House on Greenapple Road (1970)

A detective investigates the disappearance of the promiscuous wife of a timid salesman, and finds that everything is not quite as it appears.

Director:

Robert Day

Writers:

Harold R. Daniels (novel), George Eckstein (teleplay)

Stars:

Janet Leigh, Julie Harris, Tim O'Connor

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Janet Leigh	...	Marian Ord
Julie Harris	...	Leona Miller
Tim O'Connor	...	George Ord
Walter Pidgeon	...	Mayor Jack Parker
Barry Sullivan	...	Chief Frank Untermyer
Keenan Wynn	...	Sgt. Charles Wilentz
Christopher George	...	Lt. Dan August
Peter Mark Richman	...	Sal Gilman (as Mark Richman)
William Windom	...	Paul Durstine
Joanne Linville	...	Connie Durstine
Burr DeBenning	...	Bill Foley
Lynda Day George	...	Lillian Crane (as Lynda Day)
Edward Asner	...	Sheriff Muntz
Lawrence Dane	...	Reverend Ryan Hagen (as Laurence Dane)
Ned Romero	...	Sgt. Joe Rivera

Storyline

Told in flashbacks, L.A. detective Lieutenant Dan August investigates the disappearance of housewife, Marian Ord whose extramarital activities possibly provide clues to her absence. The police believe she has been murdered by her distraught husband George but they can't come up with a corpse and thereby hangs the mystery.

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Plot Keywords:

murder mystery | tv series pilot | police detective | flashback sequence | adulteress | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Pilot for the short-lived TV series Dan August (1970). Only Ned Romero as Sgt. Joe Rivera was retained for the series. Lt. Dan August was recast with Burt Reynolds, Sgt. Charlie Wilentz with Norman Fell, Chief Untermeyer--whose first name went from Frank to George--with Richard Anderson, and Katy Grant with Ena Hartman.

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Goofs

The bloodstains shown on the refrigerator at the beginning of the movie are in a completely different location from where they appear when it is later shown whose blood it was and how it got there. In the opening sequence, the stains are on the front of the refrigerator, whereas when they are shown being put on, the streaks go above the top of the door.

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Quotes

Sheriff Muntz: That's close to impertinence, Lieutenant.
Lieutenant Dan August: Too bad, I thought I made it all the way.

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Connections

Spin-off Dan August (1970)

User Reviews

Terrific set-up, routine mystery

TV-movies, especially those from the late-'60s and early-'70s, are an under-appreciated breed (probably the least-respected in the film industry). Leonard Maltin has all but dropped them from his annual review book, and you never hear about anybody trying to preserve Barbara Eden in "Let's Switch!" or Gloria Swanson in "Killer Bees". Every once in awhile, a TV-movie gets mentioned with respect, such as "Brian's Song" or "Sunshine". I've always thought "House On Greenapple Road" could have been a theatrical film, it is produced with such style and has a great, scary set-up: a young girl gets dropped off from school, runs up the driveway to her house, opens the door and finds the entire place ransacked, with blood spattering the walls. This sequence terrified me as a kid (I was amused to discover years later that the young actress was "Brady Bunch"'s Eve Plumb!). Onto the mystery, which surrounds a missing lady (Janet Leigh) and the investigator on the case (Christopher George playing Dan August). The character of August later got his own series (starring Burt Reynolds), but this feature is more than just a pilot, it has twists and a sophisticated script. The ending doesn't cop-out, although I must say it followed a rather routine development. Overall, a neat little yarn, and Janet Leigh is just gorgeous.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 January 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Il mistero della cucina

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Quinn Martin Productions (QM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 113 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1