Scream, Pretty Peggy

Sian Barbara Allen stars as Peggy...a rather odd and pushy college student. When she sees an ad for a housekeeper offering ridiculously low wages, she jumps to the opportunity! The home is an odd place...and the sculptor (Ted Bessell) lives with his rather unfriendly mother (Bette Davis). But she still wants the job because she knows who Jeffery Elliot (Bessell) is...he's a famous sculptor and she is a bit of a groupie who is infatuated with him. But as I said, it's an odd house...and it has a secret called 'Jennifer'. Peggy's told that Jennifer is his insane sister...and she's kept hidden in an upstairs room much like Mr. Rochester's wife in "Jane Eyre". But you keep getting the impression that there is far, far more to the story than all this. But what? What is really going on here?!

This is EXACTLY the sort of crazy, scary plot folks looked for and expected with installments of "The ABC Movie of the Week". Subtle and sophisticated, this and most of their films were NOT....and instead they went for the weird, twisted and downright odd. This film has this in spades but I don't want to say too much more as it might spoil the film. Just be sure to watch it and try not to laugh too much at the surprise ending!!

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!

Jeffrey Elliott (Ted Bessell) hires college student Peggy John (Sian Barbara Allen) to take care of his elderly mother (Bette Davis!) in their creepy old mansion. It also seems there's a deranged sister wandering around...and Peg starts getting glimpses of a person with long blonde hair and a white dress. Peg becomes curious and starts looking into the family history and things start to get strange...

Saw this only once on TV when I was about 11 or 12. I was scared out of my mind! The glimpses Peg got of the sister really creeped me out and the ending horrified me. I also remember Davis giving a restrained (for her) performance and given nothing to do. Still it was creepy, atmospheric and well-acted. Another great old made for TV movie that's impossible to see today. I give it a 7.

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.

Perky college co-ed (Sian Barbara Allen, who looks a bit like Jessica Harper) talks her way into job as housekeeper for a famous sculptor and his elderly mother; soon, she's curious about the person living in the room over the garage, a woman she's told is incurably insane. TV-made extension of "Psycho"'s theme, lacking at the very least one big jolt (no shower scene here). Instead, "Scream, Pretty Peggy" is full of chit-chat, relying on a single plot-hook in which to hang all its weary exposition. The performances are unusually strong for a television feature, particularly by Ted Bessell as the artist, but the reedy-thin story is stretched to the breaking point. Interesting location, appropriately scary music from Bob Prince, pithy supporting work from Bette Davis. Otherwise, pretty tame.