She Waits

It's a tragedy that this film is in circulation by paid subscription to Prime Video but looks like Grandma's cathode ray tube television set in the mid 1980s. She Waits is available in terrible condition and if it were remastered it would likely bring my rating up to a solid 5/10 just for the glorious antiques.

Otherwise the plot is common and slightly boring, the usual 1972 housewife recently married to a financially comfortable but narcissistic man telling her to mind her own business about how his last wife died, as if that's ever been a rude question to ask one's spouse.

Patty Duke performs fairly well in this mediocre mid-Century flick, also starring two music boxes because we all know how they're capable of murder - especially the ones who play "gay tunes."

Mostly, "She Waits" is your average woman-goes-to-house-and-strange-things-start-happening story, but it's kept afloat by the good performances. Patty Duke plays Laura Wilson, who goes with her husband Mark (David McCallum) to his childhood home, where his first wife died. His mother Sarah (Dorothy McGuire) contends that his first wife never left the house and is waiting to get him back. You can probably guess what starts happening thereafter.

Overall, the movie has everything that we would expect in such a movie, namely the eerie house and overpossessive mother. Most of the dialog is routine, but there are some good lines. For example, housekeeper Mrs. M (Beulah Bondi) says of Los Angeles: "What self-respecting ghost would want to live here?" Lew Ayres (yes, the "All Quiet on the Western Front" star who later became a conscientious objector) plays the doctor.

Nothing new, but innocuous.

A newlywed accompanies her husband to visit his ailing mother at their estate and learns that not only did her husband's previous wife die mysteriously but his mother thinks her spirit is still haunting the place.

Patty Duke seems incapable of phoning in a performance and she's always great to watch, but this definitely feels like a safe TV movie. Not a scare or intense moment in sight, but I've seen worse. Might be best to have it on in the background while you're doing something else.

Newlyweds, Laura Wilson (Patty Duke) and her husband, Mark (David McCallum) stay at Mark's family estate, in spite of his mother's (Dorothy McGuire) protests. Mark's first wife, Elaine had died there, and he's very touchy about the subject.

Then, Laura starts hearing a tune found on Elaine's music box, to the point of being haunted by it. She also hears voices, and screams like a banshee sitting on a porcupine! Laura becomes curious about how Elaine died. Mark doesn't want to discuss it, so Laura talks to his mother, who tries to get her to leave the house. She also tells her the truth about Elaine's death. This sends Laura into a mega-tizzy! She screams and screams.

The next thing we know, Laura's entire personality changes into a major meany pants. Has Elaine returned from the dead to possess her, or is Laura cracking up?

SHE WAITS is a tale of family secrets, murder, and possible vengeance from beyond the grave.

BONUS POINTS FOR: Ms. Duke's final scream, that could peel a bunch of bananas from 100 yards away!

EXTRA BONUS POINTS FOR: The music score, which is sort of Bernard Herrmann meets Bach...

This small and weak TV movie I'd watched in 1980 and never got a chance to see it again as much I love to it simply disappears from the sight, then I have invoke Youtube on those old movie's channel whereof a decent copy with English subtitled that I watched last night, Patty Duke was peak of her career who knows why she accepted to do this awful movie, even had a good casting as David MacCallum, Dorothy McGuire, Lew Ayres and James T. Callaham.

The plot is quite ludicrous to start, the well-born Mark Wilson (David MacCallum) at Europe suddenly marry with Laura (Patty Duke) after three years of absence on America, he is back to home to introduce his newest wife for your sick old mother Mrs. Sara Wilson ( Dorothy McGuire) just arriving at large home Mark meets his mother at her bed and postponed Laura intro to next day, the worried Mrs. Sara demands that both of them must keep away from the house at once, actually in the past Mark was married with a possessive wife Elaine who went to die in obscure circumstance, the premise is that house is haunting by Elaine's ghost.

At night Laura going to Elaine room's door supposedly hearing some voices talking on the phone, entering inside figures out that the telephone line is dead, henceforth Laura stayed anxious, asking for Mark everything about Elaine and her ill-fated death which he often avoid to talk about, just saying that such death was a terrible accident, afterwards a sudden night Elaine's spirit embodies Laura and seek revenge for his death.

Frankly it didn't scare anyone, unharmful chills here and there only, the plot is silly and ambiguous due it has some mismatches on the screenplay for a viewer with sharp eyes is easily noticed for instance, the great actress Patty Duke certainly wasn't be proud of this flimsy feature.

Thanks for reading.

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First watch: 1980 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-Youtube / Rating: 5.