The Screaming Woman (1972)

Directed by Jack Smith; produced by William Frye

Laura Wynant (Olivia DeHavilland) is a wealthy, middle-aged woman newly released from a mental institution. Seemingly recovered from her previous trauma, she is shocked one day to hear, in a remote corner of her property, a woman’s weak voice pleading for help. Unable to locate the source, Laura is even more startled eventually to realize that it is coming from underground.

A neat little thriller made for television, The Screaming Woman (the title, considering everyone’s actions, refers to Laura, more than to the person she’s trying to rescue), provides some good tension and an effective climax. Director Smight may be an unfamiliar name, probably as he worked largely in television, but he also directed cinematically; in both media, his work was sometimes very good (eg. Harper (1966), No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), four The Twilight Zone episodes). Smight won an Emmy in 1959; his son Alec, a director/producer, has been nominated for three. Here, the elder Smight takes a rather neutral approach, letting the story and the acting work harder than the direction.

The plot is from a Ray Bradbury story. It is entertaining, not predictable, though it has flaws. The premise of a former mental patient’s claims being found incredible by others has been done many times, though in The Screaming Woman, Laura’s problems are implied to be less mental than emotional, connected to the loss of her husband. As well, the script gives away too much too early. We see almost immediately that Laura is dealing with a woman buried alive, and we see the perpetrator of the deed.

The writer who adapted Bradbury’s story, Merwin Gerard, treats characters much better than he does the plot. In particular, Laura’s adult son (Charles Knox Robinson) is a minor antagonist but wholly sympathetic. He is trying to persuade his mother to sell some of the family’s land - not for personal gain, but so they can keep what is left (their mansion and three acres), which currently can’t even be maintained. He also fights his wife’s desire for a public competency hearing for Laura.

As well, The Screaming Woman redeems the premature revelation of crime and criminal through the character of Carl Nesbitt (Ed Nelson). Nelson, a prolific character actor, veteran even in 1972, is called upon to provide a show stronger even than DeHavilland, who gives her usual professional performance. Nesbitt is no cool would-be murderer, but an ordinary man who went too far - and then even farther to cover it up. He is constantly on edge, ready at any moment to fall apart. This, along with Laura’s frantic, virtually hopeless, search for help, creates the successful suspense of the movie.

Joseph Cotten and Walter Pidgeon have small roles, as does Charles Drake but, though their characters provide support, the parts are neither large nor really necessary. (Nelson’s first rôle, as an uncredited extra, was in a Joseph Cotten film, The Steel Trap.)

A good example of a well-handled movie made for the small screen, The Screaming Woman serves up tension, unpredictability and a satisfying climax, and at a length of just 73 minutes is neither too long nor too short.