She Cried Murder

TV-made woman-in-distress nonsense starring Lynda Day George (practically a staple of the 1970s movie-of-the-week) involves a model in New York City, the only witness to a murder in the subway station, who realizes the killer is actually a cop once two police inspectors show up to get her story. Despite the work of four writers, tepid melodrama is seldom engaging because it is so brainless, with nearly every character behaving stupidly just to keep the plot in motion. Telly Savalas plays the crooked cop, looking pained--must have been from chasing Lynda up and down stairs and fire escapes, through a theater and a subway station, and across railroad tracks. Lots of leg-work, but no suspense.

Anyone that knows and understands the Giallo subgenre of fright flicks will see right through this made for t.v., wants-to-be-a-giallo terror tale. Watered down telefilm has a 'Cat O' Nine Tails' plotted murder on a train and the identity of the killer as the catalyst of the female protagonist's dilemma. There is some style to spare in this film with a staircase scene in a restaurant that has the beautific visual style of Mario Bava and the camera movements of Dario Argento but alas THIS is the ONLY scene where any true workmanship is to be found. The makers of this little flick no doubt stayed up all night perusing older Giallo murder tapes to get this scene right. Otherwise this is routine yet watchable fare with Telly Savalas as the menace and Lynda Day George as the prey.

It was made before Kojak series that boosted Telly Savalas into stardom, in other hand the gorgeous actress Lynda Day George floating around in minor roles mostly in TV series, even she was so attractive, then the time finally came, she shares this small thriller with Savalas that already paved a solid career in previous movies, made for TV whereby starts pop up in early seventies due the movie industry was in bankrupt process.

Meanwhile back home thru metro at front car Sara Cornell (Lynda Day George) witnessed a woman been murder pushed on tracks, she saw the killer and is willing call the police aiming for to give her statement concerning the man that he saw there, well guess who appears there? Keep with up Detective Stepanik (Mike Farrell) the Inspector Joe Brody, the same guy that she supposed be the real killer, baffled she goes off on a tangent afraid such man makes her life going in hell, such feeling is granted!! Aftermaths the untiring Joe Brody tracks down her wherever she goes in an everlasting chase.

Of course it's a brainless movie, at first glance Sara Cornell surely a jinxed woman, no one comes to her aid, anywhere she stays, upon this odd premise the movie decreases itself, pure nonsense, shot in Toronto, I watched this one in far off 1985, now I've found a fine print on Youtube, it brings good memories despite the offering is so low profile.

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First watch: 1985 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-Youtube / Rating: 5.5.

With just over an hour's worth of movie time, this is a to-the-point thriller where a commercial actress witnesses a murder committed by a rogue cop. What results is a cat-and-mouse chase with some suspenseful police detective work mixed in. Not bad TV movie overall, with some entertaining moments. The acting was fine for the most part.

Grade B

I saw this made for TV movie when I was in grade school. It was a suspenseful cat-and-mouse story, and Savalas was very scary as the bad guy. I'm still trying to figure out why no one else in that busy subway station saw Savalas push that woman onto the tracks other than Ms. George. The murder that sets the story off is mean and horrific, even by today's standards. The fun is in watching Ms. George become more and more desperate as Savalas closes in on her. The final chase scene is a nail biter! As far as made for TV suspense flicks from the seventies go, this was one of the good ones. I wonder what ever happened to Lynda Day George? She was all over TV back in the day.