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ACTOR
Anthony PerkinsJulie HarrisJoan HackettKent Smith
DIRECTOR
Curtis Harrington
SYNOPSICS
How Awful About Allan (1970) is a English movie. Curtis Harrington has directed this movie. Anthony Perkins,Julie Harris,Joan Hackett,Kent Smith are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1970. How Awful About Allan (1970) is considered one of the best Thriller movie in India and around the world.
After a fire which killed his father and scarred his sister, a guilt-ridden victim of psychosomatic blindness is released from a mental hospital and goes back home to stay with his estranged sister. However, it appears that someone is out for revenge and wants to drive him crazy.
Same Actors
Same Director
How Awful About Allan (1970) Reviews
Scarface at the Bates motel
Atmospheric psychological thriller has Perkins ideally cast as the brooding music lecturer, left psychosomatically blinded after he witnesses his father perish in a house fire, which also disfigures his elder sister (Harris). After spending eight months in a mental hospital he returns to the house and is cared for by his sister, but his recovery is hampered by the presence of a suspicious boarder who comes and goes under cloak of darkness, and who Perkins is convinced, is trying to kill him. It's sometimes tense and gripping, though the small-scale TV treatment confines the plot to strictly minor status. Hackett co-stars as the kindly neighbour, keen to help Perkins emerge from his deteriorating psychosis, while Kent Smith has a bit part as the once-feared patriarch, favoured by Harris but with whom Perkins' relationship was strained. Provokes an occasional shiver, but it's still a very timid tale that relies too much on the wind machines and 'dark, stormy night' routine, a consequence (but not necessarily an excuse) perhaps of the TV budget. There's a throwback moment to "Psycho" at the film's climax which might bring a smile to your face if you know what to look for, while the distinguished cast deliver their dialogue with stage-born professionalism and the overall result is a modest time-filler with potential.
A Blurry Good Time
Within the limitations of television, this was a tidy little entertainment. How Awful About Allan transcended the crummy cheapness that marred Made-for-TV movies from their historical onset. This pleasantly scary story was better than average because of its workmanlike performances, its unnerving story, and the fact that its main character, Tony Perkins, is not totally sympathetic. Even if you peg the reasons that Perkins has hysterical blindness (and it's wonderfully frustrating seeing the blurred images he's seeing) from the start, the movie accomplishes what it must do right from the start--it causes you to give a damn. You watch because you must. Finally, there's a special place in my heart for "Olive," played by the late, great Joan Hackett. She was a lovely woman whose quirky, passionate performances always seemed to lift the quality of a film an extra notch. Anthony Perkins and Julie Harris are just fine, too. So, get to a dollar store or the Wal-Mart dollar DVD kiosk, grab a copy of How Awful About Allan and swing by the warm blankey department--you're gonna need it.
Moody, creepy, intense, and effective psychological thriller.
For some inexplicable reason, this telefeature is but rarely accorded the respect it merits. In point of fact, it is a most accomplished, gripping, and well acted affair, from the days when a "made for TV" movie, could still boast performers, writing, and technical credentials of the first water. The story is an intense, psychological study of a young man suffering from hysterical blindness following the death of his professor father in a fire. Set in a large, shadowy, Victorian house, this very Gothic story hinges on the sibling rivalry between the young man and his spinster sister, both of whom blame themselves, in different ways, for their father's demise. Eventually, the young man's sanity begins to give way, in the face of a series of inexplicable hauntings, which may, or may not be supernatural. Only the denouement will tell. With its pronounced subtext of repressed, family guilt, the film has literary antecedents in the work of Shirley Jackson, Walter De La Mare, and Nathanial Hawthorne. Starring a cast of major (big screen) movie and stage actors, this film has everything that is conspicuously absent in current television: an excellent musical score, evocative photography, muted lighting, accomplished art direction, an interesting premise and script, intelligent dialogue, (gasp!)and a very good sense of pacing. Add to that, a baseline story that improves on the novel upon which it was based, (yes I read it) and you have a viewing experience very different from the "made for TV's" of today, which are,(I'm told--since I don't watch them) an endless stream of tedious, politically correct, AIDS,Anorexia, and spouse abuse victim propaganda studies--I believe the catch phrase is "victim of the week" stories.) All in all, "How Awful About Allan" serves as a sad reminder of what was still artistically possible in the world of commercial television, in the not too distant past.
