

Homicide (USA) (working title)
Streetkill
The Woman Who Cried Murder

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Robert Stigwood Organization (RSO)

Trivia:

Inspired by a true story.

Pretty good crime vehicle for '70s TV stars...but what happened to Kate Jackson?

No-frills crime-drama debuted in 1975 on The CBS Friday Night Movie, one filled with familiar television faces of the time (Ed Asner and Cloris Leachman as mismatched marrieds, Art Carney and Nancy Walker as an elderly couple, Diahann Carroll as an attempted suicide, Tina Louise as a lesbian dental assistant, etc). Loosely based on the Kitty Genovese crime wherein a woman was attacked in front of her apartment building, screaming for half an hour while fighting off her attacker but not getting any help from her neighbors. Raul Julia and John P. Ryan are the investigators, and Julia in particular exudes a lot of easy charm and charisma in this role (his young daughter, played by none other than Helen Hunt, has a lovely scene with him singing in the car). This may have been a proposed pilot for a TV series (the tag at the end suggests it); if so, it's a good one, with tight pacing and gripping camera-work. Surprises in the cast: Hunt (looking like a pint-sized hippie), Sally Kirkland as a flirty waitress, Lucie Arnaz as a victim who survives, Tony Dow (from "Leave It To Beaver") as a married man who wants to go to jail, and Kate Jackson in a brief cameo as a woman walking her dog. Too bad there isn't more of Jackson, she's very appealing and works well with Raul Julia. Except for the drab decor, the movie doesn't date too badly and has good moments. Fans of TV shows from the 1970s will certainly be intrigued.