“...that nightmarish struggle against the pillow’s deadly softness.” *
Few things scream terror better than an imperiled child, a spooky shadow, a dismembered doll, and a scream—especially when clipped short.
The opening of the November 5, 1971 NBC TV movie A Howling in the Woods frontloads the shenanigans with ALL OF THESE! Also? The title implies a werewolf movie, at least to this made-for-TV-movie-lovin’ rube.
Let me disabuse you of similar notions. The howling is more of a catalyst in a murder mystery/gaslighting event. It stars a post-I Dream of Jeannie Barbara Eden, as Liza, newly separated sad lady who thinks her hubs cheated on her. She travels back to her home town in northern Nevada to hang out with her dad, who owns a large hotel on a lake, while waiting the requisite six weeks until she can file for a divorce.
It’s based the 1968 book by Velda Johnston, a breathless modern romantic gothic written in first person.
In both the book and movie, the townsfolk are hostile, and there’s a sad mom (Tyne Daly in the movie) whose daughter ‘drowned in the lake.’ In the movie, the heroine believes her hubs is cheating on her.
Book: Lisa, a 24-yr-old model, inherits her uncle’s hotel
on the lake, so leaves hubs.
Movie: Liza, vocation unknown, goes to visit Dad and wait to file for divorce (from Larry Hagman, who phones it in well) but is told by stepmum Vera Miles that he’s gone off on one of his Mexico expeditions.
Book: The third point of a love triangle comes in the former of the handsome hotel manager, who wants to purchase the hotel from her. His first description “...his shoulders, broad inside a plaid sports jacket, his dark and rather curly hair gleaming in the light from the veranda, his smile flashing white against his deep tan.” An older and wiser gal like myself would warn the maiden not to disclose her mother’s maiden name to him, and definitely avoid any conversations about his Crypto aspirations or timeshare opportunities.
Movie: This same role, sans any real attraction is played by John Rubenstein, who is Vera’s son, who Liza has never met before because he was ‘mixed up in drugs.’ Now he’s better, and he’s always around… smoking cigarettes and staring unblinking at her, or playing a creepy tune on the piano. He’s also got a special relationship with Mother.
Howling aired on a Friday against “Black Noon,” a bananas tale of witches & warlocks in the desert, of which I’ve written.
I know the one I would have picked to watch. Paul Jones, in his column ‘As I See It’ for the Atlanta Constitution, favored Howling, calling it “A good mystery with a magnificent setting,” and not so subtly trashed Black Noon with: “It is described as an allegory…a word sometimes used to cover up a confusing and not well-written script.”
If you’re a fan of Barbara and Larry, are inclined to deal with cliches and aging film on YouTube, and are cool with there being NO GODDAMN WEREWOLF, check this one out. If you’re more in the mood for a mystery with romantic and gothic elements, then find the book by Velda Johnson, who also wrote a bunch of thriller goth stuff with titles like A Room with Dark Mirrors, A Presence in an Empty Room, and A Shadow behind the Curtain.
*The best succinct description of an attempt on one’s life with a pillow I’ve ever read.
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