Tuer n'est pas jouer

Yes, good old William Castle is on the loose again, with a low budget and a creepy plot...and Joan Crawford, whose salary probably used up most of Castle's available cash.

You know you're in trouble from the first few scenes, with corny eyeball-shaped framing devices, then the intrusion of Van Alexander's completely out-of-place bouncy score, with its recurring principal theme of "Ninny nanny noo-noo." (Most of his credits are for 60s sitcoms, and it shows.) Then we're treated to exteriors of the Mannering house which are nothing more than Thomas Kincade- style paintings. (Virtually the whole film was shot on a sound stage, except for some rear projections.)

The plot itself is clichéd, but decently "executed." The casting is a problem, with Joan Crawford at age 60 trying to be the hypotenuse in a love triangle between 50-year-old John Ireland and some young bimbo (or we should say, ex-bimbo). Not much choice there. The two teenage girls are straight out of 60s sitcom land, and the younger sister joins the ranks of "most annoying child actors." There are some tense moments, including a ripoff of the shower scene from "Psycho" (except with a naked man instead of Janet Leigh).

And since we're already knee-deep in 60s sitcoms with the trite score and giggly teenaged actors, we're given an ending that would have been right in place on Dobie Gillis or the Patty Duke Show. Except with a dead body.

William Castle made a career out of monster and ghost stories, so even though the synopsis on my TV said this was a departure about teenage girls involved with murder I still expected the same kind of B-movie action. In truth though it was actually a pretty decent thriller.

A sixteen year old girl and her little sister who live in a secluded home a few miles away from anybody get the house to themselves for a night. The older girl invites her friend over for dinner and the three of them eventually resort to prank calling random people from the phone book to entertain themselves. Unfortunately for them they make the mistake of calling a man who's just committed murder and jokingly tell him, "I know what you did, and I know who you are." The man naturally assumes the voice on the line is serious and there is a witness out there who saw him disposing of his girlfriend's body. A variety of twists and intertwining characters eventually put the guilty man in the same room as our innocent kids.

The plot relies heavily on coincidence to stitch everything together and a major plot point hinges on an extremely stupid decision by our protagonists but in spite of it all, it still manages to build a lot of tension towards it's climax which although brief is handled very effectively. It also helps that this secluded home of there's is surrounded by forestry and continually deepening shadows as the night wares on with fog that's barely visible outside the moonlight, making for a very creepy and cool atmosphere. The acting is pretty good too, even our teenage heroes seem to exercise some decent chops all things considered. Good fun and good thrills.

Kids left alone in the house inadvertently play a phone prank on psychopath John Ireland, who has just murdered his trampy Mrs. in the shower! Whenever you see a biography of Joan Crawford's career, this title usually gets left out. True, she has a minor role in it (playing Ireland's neighbor, hoping to blackmail him into marriage), however it's one of the better movies she was involved in after "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" William Castle did a good job as producer/director of this story, and the two teenage girls are very appealing and natural. The movie builds some credible suspense (underlined with a jokey tone) and has interesting visual tricks and groovy music. Avoid the awful, too-literal 1988 TV-remake. **1/2 from ****

That's what the poster ads warned! UXORICIDE! (look it up). William Castle's "I Saw What You Did" is a great little suspense drama, with a perky cast and an intriguing story. Left alone one night while their parents are out of town, teen-aged Libby, her little sister Tess, and Libby's visiting friend Kit amuse themselves by making crank phone calls. They especially enjoy crooning "I saw what you did and I know who you are" to their victims. Unfortunately, one of their calls hits the bullseye--a homicidal maniac who has just murdered his wife. Tense and atmospheric, with delightful performances from Andi Garrett, Sarah Lane and Sharyl Locke as the kids, and strong ones from John Ireland as the psychopath, and the one-and-only Joan Crawford (straight from Castle's "Strait-Jacket") as his blackmail-minded neighbor, who's inexplicably in love with him. Though her part is a supporting one, just try to look away when she's on screen. A word, too, for the beautiful photography-no mean achievement in a low-budget film. Anchor Bay Entertainment released the movie on DVD and VHS back in 1999. The picture quality is sensational. Also included are two fun '' Teaser Trailers'' -one featuring Castle himself. Though the DVD is not ''anmorphic'' it is in Widescreen with no scratches or blemishes anywhere.It must have been taken from the original Universal negative.The one-channel soundtrack is equally strong, though a good DVD system will allow you to upgrade to two-channel,''Simulated Stereo'' which sounds even better. The Trailers are as well preserved as the film itself. Sadly, it's long out of print, and goes for big $$ on Amazon and EBAY. The 1988 Television remake is terrible. Avoid it and stick with the original!

The concept of this movie is one of its strongest points. Two teenage girls making a series of prank calls that they 'saw what you did' until by chance they call someone who actually has killed someone. Unlike the other Castle movies I've seen, this one actually has subtext. The girls' blossoming sexuality becomes the main reason for their problems as they (one in particular) are keen to rid themselves of teenage sexual frustration. Joan Crawford has a small role (but star billing, thank you very much) and, as has already been noted, does seem to be quite drunk in her scenes. Unfortunately, she also has about two feet of piled up grey hair that certainly wasn't her best look. She's convincing enough as an aging woman desperate to keep her man. Enjoyable enough for what it is, and recommended to anyone who liked 'Strait-Jacket' and the like.