The Screaming Woman (1972)

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Olivia de Havilland's character is horrified to discover a person buried underneath the ground in "The Screaming Woman". Havilland plays Laura Wynatt, a former mental patient who has returned home to recover and relax. One day while out riding her horse on her property ground, she is shocked to see that a woman is buried underneath the dirt begging for help. Laura races back up to the house, but her pleas to the family and the police are overlooked because of her mental state. She is forced to save the woman herself but, in the process, comes across the psychopath who put the woman there!The Screaming Woman is a terrific made for TV' film! It has all the goods that a 1970's suspense movie had. Olivia de Havilland plays the role brilliantly, she truly was an amazing actress in her day. It hurts to see this woman plead with people to believe what she says, but no avail. Olivia de Havilland plays the character as scrambling and desperate, and you really feel for her as a viewer. We also meet the man who tried to kill the woman he buried alive, and there is an interesting story told there as well. This made for TV film DESERVES a DVD release. Other classics like "Don't be Afraid of the Dark" and "Dying Room Only" were distributed on DVD. They were both ABC TV movies as was this one, but somehow this film has never been mentioned for a release. Nevertheless, if you spot this film on TV or online - catch it. It's a creepy and worthwhile watch.8/10

The location of the areas attributed to the estate of Olvia DeHavilland's character and surrounding homes is unknown to me (possibly Pasadena, California), but her mansion, inside and out, is located on the Bliss Estate in Monetcito, Califoirnia, which is directly south of Santa Barbara. It sits on 35 acres purchased by the Blisses after their marriage at the beginning of the 20th Century. The mansion has 100 rooms, half of which devoted to servants' quarters. (The exteriors of DeHavilland running from the woman for the first time, passing walls, pillars and a fountain, is not part of the estate.) During WWII Mrs. Edward G. Robinson used the mansion as headquarters for her "Desert Battalion" of 500 women who entertained GIs around the world. For a while after the war it was a girl's school and today it's a retirement village. The main house is still intact.

Laura, a woman in her late 50's just recovering from a sojourn in a mental hospital returns home to her estate in the temporary care of her son and his wife. A rather dubious couple to say the least. While walking in the grounds one morning she hears or thinks she hears groaning sounds emanating from the ground and tries to raise the alarm. Unsurprisingly when help arrives the voice is no longer evident and so the seeds of doubt are raised about her sanity. Caught this one on the box very early one morning and scared me enough to have a really lousy sleep. De Havilland is in her element here as the recovering patient and gives her character enough credibility to even make the viewer wonder as to her mental state. The black & white photography enhances the suspense of the whole story. Unfortunately not available on dvd or video.

I saw this TV movie as a kid with a babysitter and ended up so freaked out that I spent the night in tears waiting for a hand to reach up from under the bed and grab me. I saw it again as a young adult and it still sent chills up my spine with the side profile shots of the buried woman. Very haunting images.