Death Scream

No-frills crime-drama debuted in 1975 on The CBS Friday Night Movie, one filled with familiar television faces of the time (Ed Asner and Cloris Leachman as mismatched marrieds, Art Carney and Nancy Walker as an elderly couple, Diahann Carroll as an attempted suicide, Tina Louise as a lesbian dental assistant, etc). Loosely based on the Kitty Genovese crime wherein a woman was attacked in front of her apartment building, screaming for half an hour while fighting off her attacker but not getting any help from her neighbors. Raul Julia and John P. Ryan are the investigators, and Julia in particular exudes a lot of easy charm and charisma in this role (his young daughter, played by none other than Helen Hunt, has a lovely scene with him singing in the car). This may have been a proposed pilot for a TV series (the tag at the end suggests it); if so, it's a good one, with tight pacing and gripping camera-work. Surprises in the cast: Hunt (looking like a pint-sized hippie), Sally Kirkland as a flirty waitress, Lucie Arnaz as a victim who survives, Tony Dow (from "Leave It To Beaver") as a married man who wants to go to jail, and Kate Jackson in a brief cameo as a woman walking her dog. Too bad there isn't more of Jackson, she's very appealing and works well with Raul Julia. Except for the drab decor, the movie doesn't date too badly and has good moments. Fans of TV shows from the 1970s will certainly be intrigued.

Loosely based upon the appalling Kitty Genovese murder in 1964, wherein young Kitty was slain in front of her Queens apartment building as 38 onlookers refused involvement, this made for television movie, originally a back door pilot for ABC that failed to achieve high enough ratings deemed necessary for further production, shifts the action to Brooklyn and lowers the crime witness count to 15, a more manageable number for a film in which primary emphasis is placed upon casting of "guest stars" in lieu of attempting a measured approach into socio-cultural connotations of the tragedy. Originally titled HOMICIDE, and a year later THE WOMAN WHO CRIED MURDER for its second television showing, this work was heavily publicized but its meretricious courting of an audience ratings advantage brought negative reaction from most viewers, especially those still mindful of the original dreadful crime, and it quickly disappeared from distribution lists, effectively excising an initial top billing appearance for Raul Julia, as a New York City homicide detective. From among the celebrity packed cast emerge noteworthy cameo performances, including those of Art Carney, Tina Louise, Cloris Leachman, and Lucie Arnaz who chose a plot climactic role rather than one offered her that involved more screen time, and there is a polished turn from 12 year old Helen Hunt, as well as a poor one from Diahann Carroll, with solid acting from Julia and, as his detective partner, John P. Ryan. Breezily generic dialogue is composed for the detectives in a script that is full of bromides, as is the jazz-flavoured score. The film is capably directed, but the shade of Kitty Genovese trivializes this effort, baring its failure to explore a crucial event in modern U.S. urban history.

In the opening scene, a young woman is beaten to death near her Brooklyn, New York apartment. For a variety of reasons, her screams are mostly ignored by an estimated 15 neighbors. Lead detective Raul Julia (as Nick Rodriguez) and co-starring officers John Ryan (as Dave Lambert) and Phillip Clark (as Johnny Bellon) have a difficult task. The police aren't even sure of the perpetrator's gender...

This crime drama aired as "The Movie of the Week" on ABC during the fall roll out of the network's popular anthology series. It looks like a spin-off series was considered, but advertisers would not have been happy with several instances of adult story aka "pushing the envelope" content; one co-star has sex with a witness and a guest star is clearly noted to be a lesbian. The aforementioned trio of co-starring lawmen perform their roles very well. In the leading role as a single father cop from Puerto Rico, Mr. Julia is terrific. His daughter is played by child actress Helen Hunt...

What really weighs the story down is an endless assortment of guest stars, special guest stars and cameos. There are so many familiar faces, they become a distraction. This is especially evident in the early scenes, when we see Edward Asner (once "Lou Grant"), Art Carney ("Ed Norton"), Diahann Carroll ("Julia"), Cloris Leachman ("Phyllis") and Nancy Walker ("Mrs. Morgenstern") in quick succession. Of these, only Ms. Leachman (as Audrey Singleton) has a subplot worth following. Also made relevant is Eric Braeden (as Kosinsky), later best known for "The Young and the Restless"...

Later stars benefit from being presented in relative isolation. Far from "Gilligan's Island", Tina Louise is almost a show-stopper. Out of "Dark Shadows", Kate Jackson breezes by on a walk. Big brother on "Leave It to Beaver" Tony Dow and lesser known Todd Susman are very effective suspects. Not being identified with a TV role, Sally Kirkland easily blends into the story. Surprisingly successful at being one of the least showy faces is "Here's Lucy" daughter Lucie Arnaz.

****** Death Scream (9/26/75) Richard T. Heffron ~ Raul Julia, John Ryan, Phillip Clark, Cloris Leachman

...because this film was made early enough that watchable VHS copies do not exist, and apparently it was a ratings failure and had negative ratings reaction for a reason I didn't even know - that it was knowingly capitalizing on a real case in New York City from eleven years before - the Kitty Genovese case - where a woman is killed in the street outside of her apartment and despite her screams nobody comes to help. I didn't know about this case, being in kindergarten when the crime occurred in another part of the country, so I simply judged the movie on its own merits.

The film does open with exactly what happened to Kitty Genovese happening to a young woman walking home one night. She is killed in the street, and although many people hear her screams nobody comes to help. Only Nancy Walker's character calls the police. And she is ID'd by investigating detective Nick Rodriguez (Raul Julia) because she uses the word "reside", and this is unusual. He takes the investigation from there.

It was rather ground breaking in that it had a Hispanic detective in charge of the investigation, and not everybody in the cast is a who's who of 70s TV and movies. Raul Julia, the lead character, was not that well known at the time. And Nick Braeden, who is way down the list of billing, is now famous as being the lead for years on the soap opera "Young and the Restless".

The scene I remember most? Julia's character is coming home from a hard day of looking into this seemingly random killing, and he is unnerved by seeing his apartment front door ajar. He runs panicked into the apartment, calling his daughter's name, and is relieved to find that she is fine and there is not a nefarious reason for the door being open. He then gives her a stern warning about closing and locking the door. The age of innocence is over. This case has brought home to him that in the big city people will kill for apparently no reason, and that you should not expect anybody - even your neighbors - to intercede.

I remember it being a tense two hour journey and would recommend it if you can ever find a copy.

Above average movie based on the Kitty Genovese murder case of 1964. Kitty Genovese was a lesbian and so is the first murdered victim in this movie. Movie shows how callous people can be by ignoring a poor girl's murder. It is an all star cast, which has Dinahann Carroll as a potential suicide victim, Tina Louise as a lesbian, Ed Asner as a jealous husband, Cloris Leachman as nymphomaniac wife, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball's daughter, as a potential murder victim, Art Carney and Nancy Walker play an older couple who ignore the murder. Kate Jackson has a nice cameo but this is clearly Raul Julia's movie. It is also nice to see Helen Hunt as a child actress and Tony Dow, Wally on Leave it to Beaver, in a scene as well. Sadly, this was a true case. Of all the cameos, Tina Lousie gives the best performance as the lesbian, ex-girlfriend of the victim, who is taking in to be questioned. What would Ginger Grant say? Enjoy this fun movie.