Point of Terror (1971)

A nightclub singer has nightmares about being involved in adultery and murder, only to wake up and find that they may not be nightmares.

Director:

Alex Nicol

Writers:

Peter Carpenter (story), Ernest A. Charles (screenplay)

Stars:

Peter Carpenter, Dyanne Thorne, Lory Hansen

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Carpenter	...	Tony Trelos
Dyanne Thorne	...	Andrea Hilliard
Lory Hansen	...	Helayne Hilliard
Leslie Simms	...	Fran
Joel Marston	...	Martin Hilliard
Paula Mitchell	...	Sally
Dana Diamond	...	Waitress
Al Dunlap	...	Charlie
Ernest A. Charles	...	Detective (as Ernest Charles)
Roberta Robson	...	1st Wife
Tony Kent	...	Priest

Storyline

A nightclub singer has nightmares about being involved in adultery and murder, only to wake up and find that they may not be nightmares.

---

Plot Keywords:

big breasts | breast | breasts | grindhouse film | drive in classic | 

---

Taglines:

Demons long locked in the depths of the mind come to destroy the weak and believing!

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Leslie Simms wore a wig for her role as Fran.

---

Quotes

Andrea: Would you like to know why I've stayed with you for all these years? Because I felt sorry for ya, that's why, you miserable cripple! I hate you!

---

Alternate Versions

The television version features a lengthy ten minute flashback sequence showing Tony Trelos as a shoeshine boy and a nightmare recap of the various events in the story inserted at the end.

---

Connections

Referenced in Dolemite Is My Name (2019)

---

Soundtracks

Drifter of the Heart
Written by Jerry Marcellino and Mel Larson
Produced by Jerry Marcellino and Mel Larson
Performed by Peter Carpenter (uncredited)
Recorded at Crystal Sound Recordings stages, Hollywood

User Reviews

3 time loser on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater

Like its earlier companion feature "Blood Mania," 1971's "Point of Terror" was plainly a vanity piece for writer-producer-star Peter Carpenter, a Vegas hoofer whose death remains shrouded in mystery to this day, dates as varied as late 1970, late '71, even the late 70s-early 80s (this last posted by actress Leslie Simms). As an actor, he displays neither emotion nor charisma, and appears to be miming his three songs, all non hits from (believe it or not) Motown! ("Lifebeats" was actually recorded by The Supremes, minus Diana Ross). Imagine a singer so bad he has nightmares on the beach about his singing, and his apartment looks like his decorator was 'Bela Lugosi!' Another surprising name prominently featured in the opening credits is future Oscar winning editor Verna Fields, who earned her Academy Award for her work on Spielberg's "Jaws" just a few years later. The director is Alex Nicol, who at least had a genuine horror title on his slim resume behind the camera, 1958's "The Screaming Skull" (he had far more credits as an actor). Leslie Simms fondly recalls her working with Peter Carpenter, who may have been a likable fellow off camera, but insisted on playing lowdown sleazeballs in his own films. He juggles three different women in this picture, even flirting with the attractive Miss Simms, yet insists on rushing off to get married even after one girl announces she's pregnant! Dyanne Thorne (whom I first saw in STAR TREK's "A Piece of the Action") had already appeared with Carpenter in 1970's "Love Me Like I Do," here playing the man hungry wife of wheelchair bound record mogul Joel Marston, best remembered by genre buffs for 1957's "The Disembodied," plus his film debut in the 1949 Charlie Chan finale "The Sky Dragon" ("Blood Mania" had featured Jacqueline Dalya, from 1941's "Charlie Chan in Rio"). For all the wildly misleading ads depicting this as a horror film, the only scene that qualifies is Dyanne's bloody murder of Marston's first wife, just a brief flashback. Considering all her misdeeds, her character just isn't as maniacal as she should be, as one reviewer commented, the whole thing remains curiously tame, rather than outrageously lurid (it's never boring however). "Point of Terror," being part of Crown International's television package, debuted on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater on Feb 26 1977, paired with second feature "House of Horrors" (1946), broadcast twice more over the next 4 years ("Blood Mania" earlier debuted on Nov 27 1976, paired with 1972's "Gargoyles").

Details

Official Sites:

Crown International Pictures

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blood on the Point of Terror

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jude Associates

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1