Amor odio amor

Beautiful model in New York has to decide between two suitors; unfortunately, the one she chooses turns out to be a jealous psychotic, sending her back into the arms of the first boyfriend, whom she marries. After the newlyweds move to California, the loser--jilted and delusional--closes in on their lives. Unpleasant TV-made stalker-drama from producer Aaron Spelling was ahead of its time in terms of subject matter, though the story is creepy and pointless. Lesley Ann Warren works herself into a real tizzy worrying that new hubby Ryan O'Neal won't be able to protect them from crazy Peter Haskell, though Ryan has apparently been working out at the gym behind her back (resulting in an evening street brawl which fails to raise any concern from the neighbors). The finale is directed for melodramatic chills, rendering the potentially gripping plot dynamics moot. One can easily see why up-and-coming star O'Neal signed onto this project: he gets to be the sensitive good guy while also playing macho and protecting his helpless wife from the scary villain. His performance isn't bad--and Haskell is careful not to overdo the wild-eyed bit--yet the picture takes mere surface-swipes at its own possibilities. It was designed to be a paranoia thriller for soap opera fans, and as such is callow and disposable.

O'Neal is dumped by Warren for Haskell after she falls for Haskell and his jet setting life style while O'Neal is out of town and not realizing at the time that the guy is a control freak among other things. She meets O'Neal at the airport to cut it off but Haskell shows up. Surprised Warren introduces them and Haskell puts a beating on O'Neal that to me is still one of the most realistic that I have ever seen on film. After O'Neal gets put in the hospital Warren dumps Haskell for O'Neal and the stalking begins. Great movie and in the early seventies was touching on a stalking problem that had been around forever and even ending in murder at times but the laws still hadn't caught up.

This is one of those great "TV Movies of the Week" that were so popular from the late 60's to early 70's. Many of these were actually very good and entertaining. This one has Lesley Ann Warren playing a fashion model who has a new boyfriend, Ryan O'Neal. Trouble is her ex-boyfriend Peter Haskell is a psycho who will stop at nothing to break them up. Seems he just can't let go and move on with his life. Lesley even moves across the country to get away from this jerk. Lesley's mother makes the stupidest mistake on earth by telling this moron that Lesley's moved to "California". Well, the old bag thinks California is a big state so he will never find her. WRONG! He immediately tracks her down and her new beau Ryan and makes them both pay. Kind of silly at the time, this was 1971, a good 15 years or so before stalking became a real problem for many celebs. This TV flick is actually kind of ahead of it's time. Acting is good, Peter Haskell makes a very good villian, Lesley Ann Warren has always been underrated. Unfortunately, they don't make 'em like this anymore. No blood gushing, no four letter words every ten seconds but still fun to watch.

This short movie (74 min. cut down to 70 for the VHS release)has some very attractive performers and a plot with great possibilities. However, there was very little actual development of the story line because of the extreme time limits placed on the production. Ryan O'Neal plays a preppy suitor for the hand of the lovely but wafer-thin model, Lesley Ann Warren. Lesley becomes distracted by the forceful suitor played by Peter Haskell, who is also insanely jealous and beats Ryan to a near-pulp when he parts ways with Lesley Ann. This display of insanity puts Haskell on the loser's block but he vows revenge and stalks the now-reconciled young couple who have married and sought safety across the country. The resolution of this problem creates a very interesting and unusual ending of the story. Too bad the "powers that be" have chosen not to release this on DVD so a new generation can enjoy this dated but absorbing drama with the edited footage restored.

Thos ABC movies were a regular feature in our house. They varied from comedy to drama, to action and featured lots of up and coming actors, as well as real veterans of TV and movies.

In addition, the movies were written for TV and never seemed chopped up by commercials. The breaks were factored in, so that no one missed anything.

This particular movie was one of our favorites, in the era before Fatal Attraction. The idea of stalking was very scary, and in this movie the inability to get rid of Peter Haskell's character and his seeming obsession with her was terrifying, given the era.