jeanne sakata is an american film , television and stage actress and playwright .

her appearances include supporting roles in episodes of knots landing , la law , port charles , providence , family law , er , desperate housewives and others .

her first appearance on the big screen was in 1992 in the erotic thriller poison ivy .

in 2005 , she appeared in a minor role as a field reporter in the action film xxx : state of the union .

in 2002 she won the ovation award for lead actress in a play , for her performance in chay yew 's red , at ewp .

in 2007 , her first play , dawn 's light : the journey of gordon hirabayashi premiered at ewp .

the play was later retitled as hold these truths .

jeanne sakata

this sunday , there will be a q & a with hold these truths playwright jeanne sakata after the 2pm performance .
( l - r ) pasadena playhouse , producing artistic director danny feldman ; playwright jeanne sakata ; actor ryun yu and director jessica kubzansky at the opening of hold these truths at pasadena playhouse .
thank you , jeanne for taking your considerable time to enlighten my fellow asian - americans ' history .
jeanne sakata is an asian american film , television and stage actress and playwright whose work is known for provoking public conversation about culturally significant topics . jeanne ' s career spans across theater , film , television , and voiceover . in 2015 , her celebrated solo play hold these truths was selected to be featured in seattle ' s act . . .
i was most excited to get jeanne ' s insight on this dark and deplorable episode of american history .
an interview with playwright jeanne sakata about her play hold these truths , performed at the pasadena playhouse until june 25th . it tells the story of gordon hirabayashi , a civil rights leader who took his fight against japanese american internment in world war ii all the way to the supreme court .
joel de la fuente stars in jeanne sakata’s one - man show inspired by the true story of first generation japanese american and courageous civil rights leader gordon hirabayashi . challenging the forcible removal of all people of japanese ancestry on the west coast , gordon journeys toward a greater understanding of america’s triumphs—and a confrontation with its failures .
in december 2011 , jeanne was honored with an outstanding artist award for her career achievements by los angeles’ asian pacific american friends of the theatre .
sakata ' s first appearance on the big screen was in the 1992 erotic thriller poison ivy . in 2005 she appeared in a minor role as a field reporter in xxx : state of the union .
has attracted rave reviews from the new yorker , washington post and ap critics , as well as additional raves across the country . the script , published in japan studies association journal in 2010 , is currently on display at the library of congress playwrights archive in the asian american pacific islander collection in washington dc , where the jeanne sakata collection was established in july 2011 .
jeanne resides in los angeles with her husband tim , and together they enjoy traveling , cooking and baking , reading , writing , hiking , charity work , and music .
the epic theatre ensemble ' s new york premiere of jeanne sakata ' s solo play hold these truths ( formerly known as dawn ' s light : the journey of gordon hirabayashi ) , starring joel de la fuente , and helmed by lisa rothe , has been extended through november 25 , 2012 at the theatre at the 14th street y in new york . as gordon hirabayashi , de la fuente is a revelation in his nuanced tour - de - force portrayal of gordon , seamlessly transforming into 30 + other characters throughout the course of the play . i sat down to chat with jeanne sakata to talk about her inspiration to write gordon hirabayashi ' s life story , how she did her research , why she chose the solo show format and what she hopes audiences will take away from de la fuente ' s performance . urltoken
wow ! just from your answers , i can feel how close to your heart and passionate you are about this . i cannot wait to see hold these truths . thank you again , jeanne !
this evening’s performance will be followed by a special talkback featuring playwright jeanne sakata , actor joel de la fuente , kathryn bannai ( the first lead attorney on the hirabayashi case ) , and activist suki ports . g . w . ( greg ) kimura , president / ceo of the japanese american national museum in los angeles , california , will moderate the conversation on the legacy of the hirabayashi case in the context of asian american struggles for civil rights .
ten years ago , actress / playwright jeanne sakata began writing down her various thoughts on her personal connections with the subject matter of her dawn ' s light : the journey of gordon hirabayashi . through various reincarnations over the last decade , and a title change to hold these truths ; jeanne will be opening her play at the pasadena playhouse , in association with the east west players , may 30 , 2017 . hold these truths recalls the true story of gordon hirabayashi , a university of washington student , who began a 50 - year quest to right the wrongs to his family and his fellow japanese - americans who were relocated to internment camps in world war ii .
throughout her more than 30 - year career , jeanne has been honored as an actor for dynamic portrayals in both comedy and drama . called a “local treasure” by the los angeles times , her talent has been reflected onscreen in
