The Silent Scream (1979)

Director:

Denny Harris

Writers:

Ken Wheat (written by) &
Jim Wheat (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

7 August 1980 (Australia)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Terror so sudden there is no time to scream.

Plot:

Scotty moves into Mrs. Engels' seaside mansion where three other college students are boarding. Mrs...

Plot Keywords:

Student | Attic | College Student | Mute Character | Slasher

Cast

Rebecca Balding	...	Scotty Parker
Cameron Mitchell	...	Lt. Sandy McGiver
Avery Schreiber	...	Sgt. Manny Ruggin
Barbara Steele	...	Victoria Engels
Steve Doubet	...	Jack Towne
Brad Rearden	...	Mason Engels
John Widelock	...	Peter Ransom
Jack Stryker	...	Police Chief
Thelma Pelish	...	Housing Lady
Tina Tyler	...	Victoria at 16
Yvonne De Carlo	...	Mrs. Engels
Juli Andelman	...	Doris Prichart
Annabella Price	...	TV Rape Victim
Joe Pronto	...	TV Rapist
Jason Zahler	...	Mason at 3
Joan Lemmo	...	Rooming House Lady
Ernie Potvin	...	Boarding House Husband
Virginia Rose	...	Boarding House Wife
Ina Gould	...	Landlady
Rachel Bard	...	Nurse in Psycho Ward

Directed by
Denny Harris

Writing credits
Ken Wheat		(written by) &
Jim Wheat		(written by) and
Wallace C. Bennett		(written by)

Produced by
Denny Harris	....	executive producer
Joan Harris	....	executive producer
Jim Wheat	....	producer
Ken Wheat	....	producer
Leslie Zurla	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Roger Kellaway

Cinematography by
Michael D. Murphy
David Shore

Film Editing by
M. Edward Salier		(as Edward Salier)

Casting by
Leslie Zurla

Production Design by
Chris Henry		(as Christopher Henry)

Costume Design by
Fredda Weiss

Makeup Department
Dante	....	makeup artist
Mary M. Hunter	....	makeup artist
John Malone	....	hairdresser (as John E. Malone)

Production Management
Carol Lee Emrich	....	production manager
M. Edward Salier	....	post-production supervisor (as Edward Salier)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Leslie Zurla	....	assistant director

Art Department
Michael Feffer	....	assistant property master
Skip Troutman	....	property master
Peter Nigel Williams	....	property master
McCoy Wood	....	special construction consultant

Sound Department
Robert Glass	....	dubbing
Larry Goga	....	production sound mixer
Robert Knudson	....	dubbing
Bonnie Kozek	....	sound effects editor
Don MacDougall	....	dubbing

Special Effects by
Steve Karkus	....	special effects

Stunts
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts
Joe Pronto	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Barrett	....	best boy (as Mike Barrett)
Alfred Del Boccio	....	operator: chapman crane
Félix Enríquez Alcalá	....	gaffer (as Felix Alcala)
Robert Fischer	....	grip (as Bob Fisher)
David Gordon	....	key grip (as David J. Gordon)
Denny Harris	....	photographer: second unit
Rachael Jenkins	....	electrician (as Rachel Jenkins)
Bruce Johnston	....	generator operator
George MacDonald	....	gaffer
Kerry Magness	....	gaffer
William Mamches	....	best boy
Bill Pecchi	....	key grip (as Bill Pecchi Jr.)
George Posedal	....	assistant camera (as George Posedel)
George Posedal	....	photographer: second unit (as George Posedel)
Barbara Seiler	....	still photographer
Stuart A. Spohn	....	gaffer (as Stuart Spohn)
Robert Stern	....	key grip
Bruce Ward	....	grip
Jonathan Woolf	....	key grip (as Jonathon J. Woolf)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Brian Higby	....	wardrobe
Betty M. Nowell	....	wardrobe (as Betty Nowell)

Editorial Department
Mori Biener	....	assistant post-production supervisor
Ann Hagerman	....	assistant editor
Jack Hofstra	....	additional editor
Richard Ross	....	assistant editor
David Tour	....	additional editor

Music Department
Tony Coe	....	musician: saxophone solos
M. Edward Salier	....	music editor (as Edward Salier)

Other crew
Jean Gonzales	....	welfare teacher
Lori Hannigan	....	caterer
Steven McGrew	....	utility
Joan Newstrom	....	location auditor
Ernie Potvin	....	title designer
Trudi Reynolds	....	caterer
Catherine Stoddard	....	script supervisor
Mary Jo Thatcher	....	production assistant
Marion Tumen	....	script supervisor
Leslie Zurla	....	location manager

Production Companies

• Denny Harris (as Denny Harris Inc. of California)

Distributors

• American Cinema Releasing (1980) (USA) (theatrical)
• Danton Films (198?) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Code Red DVD (2007-2009) (worldwide) (all media)
• Media Home Entertainment (1983) (USA) (VHS)
• Scorpion Releasing (2009) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Patricia Fitzgerald Co.  publicity (as The Patricia Fitzgerald Co.)
• Scandia Village Catering  catering (as Scandia Village)
• Moveable Feast  catering
• Todd-AO Studios  re-recording (as Todd-A-O)
• Modern Film Effects  titles and opticals
• MGM Laboratories  laboratory (as MGM)
• Denny Harris  production and post-production services and facilities (as Denny Harris Inc. of California)
• National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as NABET)

Also Known As:

"Silent Scream" - USA (poster title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Norway:15 | Norway:18 (1984) | UK:18 | USA:R | France:-16 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Denny Harris

Trivia:

Actor Steve Doubet recruited his girlfriend (and future wife) Tina Tyler to play the role of the young Victoria.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Mason and Mrs. Engle are struggling to gain control of the pistol, several shots are fired. In the close ups, you can see that the hammer is forward. The pistol used is a model 1911 variant and will not fire unless the hammer is cocked to the rear.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in How American Cinema Changed Hollywood Forever (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

I Love You Baby, Oh Baby I Do

Family comes first.

Let it begin. Post-Halloween slashers are in force. But this just made it in before the major onslaught, and admirably it's a above par entry. Actually it probably has more common with "Psycho" , and touch of "Black Christmas", than most brain-dead slashers. The one-note story is quite typical and fairly bare on building much in the way of sub-plots, but it's the dreary, underlining atmosphere that smothers the gloomy seaside mansion and invokes a real unsteadiness of slow-burn tension. Even the performances lend well, and the central outlook on a dysfunctional family (who rent out spare rooms in their mansion to students) grows incredibly eerie. A silently steely Barbara Steele is memorably striking in her support role, while Rebecca Balding is competently fine as the main heroine. Cameron Mitchell and Yvonne De Carlo also show up. There's a subtle stylishness to Denny Harris' direction in many effective sequences, where obviously his less concerned about a body count and ghastly shocks. The feel is more like an old-fashioned Gothic-tale, with psychotic-drama currents. A problem though, would that there happened to be many flat (or dead-air) moments. Dead silence, and believable actions aplenty. It's low-budget shows, and minimal scope gives the film a tight, dank and creaky vibe that works. Even the vast, forlorn coastal location choices, and shadowy, cob-web house-bound settings are nailed down to perfection. Roger Kellaway's hysterically sombre music score had that familiar sound to it, but Michael D. Murphy & David Shore's murkily prying cinematography really sneaks up onto the viewer. Even within the empty passages, it still emit's a spine-tingling ambiance and workably solid performances by the cast.