hyped garbage

Good movie but grossly overrated

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY opens w/ a bizarre murder outside of a mansion, then switches to a college campus, where Peggy Johns (Sian Barbara allen) is looking for work. She lands a housekeeping job at the aforementioned estate, where she meets the rather odd Mrs. Elliot (Bette Davis- WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? BURNT OFFERINGS) and her sculptor son, Jeffrey (Ted Bessell). Peggy gets right to work. Over time, she learns of Jeffrey's sister, Jennifer, who is -supposedly- in Europe. Peggy also discovers a penchant for the macabre in Jeffrey's sculptures. When Mrs. Elliot is hurt in a fall, Peggy moves into the house. This, in spite of the man she met just outside the grounds, who is searching for his missing daughter, who used to have Peggy's position! Or, the fact that someone appears to be living in the loft over the garage, where she was told never to enter! As events unfold, the mystery deepens, and the weirdness-factor skyrockets! This does nothing to curb Peggy's inquisitiveness... well, okay, her nosiness! Not surprisingly, another death ensues. What is going on? What secrets does Mrs. Elliot know? Peggy is unaware of just how dangerous her sleuthing truly is! Even if she solves the mystery, will it cost Peggy her life? another made-for-TV thriller from the amazing 1970's! Suspenseful, w/ a nice twist(ed) ending. Ms. Allen and Mr. Bessell are excellent, and Ms. Davis is her magnificent self, in another of her horror roles! ...

Scream Pretty Peggy (1973) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Famous sculptor Jeffrey Elliot (Ted Bessell) hires college student Peggy (Sian Barbara Allen) to take care of the house work, which includes looking after his elderly mother (Bette Davis). Soon Peggy learns about Jeffrey's sister who is locked up in an attack after suffering a mental breakdown years earlier.SCREAM PRETTY PEGGY is a decent made-for-television film that benefits greatly from three very good performances and some nice direction by Gordon Hessler. The film manages to build up a rather creepy atmosphere but there are some issues that prevent it from being much better. I will get that issue out of the way and it's the screenplay by Jimmy Sangster and Arthur Hoffe. The film borrows from a couple other more famous movies and this here takes away any major suspense with the twist that you'll see coming from a mile away.Still, if you enjoy these made-for-television movies then this one here is certainly worth watching. The three leads are certainly what keep the film so entertaining and especially Allen who is extremely good in her role. She really does come across as a somewhat naive college student who isn't quite smart enough to know she should be getting the hell away from this house and the family. Bessell is also very good in his role and the great Bette Davis always knows how to steal a scene.Director Hessler was very familiar with the horror genre and he does a nice job here by building up some great atmosphere and bringing a Gothic feel to the material. I thought there were some creepy scenes dealing with the sister and this stuff makes the picture worth sitting through.

Low budget TV movie and even if it is a bit derivative not a bad effort at all. Sian Barbara Allen doesn't impress and was probably a bit too old at 27 to convince as the young student. Ted Bessell is OK but both were destined to have careers restricted to TV. Bette Davis on the other hand, professional to the end, seems to struggle at times but always maintains that menacing presence. Indeed although 64 here would go on to make almost twenty more films before her death some 16 years later. Very early on when we see Bessell as the home based sculptor I'm already thinking of Corman's 1959 Bucket of Blood. Little do I know that by the end we shall see the influence of the following year's, Psycho as well. Nothing to get particularly excited about but enjoyable enough, thanks mainly to Bette Davis.

Fairly competent early '70's, made for TV suspense flick is notable mainly for the presence of Bette Davis who breathes some much needed life into Jimmy Sangster's ultra-conventional script that was apparently written after too many viewings of PSYCHO. This small screen release can't hold a candle to that classic chiller, but at least director Gordon Hessler does an adequate job of handling the familiar material, and this is undeniably one of the most stylish and professional-looking TV films ever.