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)

This made-for-TV movie turned out to be a successful pilot for the immediately following series "Dan August", but the starring role went to Burt Reynolds instead of Christopher George. Chris George plays Dan August as an independent spirit who is tough in any confrontation. You don't want to be on his bad side.

The movie is PACKED with past, current, and future stars, many of whom aren't listed in the opening credits, like Ed Asner and Lynda Day George ... some in cameo roles.

I wonder how Quinn Martin sold Janet Leigh on her role?

Quinn Martin: "Janet, you've been murdered just before the movie starts. Your character is a slut who's been running around on her weak husband for years. You'll appear in a series of flashback scenes with various men while in swimsuits or your underwear."

Janet Leigh: "Sounds great! When do we start!"

LOL

The movie is well worth the watch if you're into police and detective procedural dramas. I say drama, but there are a few throwaway chuckles along the way.

It's available on YouTube with a surprisingly good picture for YouTube.

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.

I'm glad to see all of the positive comments for this unjustly neglected - and, apparently, largely unknown - made-for-TV movie. Can't imagine why it's not available on home video (or at least on the Mystery Channel or some such).

This whodunnit is presented with style and economy; a lean, mean little thriller, with a prestigious cast that just won't quit. In case you didn't peruse the names, I'll spotlight a few: Janet Leigh, Julie Harris, Walter Pigeon, Keenan Wynn, Barry Sullivan, William Windom, Ed Asner and, of course, Chris George, a solid and dependable actor with screen presence and authority, who was taken from us too soon. Not many made-for-TV movies that weren't big-deal miniseries had casts like this (if any).

Along with these are some players whose names may not be as well-known, but whose talent is as illustrious as those named above, and whose faces will be quite familiar to anyone who was a TV viewer during the late 60's-early 70's. Tim O'Connor, Paul Fix and Joanne Linville deserve honorable mention.

This production is intelligent, witty and literate; indeed, some elements of the plot, dialogue and visuals were pretty strong for TV of the day. At any rate, it's far superior to so many of the tired retreads that pass for mystery-thrillers today (unless you watch the BBC a lot.)

All in all, a nifty picture that deserves to be seen