Die Bestie von nebenan

When I first saw who was to play the rapist in the movie I thought that I would never be able to find it believable. But Ted Shackleford's transition from Gary Ewing on Knot's Landing to Delbert Ramsey was quite effective. He made you forget that he played the always likable Gary with an endless soft spot for Val. And did a exceptional job at making Delbert Ramsey a monster you hated. Now, with the technology employed in making movies today, there are probably better gripping, suspense movies. But for it's time it had a huge impact on me. The acting was great. You felt rage at the villain and extreme compassion for the victims, one in particular. I was shocked at how well it made the viewer run the emotional gamut - as a good thriller should. I definitely recommend it as long as you keep in mind the era in which it was made.

High school acting. Definitely made for tv. First half hour schlocky drama. Finally things begin to happen. If you want something with a little more pizzazz try A STRANGER IS WATCHING. Thats it for now.

High school acting. Definitely made for tv. First half hour schlocky drama. Finally things begin to happen. If you want something with a little more pizzazz try A STRANGER IS WATCHING. Thats it for now High school acting. Definitely made for tv. First half hour schlocky drama. Finally things begin to happen. If you want something with a little more pizzazz try A STRANGER IS WATCHING. Thats it for now.

I remember it well. I was watching made for TV Movies since 1971 and saw many of them over the next 10 years by the time this movie aired. Before the movie started there was a Warning Message To Viewers about the Movie's Violent Content. I already knew Ted Shackleford from Another World and Knots Landing and his performance in this movie surprised me and many other viewers. At the time this was the most Violent and Disturbing Made For TV Movie I had ever seen and I still can remember it after 40 years.

I vaguely remember watching this television movie around the time it first came out, but it was a rather good drama/suspense film. Simply put, it's a story about a paroled rapist who threatens to get his revenge on the group of women (I think they were all airline flight attendants) who testified against him and put him in prison in the first place. It's noteworthy to watch for Ted Shackelford, who plays the rapist, since he portrayed Gary Ewing on "Knots Landing." This character is NOTHING like Gary Ewing, that's for sure! He was was joined by Kim Lankford, as one of his victims, who was his "Knots Landing" co-star; she played Ginger Ward in the first four seasons. I would guess that this was probably made before "Knots Landing" premiered, even though it came out after that show began in late 1979. It stars a lot of mid to late 70's TV actors, such as Sarah Purcell ("Real People"), Jennifer Salt ("SOAP"), Sharon Spelman ("Angie"), and Pat Klous ("Flying High" and later "The Love Boat" as Lauren Tewes' replacement) as well as Don Meredith, the former football player who used to peddle iced tea in those commercials. It's worth a viewing if you're a "Knots Landing" fan or like TV movies with lots of actors from classic, cheesy 70's shows.

This is an extremely well crafted film, and Hitchcock couldn't have made a better job of it. The great issue here is the problem of knowing your criminal more than well and still being obliged to let him go because of his minor offence being so trivial and petty that justice cannot put him for it, so he is free to carry on which he does with a vengeance, leading to unheard of consequences which no one could imagine. The character of the film, carefully building up to an explosive finale, is almost quite a documentary, keeping intimately close to the criminal all the way making him totally psychologically and logically credible, so this is actually a very realistic film. Ted Shackelford makes a wonder of a convincing character, and so does Don Meredith as the sergeant, who all the way has to tread with extreme caution not to cross the line of the law, although that actually will trigger the catastrophe. It's a great film in a small frame, and whoever sees it will not be likely to forget it.