Peopletoys (1974)

Director:

Sean MacGregor
(more)

Writers:

Sandra Lee Blowitz (co-writer)
John Durren (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

June 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

What Wendy just saw them do will make you sick to your stomach...if it doesn't make you faint first!

Plot:

Five extremely disturbed, sociopathic children escape from their psychiatric transport and are taken...

Plot Keywords:

Winter | Escape | Female Nudity | Catfight | Gun

Cast

Sorrell Booke	...	Harvey Beckman
Gene Evans	...	Papa Doc
Taylor Lacher	...	Rick
Joan McCall	...	Julie
Shelley Morrison	...	Ruth
Carolyn Stellar	...	Lovely (as Carolyn Steller)
John Durren	...	Ralph
Leif Garrett	...	David
Gail Smale	...	Sister Hannah
Dawn Lyn	...	Moe
Tierre Turner	...	Brian
Tia Thompson	...	Susan
Henry Beckman	...	Dr. Brown

Directed by
Sean MacGregor
David Sheldon		(uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sandra Lee Blowitz		co-writer
John Durren		writer
Dylan Jones		story

Produced by
Michael Blowitz	....	producer
Albert Cole	....	associate producer
Dylan Jones	....	producer
Jordan M. Wank	....	executive producer

Original Music by
William Loose

Cinematography by
Paul Hipp
Michael Shea		(as Mike Shea)

Film Editing by
Byron 'Buzz' Brandt

Art Direction by
Jac McAnelly

Production Management
Sandra Lee Blowitz	....	executive in charge of production
Beryl Gelfond	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Walter Dominguez	....	second assistant director
Leo Weyman	....	assistant director

Art Department
Dennis Nodine	....	property master
Richard N. McGuire	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jeff Jarvis	....	boom operator
Larry Merrill	....	sound effects
Clark Will	....	sound

Stunts
Paul Knuckles	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Cohan	....	still photographer
Mike Evans	....	best boy
Bob McVay	....	gaffer
Mike Paladin	....	still photographer
Mike Petrich	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Judy Durren	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
George C. Villaseñor	....	assistant editor (as George Villasenor)

Music Department
William Loose	....	conductor

Other crew
Patricia L. Brotz	....	unit publicist
Leeland F. Cook	....	technical advisor
Robert C. Fowler	....	production assistant
Hannah Hempstead	....	script supervisor
Toby Wank	....	production associate

Production Companies

• Barrister Productions Inc.

Distributors

• Cinemation Industries (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinemation Industries (1974) (USA) (theatrical) (retitled re-release)
• Prima Film (1975) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Seymour Borde & Associates (1976) (USA) (theatrical) (retitled re-release)
• Saguenay Films (1977) (Canada) (theatrical) (retitled re-release)
• Media Home Entertainment (1982) (USA) (VHS)
• Media Home Entertainment (1982) (Belgium) (video)
• Red Alert Films (2006-2007) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Code Red DVD (2006-2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Treasures (video)

Also Known As:

Devil Times Five (USA) (reissue title)
Tantrums (UK) (video title)
The Horrible House on the Hill (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Lake Arrowhead, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Company:

Barrister Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Actress Carolyn Stellar (as "Lovely") is actually the real birth mother of Leif Garrett ("David") and Dawn Lyn ("Moe"), two of the child actors in the cast.

Quotes:

David: [screaming] My face! Look what you did to my beautiful face!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Looking Back at 'The Hills Have Eyes' (2003) (V)

Not as scary as Leif Garret's singing career

This is a rather ridiculous, low-budget horror movie from the golden age of ridiculous, low-budget horror movies (aka the '70's). Five psycho children, including a young Leif Garret, kill a bunch of adults at a snowbound cabin. This film is kind of like the latter-day, Halloween-inspired stalk-and-slash movies after the schlock filmmakers had given up on atmosphere, suspense, and characterization and were focusing entirely on the ridiculously elaborate murders of completely unlikeable characters. It reminded me of the Sleepaway Camp sequels with Pamela Springsteen released ten or fifteen later, except that it starred an actual untalented recording artist rather than the untalented sibling of a recording artist. And the humor is completely unintententional, but much more funny than the intentional "humor" of Sleepaway Camp and its ilk. It also has that kind of drive-in aura of the 70's which is vastly preferable to the shot-on-home-video (or as may as well be) aura of the later movies. Not very good, but worth checking out for fans of '70's horror.