Must See Movie...

Excellent but underrated film

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Scream Pretty Peggy (1973) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Famous sculptor Jeffrey Elliot (Ted Bessell) hires college student Peggy (Sian Barbara Allen) to take care of the house work, which includes looking after his elderly mother (Bette Davis). Soon Peggy learns about Jeffrey's sister who is locked up in an attack after suffering a mental breakdown years earlier.SCREAM PRETTY PEGGY is a decent made-for-television film that benefits greatly from three very good performances and some nice direction by Gordon Hessler. The film manages to build up a rather creepy atmosphere but there are some issues that prevent it from being much better. I will get that issue out of the way and it's the screenplay by Jimmy Sangster and Arthur Hoffe. The film borrows from a couple other more famous movies and this here takes away any major suspense with the twist that you'll see coming from a mile away.Still, if you enjoy these made-for-television movies then this one here is certainly worth watching. The three leads are certainly what keep the film so entertaining and especially Allen who is extremely good in her role. She really does come across as a somewhat naive college student who isn't quite smart enough to know she should be getting the hell away from this house and the family. Bessell is also very good in his role and the great Bette Davis always knows how to steal a scene.Director Hessler was very familiar with the horror genre and he does a nice job here by building up some great atmosphere and bringing a Gothic feel to the material. I thought there were some creepy scenes dealing with the sister and this stuff makes the picture worth sitting through.

There are quite a few interesting names linked to this delightfully titled "ABC Movie of the Week", both in front as well as behind the camera. Although a 100% American TV-production, the script was penned down by the multi-talented British writer Jimmy Sangster, who was responsible for a few dozen amazing screenplays for the legendary Hammer Studios including "Horror of Dracula" and "The Curse of Frankenstein". Director Gordon Hessler has always been a very underrated but professional genre expert, with awesome titles on his repertoire like "The Oblong Box", "Cry of the Banshee" and "Murders in the Rue Morgue". The most exhilarating name in the cast list is undoubtedly Bette Davis. What with her notoriously penetrating eyes and natural charisma, she single-handedly made all the movies she ever starred in somewhat creepy and unsettling! When I browse through the user-comments around here, I notice that "Scream, Pretty Peggy" is very popular and several people even refer to it as one of the best made-for-TV movies that got released during the 1970s. I honestly can't agree with the latter statement, therefore the subject material is too derivative and the denouement too predictable, but I will definitely emphasize that it's a very atmospheric and absorbing thriller that'll keep you glued to the screen throughout its (short) running time. The cute, cherubic and over-enthusiast art-class student Peggy Johns is delighted when she finds a job as a housekeeper in a remote and creepy old house. For you see, her employer is the bizarre sculptor Jeffrey Elliot, who happens to be one of young Peggy's idols. He lives in the house with his scary and tyrannical mother and Peggy also soon discovers that there's another secret inhabitant, namely Jeffrey's mentally unstable and unreliable sister Jennifer. An obtrusive man often visits the house, because his daughter Agnes disappeared and he claims that she was last seen here, but naive little Peggy blindly trusts her mentor Jeffrey and even tries hard to become friends with his creepy mother. If you're even just slightly familiar with the horror genre's greatest and most influential classics, you'll guess the twist-ending of this film in a matter of mere seconds. Still, I didn't mind for one second that the film was predictable, thanks to the fast pacing and the spirited acting performances. Bette Davis is great as always, Ted Bessell is intriguingly mysterious and particularly the young Sian Barbara Allen gives a very likable performance.

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.

This movie scared the CRAP out of me when I was a kid; I loved it! I was getting it confused with another t.v. movie from the same period--"Let's Scare Jessica to Death" (1971); not nearly as good--since I really don't remember it. What confused me, is that I think the name Jessica appears in this movie as well. I tracked this down because I remembered it stars "Don-nald!"--the boyfriend from THAT GIRL. I had forgotten that the great Bette Davis is also in this film. I would love to see it again now as an adult and see if it is as effective as I remember. I recommend this film as a fun scary t.v. movie from the 70's with some great suspense and shocks.