Scream, Pretty Peggy

A creepy 1973 TV movie that seems to give nods to PSYCHO and William Castle's HOMICIDAL.Pretty Peggy,a college student and budding artist,goes to work in an old mansion as a housekeeper for a mysterious old lady(Bette Davis) and her oddball sculptor son(Ted Bessell).There is also a deranged daughter who lives in a room above the garage.Peggy starts become more unnerved when a man visits the house looking for his daughter who was the previous housekeeper.He sees a light shining above the garage and,well,is not seen again.Jimmy Sangster worked on the script,and he's infamous for many Hammer horror classics and a lot of American TV.Very atmospheric and spooky,I haven't seen this movie on TV since I was a kid.A darn shame!Good TV horror is not exactly plentiful,so it's very sad that movies like this remain unseen by new generations of horror fans.

I've seen a handful of seventies TV movies, and I've found that even the lesser ones are usually enjoyable enough; but until I saw Scream, Pretty Peggy: I couldn't say that I'd seen a great one. Director Gordon Hessler (who previously directed a few above average Vincent Price movies) manages to make a very simple and run of the mill tale highly suspenseful and interesting, and that is where Scream, Pretty Peggy's main strengths lie. The title is somewhat misleading if you ask me; as lead actress Sian Barbara Allen is not particularly pretty, but on the plus side; she is one of this film's main strengths. The plot focuses on a young girl named Peggy. She sees a job advertisement for a housekeeper and decides to take the job, in spite of the fact that it pays less half the minimum wage. Upon arriving at the house, she is soon introduced to an elderly woman, as well as her son; a sculptor who put out the advertisement for a housekeeper. It soon becomes apparent that something is not quite right at the house; and there's something strange about the rooms above the garage...

The plot is not particularly original, and it's not hard to pin down the film that had a direct influence on this one (I wont spoil it). However, the fact that the film is derivative is not a problem as few will be going into this expecting something groundbreaking anyway; and as seventy five minutes of entertainment; Scream Pretty Peggy more than does its job. The plot is simple in the way that it plays out, but there's always enough going on to keep the audience interested. The way that the mystery surrounding the garage rooms builds is really good - the plot twist does become obvious before it's unveiled, but the film keeps the last piece of the puzzle secret for long enough. The atmosphere is foreboding, and while the film doesn't feature any gore; the scenes involving the main antagonist are creepy and effective. Sian Barbara Allen keeps the audience's attention well, though at times that has more to do with the fact that she's rather irritating. Ted Bassell is good in his role as the charming/mysterious sculptor; and the cast is rounded off by a snarling Bette Davis. Overall, this little TV flick is well worth seeing and I wont hesitate to call it the best seventies TV horror movie that I've seen!

Scream Pretty Peggy (1973)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Famous sculptor Jeffrey Elliot (Ted Bessell) hires college student Peggy (Sian Barbara Allen) to take care of the house work, which includes looking after his elderly mother (Bette Davis). Soon Peggy learns about Jeffrey's sister who is locked up in an attack after suffering a mental breakdown years earlier.

SCREAM PRETTY PEGGY is a decent made-for-television film that benefits greatly from three very good performances and some nice direction by Gordon Hessler. The film manages to build up a rather creepy atmosphere but there are some issues that prevent it from being much better. I will get that issue out of the way and it's the screenplay by Jimmy Sangster and Arthur Hoffe. The film borrows from a couple other more famous movies and this here takes away any major suspense with the twist that you'll see coming from a mile away.

Still, if you enjoy these made-for-television movies then this one here is certainly worth watching. The three leads are certainly what keep the film so entertaining and especially Allen who is extremely good in her role. She really does come across as a somewhat naive college student who isn't quite smart enough to know she should be getting the hell away from this house and the family. Bessell is also very good in his role and the great Bette Davis always knows how to steal a scene.

Director Hessler was very familiar with the horror genre and he does a nice job here by building up some great atmosphere and bringing a Gothic feel to the material. I thought there were some creepy scenes dealing with the sister and this stuff makes the picture worth sitting through.

This movie scared the CRAP out of me when I was a kid; I loved it! I was getting it confused with another t.v. movie from the same period--"Let's Scare Jessica to Death" (1971); not nearly as good--since I really don't remember it. What confused me, is that I think the name Jessica appears in this movie as well. I tracked this down because I remembered it stars "Don-nald!"--the boyfriend from THAT GIRL. I had forgotten that the great Bette Davis is also in this film. I would love to see it again now as an adult and see if it is as effective as I remember. I recommend this film as a fun scary t.v. movie from the 70's with some great suspense and shocks.

I don't know about "Pretty Peggy" but I did notice a "Pushy Peggy" in the film. Peggy has a way of pushing, she pushed herself in to the lives of the Elliott family... even pushing her way to stay with them and using the car when she wants to most of the time. Peggy's pushing almost got her killed as she tried to push her way into finding out more about Jennifer Elliott, the sister of the man Peggy is falling in-love with, Jeffrey.

This is a decent made for TV mystery-thriller, horror film. The movie is worth a looksy. Bette Davis is great as usual, this time playing the weird, drunk mom of Jeffrey & Jennifer.

7/10