The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Two siblings and three of their friends en route to visit their grandfather's grave in Texas end up falling victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths.

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Kim Henkel (screenplay by), Tobe Hooper (screenplay by)

Stars:

Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marilyn Burns	...	Sally
Allen Danziger	...	Jerry
Paul A. Partain	...	Franklin
William Vail	...	Kirk
Teri McMinn	...	Pam
Edwin Neal	...	Hitchhiker
Jim Siedow	...	Old Man
Gunnar Hansen	...	Leatherface
John Dugan	...	Grandfather
Robert Courtin	...	Window Washer
William Creamer	...	Bearded Man
John Henry Faulk	...	Storyteller
Jerry Green	...	Cowboy
Ed Guinn	...	Cattle Truck Driver
Joe Bill Hogan	...	Drunk

Storyline

En route to visit their grandfather's grave (which has apparently been ritualistically desecrated), five teenagers drive past a slaughterhouse, pick up (and quickly drop) a sinister hitch-hiker, eat some delicious home-cured meat at a roadside gas station, before ending up at the old family home... where they're plunged into a never-ending nightmare as they meet a family of cannibals who more than make up in power tools what they lack in social skills...

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Plot Keywords:

chainsaw | leatherface | hitchhiker | cannibal | texas | 

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Taglines:

The idyllic summer's day that became a nightmare of fear and blood... [UK Video]

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Headcheese

Filming Locations:

1010 King Court, Kingsland, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$300,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$30,859,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vortex

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min 75 min (new longer Version) 88 min (Unrated Edition)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Larroquette stated in a 2008 interview that he's never seen the film.

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Goofs

After the hitchhiker cuts his own hand there is a cut to him inviting them to dinner and his hand is clearly uninjured.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particular Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother, Franklin. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But, had they lived very, very long lives, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day. For them an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare. The events of that day were to lead to ...

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particular Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother, Franklin. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But, had they lived very, very long lives, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day. For them an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare.

The events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

AUGUST 18, 1973

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Connections

Referenced in The Nightmare Ends on Halloween II (2011)

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Soundtracks

Glad Hand
Timberline Rose
(Recorded at Hill on the Moon, Austin, Tx., Engineer: Jim Inmon)

User Reviews

A terrifying n exhausting nightmare.

I saw this in the late 80s on a VHS. Revisited it recently on a DVD almost aft 30 yrs. This film is very terrifying n intense. The tiny budget, good direction and dreadful n isolated atmosphere gav this movie a documentary feel n along with the opening credits made it more terrifying. The whole film has this dark n isolated look. Screaming from Marilyn Burns got on my nerves at times.  Her constant jumping from the windows n repeated screaming n the trauma she goes thru made the movie more emotionally scary. Some may find the dinner scene to b the most iconic n terrifying coz it gives the entire idea. But i found the scene wher Leatherface keeps chasing the victim with a chainsaw to b pure nightmare. Boy, that was terrifying n intense. Also the scene wher Leatherface maniacally dances with his chainsaw. The first kill was the most brutal n shocking. Ther is no gore or violence portrayed but jus the impact of the scene was brutal. The swing of that hammer and the way his victim falls to the ground and starts shaking, is just plain brutal n unbearable to watch. The 2nd part is more gory n comedic. The 3rd part has good amt of action n violent shootouts. Avoid the 4th part like plague. The remakes r decent.