Tonight we gambled on another made-for-TV flick from Spooky Movie Dave, entitled "How Awful About Allan"(1970). So much for the old warning from English class : "Avoid Alliteration". It's a very effective title, though - at least I think so - because it uses the "innuendo" gimmick that was popular at the time. The potential viewer is left wondering : "What's so awful about Allan? What'd he do? What happened to him? Who the hell is Allan, anyway"?
In this case, he's Anthony Perkins, so you know that whatever his deal is, it's gonna be pretty awful indeed. The movie begins with a fire inside Allan's home, where he lives with his father and sister. Dad's bedroom is engulfed. He's trapped inside. Perkins looks on helplessly but there isn't much he can do. His sister Katherine (the great Julie Harris) rushes in to try and save their father, but her effort is in vain. He perishes in the flames and Katherine's face is burned.
The next we see of Allan, he's been confined to a mental institution. He's suffering from psychosomatic blindness, convinced the fire was his fault because he left some paint thinner near the heater. His shrink's been working hard to free him of his guilt. "You're not to blame, Allan. You left the paint thinner by accident. There's nothing wrong with your eyes. We must continue to work through this until your sight returns". Allan's been at the institute for eight months. When the doc gets him to admit he resented his father, his eyesight begins to return. All he can see is a blur, but it's enough for him to be sent home, where he returns to live with Katherine.
We find out that she was her father's favorite, while Allan - a quiet man who might be autistic - was browbeaten as a child. Their Dad was a professor at the local university and a strict disciplinarian, but he reserved all his punishments for Allan, while Katherine was treated like gold.
Now that he's back home, Allan tries to get along with his sister. He apologizes profusely for the damage to her face, which she covers with a prosthesis. He doesn't want to be a burden and tries to do things for himself, despite his blindness. But when Katherine announces that they'll be renting out a room, Allan draws the line. "I don't want anyone living here, Katherine. I have enough to worry about already". "He's only a college student", she explains. "He'll be gone most of the day". But the stalemate continues. Katherine rents the room and "Harold Dennis" moves in. He speaks only in a whisper, seems he had an accident too, that affected his vocal cords. Allan finds his presence even more unnerving than he feared, because he can't get a fix on Harold. He only appears as a blur. Allan can barely hear his voice, and when he does speak, he walks quickly away and leaves the house. It's as if he's trying to torment Allan, who hears strange messages in Harold's comments. He again complains to Katherine, but she vetoes his desire to evict Harold. "We need the money", she says.
The siblings have a neighbor named "Olive" (Joan Hackett). She's a kindly soul who takes an interest in Allan's plight. Olive brings him food and spends time with him, trying to draw Allan out of himself. One day, she suggests a brief trip. "How'd you like to take a ride with me? I'm just going over to the university to drop off some books, but the fresh air would do you good, Allan. C'mon, let's go". He trusts Olive enough to accompany her, but when they get to the college library and he is alone in the car, Allan hears the voice of Harold Dennis. Outside, the people look like blobs. He can't make out which one is Harold but the voice continues and it once again has those Strange Messages for him. Allan gets so scared that he starts the car and drives off. Because he can't see, he soon crashes.
Back home, Olive is apologetic. "It was my fault for asking you to come with me before you were ready". But Allan doesn't want to talk about his condition. He wants to talk about Harold, who he believes is deliberately out to get him, and for a specific reason : because of the fire.
"I think Harold knows me, knew me before he moved in. He may even be someone I know, using an assumed name". Allan finds a letter from Katherine's old boyfriend, stating that he's moved back to town. Is he "Harold Dennis"? The boyfriend never did like Allan, treated him like a weirdo. Is he now trying to force Allan back to the asylum?
Allan enlists Olive's help, but she's sworn to secrecy. As much as she cares about him, she's also friends with Katherine, who insists that her boyfriend has nothing to do with it. "He's not Harold Dennis"!, she repeats. Fed up by now, Katherine acquiesces to Allan's wish. "I've asked Harold to leave. He'll be moving out tomorrow". But is that true? Who is Harold, and why does he whisper insinuations about the fire that killed Father? How would he even know about it?
"How Awful About Allan" is a "drive the victim crazy" story in the mode of "Baby Jane" or "Let's Scare Jessica To Death" (another great TV Movie title). In this case, however, the victim is Perkins, who may be blind but he's not gullible. He's a pretty good detective. Also, like Norman Bates, he's suspicious of everyone around him except Olive. He knows that Katherine is only housing him out of duty. We see childhood flashbacks of her mocking poor Allan, while the father berates him. Now all of a sudden she's become the Caring Sister? Allan doesn't believe it. If she cares so much, why did she insist on renting to Harold Dennis?
The movie has that claustrophobic feel that comes with a small cast and no "outside world" for them to turn to. Allan has only Olive, but she's friendly with Katherine. You couldn't have three better actors than Perkins, Joan Hackett (who sadly died young), and Julie Harris, whose performance opposite James Dean in "East of Eden" is one of the greatest you will ever see. It's mostly Anthony Perkins' film, though, and he doesn't disappoint (did he ever?). This is more along the lines of your classic TV Movie, and while it's not one of the truly scary ones, it'll still run some chills down your spine. There will be a couple of twists as well, including one that you may or may not see coming.
This is more like it, after the horrible "Horror at 37,000 Feet". "How Awful About Allan" gets Two Solid Thumbs Up and a strong recommendation for the acting and atmosphere. See it. //////
I'm at home on my afternoon break. Gonna read some "Giza Death Star", then head out on a CSUN walk before going back to Pearl's. Hope your Summer is off to an awesome start! See you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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