Morte sui binari

She Cried Murder (1973)

*** (out of 4)

Sarah Cornell (Lynda Day George) is riding the first cart of a subway when she sees a woman get pushed onto the tracks. The train comes to a stop and when she gets off she gets a very clear look at the man who pushed her. Later in the day she decides to call and tell the police but when they show up to get her story she's shocked to see that Inspector Joe Brody (Telly Savalas) is the one who pushed the lady. The rest of the film is the cat and mouse chase as he tries to kill her to keep her shut.

SHE CRIED MURDER is a good but at times frustrating made-for-television movie that manages to have a lot of good things going for but at the same time you're going to need to turn your brain off. I say this because there are so many logical issues that you've pretty much got to overlook including the fact that this woman is running miles and miles screaming and begging for help yet no one ever does. A quick call to the police at any moment probably would have helped. There is a sequence where the cops are involved but of course they don't believe anything she says. A slight bit of investigating on their part would have gone a long way.

As for the good, the film moves pretty quickly and really plays like a silent movie because there's not too much dialogue. The majority of the picture features George running while Savalas tries to catch her. There are some nice tense scenes throughout and director Herschel Daugherty certainly makes this fun throughout. Savalas is certainly good in the role of the psychopath and George is alright as well. SHE CRIED MURDER isn't the greatest film ever made but it's slight and quick entertainment.

With just over an hour's worth of movie time, this is a to-the-point thriller where a commercial actress witnesses a murder committed by a rogue cop. What results is a cat-and-mouse chase with some suspenseful police detective work mixed in. Not bad TV movie overall, with some entertaining moments. The acting was fine for the most part.

Grade B

Anyone that knows and understands the Giallo subgenre of fright flicks will see right through this made for t.v., wants-to-be-a-giallo terror tale. Watered down telefilm has a 'Cat O' Nine Tails' plotted murder on a train and the identity of the killer as the catalyst of the female protagonist's dilemma. There is some style to spare in this film with a staircase scene in a restaurant that has the beautific visual style of Mario Bava and the camera movements of Dario Argento but alas THIS is the ONLY scene where any true workmanship is to be found. The makers of this little flick no doubt stayed up all night perusing older Giallo murder tapes to get this scene right. Otherwise this is routine yet watchable fare with Telly Savalas as the menace and Lynda Day George as the prey.

It's pretty rare that I watch simple, straightforward thrillers, let alone particularly enjoy them, so She Cried Murder was quite a treat to me. As simple as they come, without a speck of fat, this is lean, keen stuff even by made for television standards, clocking in at around 66 minutes in length, a good six or seven minutes shorter than the average. The action starts immediately with model Sarah Cornell witnessing a man push a lady to her death in front of a subway train, and her nightmare really begins when encounters said murderer later, the nefarious individual being rather keen to keep her quiet after having seen her see him. From then on the film takes the form of a constant chase, mixed with a dash of paranoia and a few explanatory digressions providing context without slowing down the main pulse. The lovely Lynda Day George makes a good fist of the main role, she isn't the most convincing as an actress but looks the part and throws herself into the action with an agreeable determination that grows effectively frayed and desperate as her pursuer proves frightening tenacious. Telly Savalas is excellent as said pursuer, playing things low key, soft faced and even superficially charming, he menaces through the contrast of his actions and demeanour rather than playing things up as a baddie and is all the better for it. Nobody else really has big enough roles to make an impression, but Mike Farrel (BJ from M.A.S.H.) does have a nice turn as a sympathetic police officer. There's little more to say about this that would stray into the realms of spoilers, but director Herschel Daughtery does a sterling job with both the pace and set pieces, there are several moments of seat edge suspense and the finale is a minor marvel. At times the film is even somewhat reminiscent of Italian gialli, though the film only very seldom approaches the same heights of style and has almost none of the same twisted verve. As one might expect of a made for television production things are rather tame, and there are one or two nagging loose ends, but on the whole this is a splendid ride, one that never wears out its excitement and is hence well worth a look for vintage thriller fans.

Mostly for the look and feel, scenery, cars, soundtrack, clothes. Must have been the inspiration for Night of the Juggler (1980). Mostly one long chase scene too.