House on Greenapple Road

I saw this once when I was a kid (around 8)...all I remember is the opening scene, it scared the @#$% out of me!...a house, someone coming home, and blood everywhere...very chilling. Plus, I lived on Greenville Road so the fear "hit home" even more.

That 70's made-for-TV-movies genre is greatly under-appreciated and unrecognized. Other movies that I remember about the same time that were really creepy (you might too):

• "When Michael Calls" (Ben Gazzara, Elizabeth Ashley, Micheal Douglas)

• "The Screaming Woman" (Olivia DeHavilland)

• "Picture Mommy Dead" (Zsa Zsa Gabor)

• "How Awful About Allen" (Anthony Perkins)

• "Two On a Guillotine" (Connie Stevens)

• "The Victim" (Elizabeth Montgomery)

I really enjoyed this movie and I wish it was released to video. In the opening scene, where Janet Leigh's daughter Eve Plumb comes in, raises chills. There's blood on the refrigerator door. You wonder, what happened. Where there's blood then there must be a body. Could it be Janet Leigh was murdered like in Psycho, by Anthony Perkins? You start detective work, investigating and come up, with your own clues.

HOUSE ON GREENAPPLE ROAD is the pilot film for the TV series, DAN AUGUST.

A murder has apparently been committed. At least there's evidence of extreme violence, in the form of a blood-spattered kitchen. In spite of the copious amount of blood, no body is found. The apparent victim is Marian Ord (Janet Leigh), whose story is told through flashbacks.

Christopher George is quite good as August, playing him with a harder edge than Burt Reynolds' version in the series. Keenan Wynn plays Dan's partner. There's also Barry Sullivan as the police Chief, and Ed Asner as the sheriff! Julie Harris is also involved, playing Marian's sister, Leona.

More drama / police procedural than thriller, this movie may be considered "boring" by those raised on mindless action films.

Amid the grim goings on, there is mirth to be found when we're introduced to the kooky "Church Of Contemplation" and its loopy leader (Lawrence Dane).

Also, watch for young Eve Plum in an early role...

TV-movies, especially those from the late-'60s and early-'70s, are an under-appreciated breed (probably the least-respected in the film industry). Leonard Maltin has all but dropped them from his annual review book, and you never hear about anybody trying to preserve Barbara Eden in "Let's Switch!" or Gloria Swanson in "Killer Bees". Every once in awhile, a TV-movie gets mentioned with respect, such as "Brian's Song" or "Sunshine". I've always thought "House On Greenapple Road" could have been a theatrical film, it is produced with such style and has a great, scary set-up: a young girl gets dropped off from school, runs up the driveway to her house, opens the door and finds the entire place ransacked, with blood spattering the walls. This sequence terrified me as a kid (I was amused to discover years later that the young actress was "Brady Bunch"'s Eve Plumb!). Onto the mystery, which surrounds a missing lady (Janet Leigh) and the investigator on the case (Christopher George playing Dan August). The character of August later got his own series (starring Burt Reynolds), but this feature is more than just a pilot, it has twists and a sophisticated script. The ending doesn't cop-out, although I must say it followed a rather routine development. Overall, a neat little yarn, and Janet Leigh is just gorgeous.

It's good to know that I'm not the only one who was freaked out by those chilling opening scenes! I too was a very young child when I saw this film, so I can scarcely recall any details...only that infamous kitchen footage. The title alone still gives me the creeps! It is definitely a shame that this movie is not shown on TV, and is apparently not available on VHS or DVD. I'd really love to watch it again to see if it holds up to my childhood memories! Sadly, I have a feeling it can't possibly be as frightening as I remember. Years of slasher film viewing have left me quite jaded. Perhaps I'll just read the book instead.