Main Cast: Joan Crawford, John Ireland, Leif Erickson, Sarah Lane, Andi Garrett
Release Year: 1965
Country: US
Run Time: 82 minutes
Plot
With true William Castle-style flamboyance the advertisements for I Saw What You Did intrigued non-etymologically inclined audiences by warning them that this suspenseful thriller was about uxoricide. He then had some of the theaters where the film was shown equipped with seat belts so frightened audience members wouldn't flee the theater in a panic. It was a spooky film, but wasn't all that scary. The tale begins upon a dark and foggy night as two teenage girls, bored with their baby-sitting job, decide to have a little fun and make some prank phonecalls. Every time some hapless person answers, they whisper conspiritorally "I saw what you did. I know who you are." Unfortunately, they happen to call a man who has just murdered his wife --- in the shower no less! He takes the call seriously and so sets off into the night to find the girls and silence them forever. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review
This late-period William Castle thriller never hits the feverish heights of The Tingler or Homicidal but offers a few quirky delights for the patient viewer. The script's unusual combination of sub-Hitchcock thriller theatrics and Father Knows Best-styled moralizing never quite hits the fever pitch necessary for a top-notch thriller but is oddly compelling enough to keep the viewer involved. The performances are decent but lack the spark that would have enlivened the story: Sarah Lane and Andi Garrett are competent but not terribly charismatic as the teen heroines and John Ireland underplays his murderer role in a way that keeps it from being as menacing as it could have been. The one really memorable performance comes from Joan Crawford, who tears into her supporting role with a scenery-devouring vigor that is fun to watch. On the plus side, I Saw What You Did benefits from slick technical credits: Joseph Biroc's sharp black-and-white cinematography adds some much-needed atmosphere to the story and Van Alexander's swinging, Henry Mancini-esque score brings a certain period charm to the film. However, the best element of I Saw What You Did is William Castle's direction: He creates an inspired variation on Psycho's shower scene early in the film and creates a memorably spooky and intense finale in an isolated suburban home. In the end, I Saw What You Did is one of the lesser entries in the William Castle filmography but Joan Crawford's performance and a few flashes of Castle's campy showmanship make it worth a look for kitsch aficionados. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Sharyl Locke - Tess; Patricia Breslin - Ellie Mannering; John Archer - John Austin; John Crawford - Trooper; Joyce Meadows - Judith Marak; Douglas Evans - Tom Ward; Barbara Wilkin - Mary Ward
Credit
Alexander Golitzen - Art Director, Walter M. Simonds - Art Director, Frank Weatherwas - Consultant/advisor, William Castle - Director, Edwin H. Bryant - Editor, Van Alexander - Composer (Music Score), Joseph Biroc - Cinematographer, William Castle - Producer, George Milo - Set Designer, John McCarthy - Set Designer, William Castle - Screenwriter, William P. McGivern - Screenwriter, Ursula Curtiss - Book Author
When two mischievous teens, Kit (Sara Lane) and Libby (Andi Garrett) are home alone with Libby's younger sister, Tess, they begin randomly dialing telephone numbers and telling whomever answers: "I saw what you did, and I know who you are." One call is placed to Steve Marek (Ireland), a man who has recently murdered his wife (Joyce Meadows) and disposed of her body in the woods. Believing his crime is known, he decides to track down the girls and silence them. Neighbor Amy Nelson (Crawford) is in love with Marek and has been trying to woo him away from his wife. She inadvertently saves Libby from being killed and is stabbed to death by Marek. He then closes in on the girls but their parents and the police arrive in time to stop him from committing another homicide. Others in the cast include Patricia Breslin, Sharyl Locke, John Archer, and John Crawford.
Production notes
Advertisements for the movie read, "William Castle warns you: This is a motion picture about UXORICIDE!"[1] and, in an early trailer for the film, Castle advised the audience that a section of the theater would be installed with seat belts for audience members "who might be scared out of their seats". [2][3] The advertised gimmick was abandoned prior to the release of the film and never actually used. [4]
Reception
Saturday Review noted, "Unfortunately, there is little for the eye, ear, or mind in [the film]...The call, from teen-age pranksters [Lane and Garrett] probably seemed like a good "gimmick" on which to base an entire film. It isn't."
Variety commented, "[The film] is a well-produced, well-acted entry in the suspense-terror field...[the] slightest gesture or expression of [Crawford] conveys vivid emotion."[5]
