Look in Any Window

Singer and teen idol Elvis Presley got big budget musicals to work on. Singer and teen idol Pat Boone got to work on big budget movies. However, singer and teen idol Paul Anka got "Look In Any Window" among the few (and equally low budget) movie offers he got. Watching it, one has to admire the guts of Anka to appear in a movie where he plays a mentally disturbed teenager who likes to peep in the windows of his neighbors. I have to wonder what Anka's teen followers thought of Anka after watching this, though I am pretty confident in guessing what they thought of the movie as a whole. Despite its lurid description, the movie is pretty boring for the most part. Anka doesn't get to do much peeping, and he's actually off- screen for large chunks of time. It's no wonder this movie is pretty hard to find.

Although this movie contained some unrealistic moments, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was like a time capsule of 1961, a time I well remember! Women were expected to be only housewives, the men cheated, and the cops! The movie is an off-beat criticism of the era (which deserved criticism, believe me), and had strong performances, including by Paul Anka.....Who knew he could act? It also had a pretty good screen play with some good lines.... It captured the claustrophobic angst of the era, when women were trapped in marriages, and all of the old traditions were on the line. It was inexpensively made, I know, and this added to the gritty realism of the result. More money and technicolor would have ruined it, I'm sure.

It's the suburbs and a peeping Tom is on the loose. He scares people with a disturbing mask. Craig Fowler (Paul Anka) is a disinterested teen and the only son of a loveless marriage.

Paul Anka may be a teenage music icon at the time but he's not a charismatic actor. Quite frankly, he would barely be cast as a supporting actor if not for his name. The problem is that he's way before my time and holds no nostalgic value for me. He's just another stiff amateur actor and he's not holding the screen. I do have to admire that a pop idol is willing to play a creepy character but nothing else.

Flabby Paul Anna needs love but he's going about it all wrong. He is given a bunch of bad examples. All the adults are in love - with someone else's spouse.

Filmed in the San Fernando Valley town of Reseda. It used to be your basic lower middle class neighborhood. Now it is an absolute dump.

A heat wave in suburbia arouses a Southern California community. Feeling hot and not knowing what to do with it, bullied teenager Paul Anka (as Craig Fowler) becomes "The Masked Prowler" - actually, he's a "peeping Tom" sleazing out for looks at women who've been dressing down for the warm weather. Scaling fences in his tight tee-shirt and frightening mask, Mr. Anka is a hoot and a holler. His lack of sexual socialization skills may be due to poor parenting - specifically, they are flirty frustrated mother Ruth Roman (as Jackie Fowler) and alcoholic mechanic father Alex Nicol (as Jay Fowler). Anka's papa gets laid off and his mama gets laid on - by amorous and available neighbor Jack Cassidy (as Gareth Lowell)...

Newly arrived Italian widower George Dolenz (as Carlo) wants to take care of Mr. Cassidy's "lonesome" wife Carole Mathews (as Betty Lowell) while Anka aches to make their daughter Gigi Perreau (as Eileen Lowell) squeal on a trampoline. Hoping to catch Anka in action, veteran policemen Robert Sampson (as Lindstrom) and his amateur psychologist partner Dan Grayam (as Webber) investigate. It all leads to a boozy 4th of July pool party. This may your only chance to see the fathers of future "Screen Gems" contracted singer/actors Micky Dolenz (of "The Monkees") and David Cassidy (of "The Partridge Family") in the same film. You'll also hear Anka's relatively rare, moody "Look in Any Window" title song.

*** Look in Any Window (1/29/61) William Alland ~ Paul Anka, Ruth Roman, Alex Nicol, Carole Mathews