Different interpretation
Don't read public reviews if you don't like spoilers. I think it is downright dumb to complain about spoilers on 40 year old films. I really liked this Hitchcockian style thriller with Anthony Perkins. You can find it on those inexpensive 100 pack scifi/horror DVD-sets. I have a different interpretation of the ending than the other viewers. Yes, Perkins had that Psycho moment expression on his face as he reads the end of his sister's letter. However, when he gets to the part where she wants to come home, his face begins to droop at the prospect of having her home again. She also tells him she needs him to take the necessary steps to get her released. At that point, his eyesight begins to fail again and his face droops unhappily again. Frankly, I disagree that the blindness was ever pretend and rather was the fear of having his crazy sister return which caused him to lose his sight again. Plus, there was satisfaction in the fact that he could not sponsor her release as she had requested, if he was disabled again. She would have to stay there. I believe the grin, just before his sight disappears is in regard to her reference as to how she didn't like it at the hospital and reminding him how he had disliked it as well. I believe the smile at that moment was in regard to the irony of her getting a taste of her own medicine since she had tried to force his reconfinement there by terrorizing him. Who would want a houseguest like that? Regardless of relation. Not to mention how convincing she was in hiding her insanity in the first place. How hard would it be for her to feign sanity again? His eyesight loss was always a condition of his mind. It's a wonder he didn't have other issues considering the relationship between his evil sister and father. There is the possibility that the second blindness at the end was on purpose but not the first time after the fire. Anytime we see Perkins smile on a film, we are always going to be reminded of Norman Bates. So we should think twice about tying that into an underlying theme when he plays a character role.
One of the best T.V movies I have ever seen period, as it's quite a chilling and creepy film, with a suspenseful story and amazing performances!
This is one of the best T.V movies I have ever seen period, as it's quite a chilling and creepy film, with a suspenseful story and amazing performances!. All the characters are fantastic, and the ending is a huge shocker and is extremely chilling, plus Anthony Perkins and Julie Harris are simply amazing in this!. It really worked well on the character development, and The blurred shots from Perkin's character's blurred vision in this were awesome and made the film even more interesting then it already was, plus It was unpredictable for me throughout. This is one of Perkin's finest performances, and that's saying a lot because he has delivered so many in my opinion, and it's extremely well made and written ,plus I loved the setting in the creepy old house. The opening is quite memorable and disturbing, and I got this in a DVD Horror set called A Taste Of Evil along with a bunch of other Horror films, as I had seen this once before and was happy to watch it again, plus I loved the music in it too!. This truly an underrated gem, however I do have one minor complaint and that's that it was too short as I wanted more, plus Joan Hackett is great as Olive and had a really cool character as the next door neighbor. I am so glad to have this on DVD now, and while it Doesen't have much violence or gore it didn't need it at all, plus the scenes that Creeped me out the most when ever Perkin's character heard his name being called (Allan,Allan), as it was very creepy. This should be a lot higher then 5.6 in my opinion, and this is one of Perkin's best films as well, plus another one of my favorite scenes is when Allan panics and starts driving the car around all over the place, as that was quite a clever scene in my opinion. It's got everything you want in an Horror/Mystery and it would have been cool if they did a follow up to this, plus I encourage all Horror fans to check this underrated gem out, and search for it because it's so rare but I believe it's well worth it!. This is one of the best T.V movies I have seen period, as it's quite a chilling and creepy film, with a suspenseful story and amazing performances, and I say Go see it now!, if you can find it. P.S For me it was extremely hard to guess who the person was that was trying to mess with Perkins, as I was seriously shocked with who it was at the end. The Direction is fantastic!. Curtis Harrington does a fantastic! job here with fantastic camera work, great POV shots, some really cool blurry shots, adding lots of creepy atmosphere using an awesome setting and just keeping the film at a very fast pace. The Acting is amazing!. Anthony Perkins is amazing as always and is amazing here, he is extremely likable, very creepy, mysterious was very intense, had a chilling scene with Julie Harris at the end, and you will feel for him and root for him to figuring out what's going on, he is the master at this type of stuff he once again gives an amazing performance! (Perkins Rules!!!!!!!!). Julie Harris is also amazing here, she is extremely likable, classy, very low key but in a good way, had some awesome scenes with Perkins, and was especially chilling at the end (Harris Rules!!!!). Joan Hackett is fantastic in her role here she was wonderfully perky very likable, cute and had a great character I loved her. Rest of the cast are fine. Overall go see it now if you can find it!. ***** out of 5