A Howling in the Woods

The title was "Pleasant movie" but it wasn't a pleasant story. The film starts off with a little girl witnessing a murder, and then she's caught and we hear her scream as the film fades. Next is a scene of Liza in a car driving to a small town, but the locals are unfriendly and cold. It was a shock to find out that she used to live there and knew them so why have they turned hostile? Hmm. She stays with her very odd step mother and creepy step brother, Justin who she meets for the first time. She befriends a little girl that tells her about the death of her cousin, who was the other girl from the very beginning scene. For some reason everyone doesn't like to talk about it. The howling in the woods comes from a stray dog. Liza wants to help the poor dog, and discovers something sinister in the woods. A really good film, tense in places, dated and very homely, with some atmospheric thunderstorms and plenty of paranoia going on. What is exactly going on? Its worth finding out.

A year after the cancellation of "I Dream of Jeannie", Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman reteamed for this made-for-TV movie that was as different from their series as night and day! It seems Ms. Eden is coming back to the house she grew up in to the surprise of her stepmother (Vera Miles) and new stepbrother (John Rubinstein). There's also a little girl (Lisa Gerritsen) who mentions another one her age who drowned in a nearby river. Not to mention a howling dog constantly bellowing...There's more but I don't want to spoil anymore of what happens. I will, however, mention that Hagman plays Ms. Eden's husband who's trying to reconcile with her after she abruptly left. Also, future "Cagney & Lacey" star Tyne Daly also makes a pivotal appearance. The suspense builds with each new revelation which is to the credit of director Daniel Petrie. So on that note, I recommend A Howling in the Woods.

I remember seeing this movie on TV in 1971 while in the 10th grade in high school and it was pretty good. [Most of the TV movies of that era were shown from 9:30 PM to 11:00 PM (EST) so they were only 1-hour-and-30-minutes in length, but this one was a full-two-hours!] I missed the ending because I had a paper route to deliver at 4:00 the next morning (actually, 2 of them) so I had to go to bed. Anyway, what I remember is: Barbara Eden inherits this old hotel when her uncle dies. Disheartened with her marriage, she goes to stay at the hotel with the idea of remodeling and then running it. Shortly after she arrives, the townspeople tell her to leave and at night, she hears a dog mournfully howling in the nearby woods. As she tries to solve the mystery of the howling dog, she was told that a six-year-old girl was found "accidentally drownded" in the nearby lake. [She was told this by the dead girl's six-year-old cousin Betsey (Lisa Gerritsen).] As Eden's character investigates the howling dog and the "accidental drowning," of the little girl, she become convinced that the two incidents are related.

It was about this point I had to go to bed so I could deliver the newspapers to my customers on my paper routes, so I don't know how the movie ends up. It would be really great if this movie were to be released on home video, so I could see the ending. I recently found a copy of the paperback novel on which this movie was based, so I know how the novel comes out, but I'd still like to see the movie so I can see how it comes out. (I suppose it is similar to the ending in the novel.) Anyway, I'm willing to pay whatever the price is for a VHS or DVD, so home video companies, here's your chance to make some more money off of me! How about it?

Most of the made-for-TV movies of the early '70s were junk. "A Howling in the Woods" is the one glorious exception, and should have been released to theatres. Two eerie plots eventually converge in an expertly plotted thriller. Always underrated as an actress, Barbara Eden is superb as the lady-in-distress who indeed, while staying in a remote rural locale, is literally jolted by the nocturnal sounds of a "howling in the woods." This nifty, scarifying thriller is always two steps ahead of the viewer in it's deliciously intricate plot turns and twists. Expertly directed by Daniel Petrie. A forgotten jewel, long overdue for restoration and a cable-TV or theatrical release. Utterly terrifying, and Miss Eden, never more breathtakingly beautiful and vulnerable, is at her peak. Forget "I Dream of Jeannie". Instead check out and shiver through this spellbinding mystery-suspense-thriller classic!

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Daniel Petrie; Produced by Douglas Benton, for Universal TV, broadcast by NBC-TV. Screenplay by Richard De Roy, based on Velda Johnston's novel; Photography by JackMarta; Edited by Robert Shugrue; Music by Dave Grusin. Starring: Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman, John Rubinstein, Vera Miles, Ruta Lee, Tyne Daly, George Murdock, Ford Rainey, Bill Vint and Karl Swenson.

Unsuspenseful, unstylish attempt at a horror mystery, based on a poorly-presented "Bad Day at Black Rock" combined with impersonation type plot. TV's ersatz attempt at "daring" entertainment includes near-nudity and pretend incest, but Petrie's handling of a "Road to Salina" type trio and irrelevant flashback is poor. Laughable is the Vera/Barb versus Vera/Janet Leigh resemblance, plus thrown-in Eden/Hagman teaming and a bit of Barb in white nightgown action.