Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969)

A mentally disturbed man stalks a woman who had once aborted the child he had fathered.

Director:

Mark Robson

Writers:

Larry Cohen (story), Larry Cohen (screenplay)

Stars:

Carol White, Paul Burke, Mala Powers

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Carol White	...	Cathy Palmer
Paul Burke	...	Jack Byrnes
Mala Powers	...	Meg Stone
Scott Hylands	...	Kenneth Daly
James Sikking	...	Joe Menchell
Walter Brooke	...	Jerry Wolfe
Mathilda Calnan	...	Ilsa (as Matilda Calnan)
Gene Lyons	...	Dr. Blanker
Dennis Patrick	...	Dr. Parkington
Barry Cahill	...	FBI Agent Crosley

Storyline

A mentally disturbed man stalks a woman who had once aborted the child he had fathered.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | apostrophe in title | hyphen in title | melodrama | pregnancy | 

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Taglines:

The most terrifying chiller since "Rosemary's Baby"

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

M

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 July 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cita con el miedo

Filming Locations:

Mark Hopkins Hotel - 999 California Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Red Lion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the title sequence, the bus that Cathy is on going from the airport to the city is Interstate 880 in Oakland, CA. This is the same freeway which would collapse during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

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Goofs

When Cathy Palmer is on a train going home the train is being pulled by a single diesel engine, but when the train arrives at the station in San Carlos it is being pulled by two diesel engines.

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Connections

Featured in The Green Fog (2017)

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Soundtracks

Daddy's Gone A-Hunting
Lyrics by Dory Previn
Music by John Williams
Sung by Lyn Roman

User Reviews

Thoroughly underrated

After the man she's been seeing turns out to be mentally (and financially) unstable, Cathy aborts his baby and moves on with her life. She eventually marries a political hopeful and once again finds herself pregnant. While shopping for a crib, she sees her former flame, Kenneth, working as a department store Santa. He spots her too, but the real bad news for Cathy is that he notices she's carrying another child. Bad news for her and her baby, but would Kenneth resort to killing a child as vengeance for the death of his own?

Mark Robson (The Seventh Victim, Valley of the Dolls) directs this morbid little gem, a film with some rather potent subject matter, particularly for the time it was made. Melding the incredibly touchy subject of abortion with a psycho-suspense storyline, Robson crafts an effective film full of bizarre mood and situations. As Cathy becomes more and more guilty over what she did, we see how it works into her psyche, and images as simple as toys yapping on a table take on a rather perverse feeling that gets under the viewer's skin. Robson knows how to utilize such elements to their maximum effect, though never in an overly graphic manner. The use of subtlety and implied horror goes a long way here.

As Kenneth, Scott Hylands is one of the creepiest nutcases you'll see. He has the most unnerving eyes, and a rather blank glare that truly makes one feel uncomfortable. The scene where he learns of the abortion is downright chilling. He puts Cathy through some real psychological torment, one of the standout moments being a nasty surprise he leaves under her car. Carol White plays Cathy, and she's fine in the role, but I find her character to be quite unlikable due to her incessant bitchiness.

This is a great film, well acted, well directed... The climax is quite thrilling as well. This is not your typical psycho story, and it is really quite unique in it's storytelling. Disturbing and effective, I highly recommend this one.