Todesschreie

Very good mid-70s made-for-TV film. Partly based on an actual mid-60s murder that took place in the middle of the night in the Kew Gardens / Forest Hills area of Queens. What made the case notorious was that a great many neighbors heard and may have even seen some of the attack and DID NOTHING. Either from fear, apathy, or not wanting to get involved in the police investigation. None of us should get too outraged or superior because we all could behave the same way. Hopefully not. The film deals with this aspect of the story for the first half of the film and then drifts away from it and becomes a typical police hunt tale. Fine performances from all but the standouts are Raul Julia as the lead investigating cop, Art Carney, Tina Louise and Nancy Walker. A lot of other mainly TV actors are also part of the cast. Story is based in Brooklyn, not Queens. The shabby apartment buildings and the individual flats are typical of the 70s but kind of depressing. The opening credits list the title of the film as Street Kill. The four stars are for the excellent film but a mediocre DVD. Needs to be released re-mastered. Other than that highly recommended.

This film was one of the typical seventies crisis-of-the-week type dramas. However, I have always suspected it was at least loosely based on the infamous murder of Catherine (Kitty) Genovese, which occurred in March 1964 in Queens, New York. Ms. Genovese was murdered in an almost identical fashion to the victim in this film -- attacked in the courtyard of her apartment building in Kew Gardens, screaming in vain for help while "thirty-eight witnesses" ignored her. Since this movie was filmed a scant decade or so after the actual case, perhaps there hadn't been sufficient time for reflection on the proper way to tell the story for the ages; perhaps Ms. Genovese's family refused to allow any association; or perhaps the filmmakers were just looking for a quick buck.

What they did to "spice up" the story was to add into the plotline the fact that the murder victim, "Jenny," was a lesbian; that her former girlfriend (played by Tina Louise -- imagine "the movie star" chasing Mary Ann all over Gilligan's island with perverse intentions! say it ain't so! LOL) has a history of violent and threatening behavior; and that among the neighbors who heard Jenny's dying screams are an immigrant couple from an unspecified Eastern European country who fear deportation; a sleazy housewife played by Cloris Leachman who is carrying on an affair behind her husband's back; and a married couple with Nancy Walker playing the wife, apparently having gotten lost on the way to the Bounty commercial shoot. Also look for a very young Helen Hunt, playing hotshot detective Raul Julia's daughter.

It was the seventies; what can I say?

A murder is committed in front of witnesses and none would lift a hand to help the victim. Fearful of becoming involved, they would give no assistance to the police in their investigation. Although the authorities launched a large manhunt for the criminal, he continued his crime spree terrorizing the entire neighborhood. Good police drama with an exciting but somewhat unbelievable ending.

This film was very loosely based on the Kitty Genovese case in which a young woman was murdered in front of several people and none of them bothered to call the police. The beginning is pretty interesting as the police go from door to door to try to find out what happened from the various residents of the neighborhood where the killing happened (many of whom were appearing on various television shows at that time including Ed Asner, Cloris Leachman and Nancy Walker). This starts out as an interesting study of human nature but soon it becomes just another cop drama as the killer starts attacking various women. One woman, who happens to be pregnant, is almost raped and another woman is raped and killed in the elevator of her apartment building. Too bad, though. It had the potential of becoming an above average "movie of the week".

In the opening scene, a young woman is beaten to death near her Brooklyn, New York apartment. For a variety of reasons, her screams are mostly ignored by an estimated 15 neighbors. Lead detective Raul Julia (as Nick Rodriguez) and co-starring officers John Ryan (as Dave Lambert) and Phillip Clark (as Johnny Bellon) have a difficult task. The police aren't even sure of the perpetrator's gender...

This crime drama aired as "The Movie of the Week" on ABC during the fall roll out of the network's popular anthology series. It looks like a spin-off series was considered, but advertisers would not have been happy with several instances of adult story aka "pushing the envelope" content; one co-star has sex with a witness and a guest star is clearly noted to be a lesbian. The aforementioned trio of co-starring lawmen perform their roles very well. In the leading role as a single father cop from Puerto Rico, Mr. Julia is terrific. His daughter is played by child actress Helen Hunt...

What really weighs the story down is an endless assortment of guest stars, special guest stars and cameos. There are so many familiar faces, they become a distraction. This is especially evident in the early scenes, when we see Edward Asner (once "Lou Grant"), Art Carney ("Ed Norton"), Diahann Carroll ("Julia"), Cloris Leachman ("Phyllis") and Nancy Walker ("Mrs. Morgenstern") in quick succession. Of these, only Ms. Leachman (as Audrey Singleton) has a subplot worth following. Also made relevant is Eric Braeden (as Kosinsky), later best known for "The Young and the Restless"...

Later stars benefit from being presented in relative isolation. Far from "Gilligan's Island", Tina Louise is almost a show-stopper. Out of "Dark Shadows", Kate Jackson breezes by on a walk. Big brother on "Leave It to Beaver" Tony Dow and lesser known Todd Susman are very effective suspects. Not being identified with a TV role, Sally Kirkland easily blends into the story. Surprisingly successful at being one of the least showy faces is "Here's Lucy" daughter Lucie Arnaz.

****** Death Scream (9/26/75) Richard T. Heffron ~ Raul Julia, John Ryan, Phillip Clark, Cloris Leachman