Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)

In 1961 suburban New Jersey, a withdrawn adolescent girl is suspected of her younger sister's brutal murder during her First Communion, and a series of subsequent stabbings.

Director:

Alfred Sole

Writers:

Rosemary Ritvo (original screenplay), Alfred Sole (original screenplay)

Stars:

Linda Miller, Mildred Clinton, Paula E. Sheppard

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Linda Miller	...	Catherine Spages
Mildred Clinton	...	Mrs. Tredoni
Paula E. Sheppard	...	Alice Spages (as Paula Sheppard)
Niles McMaster	...	Dom Spages
Jane Lowry	...	Aunt Annie DeLorenze
Rudolph Willrich	...	Father Tom
Michael Hardstark	...	Detective Spina
Alphonso DeNoble	...	Mr. Alphonso
Gary Allen	...	Jim DeLorenze
Brooke Shields	...	Karen Spages
Louisa Horton	...	Dr. Whitman
Tom Signorelli	...	Detective Brennan
Lillian Roth	...	Pathologist (as Miss Lillian Roth also)
Patrick Gorman	...	Father Pat
Kathy Rich	...	Angela DeLorenze

Storyline

Alice Spages is a withdrawn 12-year-old girl who lives with her younger sister Karen and their mother Catherine. Karen gets most of their mother's attention, and Alice is often left out of the spotlight. When Karen is found brutally murdered in a church before her First Holy Communion, Alice is in the spotlight of suspicion, but is a 12-year-old girl really capable of such savagery? As more people die at the hands of a merciless killer, Alice's family and the police don't know what to believe.

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Plot Keywords:

1960s | first communion | masked killer | sister sister relationship | kitten | 

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Taglines:

If You Survive This Night... Nothing Will Scare You Again.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Holy Terror

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$340,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harristown Funding

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 108 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2018, film distributor "88 Films" released this on DVD and Blu-Ray in the U.K. as part of its "Slasher Collection. It is spine number 35.

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Goofs

After Alphonso is stabbed he falls down on a coffee table causing it to collapse. A pair of hands is visible as they catch a falling fish bowl.

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Quotes

Mrs. Tredoni: Bless me Father, for I have sinned.
Father Tom: We're only hearing the children this morning.
Mrs. Tredoni: ...Bless me Father, for I have sinned.

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Crazy Credits

During the ending credits there is no music and the screen doesn't turn black, the last frame of the film remains in the background forever.

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Alternate Versions

"Communion" was re-released (after Brooke Shields became famous in "Pretty Baby") in its original uncut form as "Alice, Sweet Alice" in 1978 and then in a cut form as "Holy Terror" in 1981 (after the Brooke Shields' hit "The Blue Lagoon").

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Connections

Referenced in Video Buck: Las carátulas más mierdosas vol. 2 (2019)

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Soundtracks

Soul of My Saviour
(uncredited)
Lyrics by J. Hegarty, translated by Edward Caswall
Music by Lorenzo Dobici
Performed by Lucy Hale

User Reviews

Creepy Atmosphere Sells the Film

Alice Sweet Alice (1976)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Rather surreal horror film centers on 12-year-old Alice (Paula Sheppard) who is a strange girl who is suspected of murdering her younger and more popular sister Karen (Brooke Shields). Her parents believe that she is innocent but as more crimes start to happen everyone seems to think that perhaps she isn't so sweet.

ALICE SWEET ALICE has become a huge cult film over the years and it's somewhat easy to see why. The film got a second chance of life after Brooke Shields became a star but in all honesty she's not in too much of the movie. I remember watching this film as a kid and really hating it because it wasn't bloody or violent enough but revisiting it after all of these has me respecting it a lot more.

I think what works best is the fact that the entire film has a very bizarre atmosphere to it. I'm not sure if it's the religious aspect of the film, its low budget or what but there's no doubt that there is a very creepy vibe to the entire picture. The film is also remembered for some of the death scenes in the film. None of them are overly graphic but at the same time they are well-staged and pack a nice little punch. The twist in the story is something that I also thought worked very well.

Performances are rather hit and miss but I thought Rudolph Willrich was good as Father Tom and I also liked Sheppard as the young Alice. Shields is pretty bad in some of her scenes but I guess we shouldn't be too hard on her. Alphonso DeNoble appears as the creepy landlord and there's no question that he steals the film because his character is just so creepy. Lillian Roth and Mildred Clinton are also good.

What really kills the film is the fact that it has a made-for-TV look to it and there's no question that overall it looks quite cheap. I'd also argue that the pacing was a bit off and I do think the 102-minute running time was about ten-minutes too long. With that said, ALICE SWEET ALICE is still a rather unique film that is worth watching.