Are You in the House Alone? (1978) (TV)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Walter Grauman

Writers:

Judith Parker (writer)
Richard Peck (novel)

Release Date:

20 September 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Plot:

Teenage girl is plagued by harassing phone calls. Her fear mounts when she's babysitting at a neighbor's...

Plot Keywords:

Telephone | High School | Terror | Rape | Stalking

Cast

Kathleen Beller	...	Gail Osborne
Blythe Danner	...	Anne Osborne
Tony Bill	...	Neil Osborne
Robin Mattson	...	Allison Bremer
Tricia O'Neil	...	Jessica Hirsch
Dennis Quaid	...	Phil Lawver
Alan Fudge	...	Chris Elden
Scott Colomby	...	Steve Pastorinis
Ellen Travolta	...	Rouillard
Randy Stumpf	...	E.K. Miller
Magda Harout	...	Malevich
Sandra Sharp	...	Pamela
Michael Bond	...	Doctor
Lois Hamilton	...	Policewoman (as Lois Areno)
Sandra Giles	...	Hostess

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Charles Fries Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Rate It X (1986)

Average TV movie that has the routine TV movie trappings.

The best thing going for this rather routine TV movie melodrama is spirited performances by the young stars, including a very youthful Dennis Quaid in a part that would have gone to Bruce Dern 15 years before. The movie is almost two separate movies in one, the first part leading up to the assault on the teenage female lead babysitter is a quasi-horror film not unlike the original When A Stranger Calls, which was released later. There are various suspects who may be making the terrorizing phone calls and messages, and we are in the dark until the assault. The second part, anti-climactic in a way, involves the girl recovering to be stronger and to bring the perpetrator to justice. Unfortunately this section is weaker than the first part regardless of the good intentions by the film-makers to show the difficult process of justice. The adult leads are really unspectacular and mediocre at best, and Tony Bill displays good reasons as to why he left acting to be a producer/director. There is a subplot regarding his character losing a job that really goes nowhere and was unnecessary to the main plot. Blythe Danner as the mother is often more hysterical that the teenage daughter, and comes off as hammy. She's done better work. Scott Columby is fine but could have easily been replaced by one of the other "Scott" actors of the time, either Jacoby or Baio. Alan Fudge is good, and shows why his last name was a big mistake. Where was his agent when he first started? Imagine if he and Barbara Hershey had gotten married!