After a string of successful films at Columbia, William Castle moved his operation over to Universal – not that you can really discern any change in style. It starts off as a sort of cute teen comedy about two teenage girls who, while babysitting on their sisters, make prank calls. They call one lady, who is then promptly murdered by her husband in the shower – she calls him a freak beforehand (is he a cross dresser? I wasn't sure). It’s a shocking sequence, taking this from teen film to horror in the blink of an eye.
In a way it’s not unlike Psycho, which went from heist to horror – although that didn’t feel as much of a gear shift. The girls make a return prank call, say “I saw what you did and I know who you are”. They’re intrigued by the guy’s voice and go to investigate…
Although the prank call component feels dated, stranger danger is just as relevant as ever, giving this an unexpected contemporary quality. What gives it extra kick is the climax involves the killer going one of the teens and her younger sister who are alone in the house. This is really scary - Castle films often had very strong endings and this is no exception. (Although I was thrown by another gear shift - the teen goes from severely traumatised to happy go lucky in the blink of an eye.)
Joan Crawford is top billed but is actually in quite a small role as the killer's (John Ireland’s) neighbour. I’m guessing they thought about having her play the killer but for the story to work the killer has to be a guy – to get the girls interested int racking him down.
John Ireland is very good, and the writing displays some genuine flair as to how teenage girls act and think when they're on their own.
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