A psychopathic killer terrorizes a babysitter, then returns seven years later to menace her again.A psychopathic killer terrorizes a babysitter, then returns seven years later to menace her again.A psychopathic killer terrorizes a babysitter, then returns seven years later to menace her again.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
William Boyett
- Sgt. Sacker
- (as Bill Boyett)
Joseph Reale
- Bartender
- (as Joe Reale)
Carol Tillery Banks
- Mrs. Garber
- (as Carol O'Neal)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThroughout the opening segment, director Fred Walton gradually increases the feeling of suspense by making each subsequent phone call ring a bit louder than the previous one. They escalate from eerie to jarring and finally infuriating.
- GoofsBased on the year the film took place, 1 minute would not be nearly long enough to trace Curt's call. Back when the movie was set, it would've taken 10-20 minutes for several switchboards and circuits to locate the origin of the call.
- Quotes
Jill Johnson: [thinking it's Curt again] Leave me alone!
Sgt. Sacker: Jill, this is Sergeant Sacker. Listen to me. We've traced the call... it's coming from inside the house. Now a squad car's coming over there right now, just get out of that house!
- Crazy creditsEven though Columbia Pictures distributed this film, the Columbia Pictures logo does not appear.
- SoundtracksSpace Race
Performed by Billy Preston
Written by Billy Preston (uncredited)
Engineer Thomas Vicari (uncredited)
Producer Billy Preston (uncredited)
Courtesy of A&M Records
Featured review
Two Incredibly Frightening Sequences
There really is something to that old adage that if you grip the audience right away and end up giving them a good, strong finish, you're golden. When A Stranger Calls takes this to heart and serves up two genuinely terrifying 20 minutes sequences that are held together by a slow, plodding 2nd act that waddles along without much zip or excitement. For a thriller, it's not very thrilling.
The film starts off with a babysitter (the excellent Carol Kane whose expressive eyes could tell an entire 90 minute story without dialogue) being tormented by an obscene phone caller telling her to check the children. Anyone over the age of 10 has probably heard the classic legend that this section is based on and the payoff is, more or less, the same. It's a brilliant, suspenseful sequence that shows director Fred Walton as a master of his craft.
After this, we end up following the detective on the case (Charles Durning) who is looking for the child killer. That's essentially the next 40/50 minutes and it's about as exciting and gripping as an episode of Columbo. Try as the actors might, it just never gets off the ground until the killer decides to go after Kane's character in the present day where she has two young children of her own. Once that section begins, the film hits its stride again and ends on a high, terrifying note.
When A Stranger Calls is pretty much two really effective short films with a dull police procedural shoved in between it.
The film starts off with a babysitter (the excellent Carol Kane whose expressive eyes could tell an entire 90 minute story without dialogue) being tormented by an obscene phone caller telling her to check the children. Anyone over the age of 10 has probably heard the classic legend that this section is based on and the payoff is, more or less, the same. It's a brilliant, suspenseful sequence that shows director Fred Walton as a master of his craft.
After this, we end up following the detective on the case (Charles Durning) who is looking for the child killer. That's essentially the next 40/50 minutes and it's about as exciting and gripping as an episode of Columbo. Try as the actors might, it just never gets off the ground until the killer decides to go after Kane's character in the present day where she has two young children of her own. Once that section begins, the film hits its stride again and ends on a high, terrifying note.
When A Stranger Calls is pretty much two really effective short films with a dull police procedural shoved in between it.
helpful•231
- jamiemiller-07611
- Aug 1, 2019
- How long is When a Stranger Calls?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Das grauen kommt um zehn
- Filming locations
- Third Street Tunnel, Bunker Hill, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA(Clifford hunts the villain)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $21,411,158
- Gross worldwide
- $21,411,158
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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