I Saw What You Did (1965)

Director:

William Castle

Writers:

Ursula Curtiss (novel)
William P. McGivern (writer)

Release Date:

21 July 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Fate dials the number...terror answers the phone!

Plot:

Teenagers, Libby and Kit, innocently spend an evening doing random prank calls. These calls lead to murderous consequences.

Plot Keywords:

Little Sister | Telephone | Slumber Party | Anonymous Telephone Call | Prank Telephone Call

Cast

Joan Crawford	...	Amy Nelson
John Ireland	...	Steve Marak
Leif Erickson	...	Dave Mannering
Sara Lane	...	Kit Austin (as Sarah Lane)
Andi Garrett	...	Libby Mannering
Sharyl Locke	...	Tess Mannering
Patricia Breslin	...	Ellie Mannering
John Archer	...	John Austin
John Crawford	...	State Trooper
Joyce Meadows	...	Judith Marak
Tom Hatten	...	Gerald Nyes
Douglas Evans	...	Tom Ward
Barbara Wilkin	...	Mary Ward
Glen Vernon	...	John Adams
Sara Anderson	...	Jill Adams

Also Known As:

I Saw What You Did and I Know Who You Are! (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

William Castle Productions

Trivia:

Joan Crawford was paid $50,000 for four days work.

Quotes:

Libby: I saw what you did, and I know who you are.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Svengoolie: I Saw What You Did" (1998)

Very good for what it is...

...which is a no-budget thriller.

Two teenage girls (Sara Lane, Andi Garrett) make prank phone calls saying the title line. By mistake they call Steve Marak (John Ireland) who's just killed his wife. Then things get out of control.

One of William Castle's low budget horror films that he churned out in the 1960s. None of them are that good but this is definitely one of the better ones. It's photographed in moody black & white and director Castle makes excellent use of darkness (notice all the darkness above the girls when they make the calls) and shadows and fog (which inexplicably shows up at the end). There's also a very vicious shower stabbing in the first 20 minutes with shots obviously imitating "Psycho". There are also quite a few good moments calculated to make you jump.

On the debit side--there's not enough story even for 83 minutes; Joan Crawford (dressed to the 9s for no reason) is wasted as a next-door neighbor; Ireland is stone-faced throughout; Lane and Garrett are horrible actresses (and, tellingly, never made another movie) and the script has lines that no teenager would utter.

Still, there are worse ways to kill 90 minutes and the jolts in this film do work. Worth seeing if you're a horror fan.