The Screaming Woman
Encyclopedia
The Screaming Woman is a 1972 American television film starring Olivia de Havilland
and directed by Jack Smight
. It is loosely based on a short story by Ray Bradbury
(which in turn was based on his 1948 radio play for the CBS
show Suspense) with a script written by Merwin Gerard. The film was produced by Universal Television
and originally aired as an ABC Movie of the Week
. It features John Williams
's last score (to date) for a TV movie.
) - was shown under that title as episode 5 in season 1 of The Ray Bradbury Theater
on February 22, 1986.
Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
and directed by Jack Smight
Jack Smight
Jack Smight was an American theatre and film director.Smight was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and went to school with future actor Peter Graves...
. It is loosely based on a short story by Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
(which in turn was based on his 1948 radio play for the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
show Suspense) with a script written by Merwin Gerard. The film was produced by Universal Television
Universal Television
Universal Television is the television production arm of the NBCUniversal Television Group, and by extension, the NBC television network...
and originally aired as an ABC Movie of the Week
ABC Movie of the Week
The ABC Movie of the Week is a weekly television anthology series, featuring made-for-TV movies, that aired on the ABC network in various permutations from 1969 to 1975.-History:...
. It features John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
's last score (to date) for a TV movie.
Plot
De Havilland plays Laura Wynant, a wealthy former mental patient who has travelled to her country estate to recuperate. While there, she discovers that a woman has been buried alive on her property. Wynant tries to inform others of what she has found but nobody believes her, and her family begins to suspect a relapse in her mental condition. Because her hands are nearly crippled by arthritis, she is not able to dig the woman up herself. She tries to trick a local boy into assisting her by telling him she is digging for a lost bracelet but is forced to tell him the truth, resulting in a confrontation with his angry father. While going door-to-door to seek help, she encounters the buried woman's husband, who had in fact buried her after striking her on the head with a shovel and thinking her dead. Wynant is confined to home under doctor's orders and, in a fit of anger, experiences a spontaneous recovery from the arthritis in her hands. She begins to dig up the buried woman, who is still alive, but the murderous husband finds her. The authorities arrive in time and Wynant and the buried woman are rescued.Cast
(first billed only)- Olivia De HavillandOlivia de HavillandOlivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
- Laura Wynant - Ed NelsonEd NelsonEdwin Stafford Nelson is an American actor.Nelson has appeared in numerous television shows, more than fifty motion pictures, and hundreds of stage productions. Until 2005, he was teaching acting and screenwriting in his native New Orleans at two local universities there...
- Carl Nesbitt - Laraine Stephens - Caroline Wynant
- Joseph CottenJoseph CottenJoseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
- George Tresvant - Walter PidgeonWalter PidgeonWalter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
- Dr. Amos Larkin - Charles RobinsonCharles RobinsonCharles Robinson may refer to:*Charles Robinson , English politician, MP for Canterbury*Charles Robinson , physician and politician in Ontario, Canada*Charles Robinson , British book illustrator...
- Howard Wynant - Alexandra HayAlexandra HayAlexandra Lynn Hay was a character actress of the 1960s and 1970s. She was a native of Los Angeles, California, and graduated from Arroyo High School in El Monte....
- Evie Carson - Lonny ChapmanLonny ChapmanLonny Chapman was an American television actor best known for his numerous guest star appearances on detective dramas, including Quincy, M.E., The A-Team, Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, and NYPD Blue...
- Police Sergeant - Charles DrakeCharles DrakeCharles Drake was an American actor.-Biography:Drake was born as Charles Ruppert in New York City. He graduated from Nichols College and became a salesman. In 1939, he turned to acting and signed a contract with Warner Brothers. He wasn't immediately successful...
- Ken Bronson - Russell Wiggins - Harry Sands
- Gene Andrusco - David, the Deputy
- Joyce Cunningham - Bernice Wilson
- Jan Arvan - Martin, the Servant
- Jay Montgomery - Ted Wilson
- John AldermanJohn AldermanJohn Alderman was a praying Indian who shot and killed the rebellious Native American leader Metacomet in 1676, while taking part in a punitive expedition led by Captain Benjamin Church....
- Slater
Television debuts
The film was first shown in the United States on January 29, 1972, in Sweden on June 23, 1973, and in Great Britain in July 1985.Other notes
A television version of The Screaming Woman, much more faithful to the source material - the protagonist here, as in the original play and short story, is a little girl (played by Drew BarrymoreDrew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
) - was shown under that title as episode 5 in season 1 of The Ray Bradbury Theater
The Ray Bradbury Theater
The Ray Bradbury Theater is an anthology series that ran for two seasons on HBO, three episodes per season from 1985 to 1986, and four additional seasons on USA Network from 1988 to 1992. It was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel...
on February 22, 1986.