Nobody will listen to dotty widow Olivia de Havilland when she tries to convince anyone and everyone--her son, the police, her neighbors, her doctor--that she hears a woman's voice calling for help from below the ground on her property. Although hysterical, Olivia is able to relate her findings succinctly--however, since she was just released from a sanitarium, her anxiety is determined to be the product of a faulty mental state. Infuriating TV-made adaptation of a Ray Bradbury short story (initially a 1940s radio play) is top-heavy with villains, although the leading lady is riveting while trying to stay one step ahead of her relatives. Writer Merwin Gerard doesn't have enough main narrative to work with, forcing him to pad the proceedings with background detail on a cheating husband, also a wicked daughter-in-law eager to take control of Olivia's estate. Eliminate the dross and you might have a solid thriller here. Remade again for television as part of "The Ray Bradbury Theater" in 1986.
Review of The Screaming Woman
