MIDNIGHT LACE (1981)

Gary Frank and Mary Crosby

MIDNIGHT LACE (1981 telefilm). Director: Ivan Nagy.

TV reporter Cathy Preston (Mary Crosby) is haunted by the fact that her mother, who heard voices and committed suicide, may have passed on her madness to her daughter. Cathy gets especially hysterical when she hears weird voices in the fog and on the telephone, and it seems as if someone is trying to kill her. This is a mediocre remake of the similarly-titled Doris Day thriller, with Gray Frank offering his usual sensitive performance as Cathy's supportive husband, Brian. Celeste Holm [Cinderella] is on hand as Cathy's aunt, along with brief turns from Carolyn Jones [The Man in the Net] as a nightclub psychic and Susan Tyrrell [From a Whisper to a Scream] as Cathy's boss, who thinks she's just a rich dilettante. Joanne Nail makes an impression as a crazy rock star named Luana, and Robin Clarke is fine as Craig, the family lawyer who's holding a few secrets too many. A miscast Shecky Greene isn't very good as the police lieutenant on the case.

Verdict: Stick with the original. **.

FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM

Vincent Price

FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM (aka The Offspring/1987). Director: Jeff Burr.

After Beth Chandler (Susan Tyrrell) witnesses the execution of murderess Katherine White (Martine Beswick of Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde), she visits White's father, Julian (Vincent Price), who tells her that his daughter was affected by the evil influence of the town of Oldfield. To illustrate his point, he relates several stories from varying time periods. Stanley Burnside (Clu Gulager) has a weird relationship with the sister (Miriam Byrd-Nethery) he lives with, but is developing a passion for a co-worker that leads to disaster. Jesse Hardwick (Terry Kiser), on the run from gangsters, runs into a very old man named Felder Evans (Harry Caesar), who has a life-sustaining potion that Jesse tries to kill for him, but Evans gets terrible revenge upon him. Steven Arden (Ron Brooks) is afraid to love Amarrillis (Didi Lanier) because he's scared of the "Snakewoman" (Rosalind Cash) who runs the carnival where he is employed as a glass eater. This voodoo priestess has terrible powers that keep everyone in thrall to her. Finally, during the very final days of the Civil War, Sgt. Gallen (Cameron Mitchell) and his fellow soldiers come afoul of a group of children who answer to a creepy "magistrate" who does not have the soldiers' best interests at heart. From this situation emerges the new and creepy Oldfield. From a Whisper to a Scream has EC Comics-style plots and features some good performances, especially from Price, Cameron [Pier 5 Havana], and Gulager in a well-done character turn.

Verdict: Absorbing if imperfect horror anthology with a more subdued Price in good form. **1/2.