Night of Terror

Two young women in present-day Los Angeles are menaced by syndicate hit-men after one of their couriers, a guy on the take, apparently hid a package or a safe-deposit box key in the ladies' apartment. Surprisingly engrossing TV-movie with a taut direction by Jean (Jeannot) Szwarc, solid cinematography by television mainstay Howard Schwartz, and colorful performances by Martin Balsam as a detective, Agnes Moorehead as a physical therapist and Chuck Connors as the head bruiser for the mob. Only Donna Mills disappoints in the central role (she's blandly incredulous throughout, with a whiny voice). Teleplay by Cliff Gould shamelessly apes "Wait Until Dark" in its final stretch, however the plot is satisfyingly worked through. Schwartz's work won him the Emmy, most likely for his handling of an escape sequence by car in an underground parking lot; art director William L. Campbell was also Emmy-nominated.