is a renowned actor and playwright known for using her passion , versatility , talent and wit to provoke public conversation about culturally significant topics . jeanne’s talents span across theater , film , television , and voiceover , with upcoming productions in 2017 - 18 of her nationally acclaimed solo play
jeanne sakata : initially , the inspiration came from john de graaf’s fascinating documentary film a personal matter : gordon hirabayashi vs . the united states , where i learned about gordon for the very first time in the 1990s , and which you can now watch online . then further inspiration came from peter irons’ book the courage of their convictions which featured a couple of chapters on gordon ; sansei poet david mura’s poem gardens we have left , which mentions the deep impact that meeting gordon had on him ; and of course , gordon’s own writings – articles , interviews , and letters he wrote in wwii as a college student at the university of washington .
sakata has performed in many stage productions , working often with east west players ( ewp ) in los angeles . in 2002 she won the ovation award for lead actress in a play for her performance in chay yew ' s red at ewp . in 2007 , her first play , dawn ' s light : the journey of gordon hirabayshi , premiered at ewp .
earlier this year , jeanne’s voice work was featured in jennifer phang’s acclaimed indie film advantageous , which world premiered at the sundance film festival’s u . s . dramatic competition , and followed by showings in new york , los angeles , and san francisco . other feature film credits include playing mom wanda to olivia munn in the comedy the babymakers , xx2 : state of the union , and american fusion .
well known to los angeles theater fans , jeanne performed in the 2011 - 2014 seasons in the brothers paranormal at la jolla playhouse , blood at the geffen playhouse , hannah and the dread gazebo at the ojai playwrights conference , a cage of fireflies at the sundance institute theatre lab , seven at usc as cambodian human rights activist mu sochua and in julia cho’s the language archive at east west players . an la ovation award winner for best lead actress for her cross - gender portrayal of master hua in chay yew’s red at ewp , jeanne has performed regionally with the public theater , lincoln center theater , kennedy center , mark taper forum , la jolla playhouse , south coast rep , american conservatory theater , northlight theatre , intiman theatre , berkeley rep , a contemporary theatre , portland center stage , syracuse stage and the arizona theatre company . she received a 2013 monaco charity film festival award for best actress for her work in the indie film adultolescence , a stagescene “best of 2007” outstanding performance mention for her performance as maria callas in ewp’s master class , an entertainment today award for best supporting actress in chay yew’s a winter people at theatre @ boston court , and a dramalogue award for outstanding performance for her work in jean genet’s the maids at ewp .
a limited number of a / p / a - sponsored tickets are available for this performance and talkback . for nyu students , tickets are free ( limit 1 ) , but must be reserved with a $ 5 deposit ; for non - students , tickets are discounted ( limit 2 ) and priced at $ 10 each . please email apa . rsvp @ urltoken for more information or to make a reservation , indicating the number of tickets desired ( for non - student rate ) and nyu id # if you are a student .
hold these truths will be at the theatre at the 14th street y from october 21 to november 18 , 2012 . please visit http : / / epictheatreensemble . org for additional information on showtimes and ticketing .
co - sponsored by the japanese american association of new york , japanese american national museum , and japanese american citizens league ny .
unless otherwise noted , all content copyright new york university . all rights reserved .
the supreme court was right to overturn korematsu . now it needs to overrule hirabayashi
@ elmunc ' s wonderful essay in la times on # gordonhirabayashi ' s supreme court case - - a warning for us today . urltoken
@ ctschroeder please join us carrie , and bring everyone you know - - we ' d love to meet you . 🙏
friends ! check out this terrific interview with @ joeldelafuente , starring as # gordonhirabayashi in # holdthesetruths @ theatreworks , directed by @ lisamarierothe 7 / 11 - 8 / 5 . thanks @ mercnews ! # bayareatheatre urltoken
buzzing comedies such as the spy who dumped me await you in our summer movie guide . check in for all the info you need .
- listen to the rain on the roof ( 2006 ) . . . li wang
- i ' m your boogie man ( 2004 ) . . . mai lin
- suffer unto me the children . . . ( 2003 ) . . . nguyen
- good to the last drop ( 1991 ) . . . foreperson # 1
- do not attempt to remove ( 1990 ) . . . shopper # 4
: played
prudencia
in
the house of bernarda alba
, a play by ' federico garcia lorca ' , adapted by chay yew ( mark taper forum , los angeles , california , usa ) .
enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with prime video .
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urltoken
nspired by the true story of civil rights pioneer gordon hirabayashi , to whom president obama posthumously awarded a presidential medal of freedom , the nation’s highest civilian honor , in 2012 . after its world premiere in 2007 at east west players , and subsequent workshops with the lark play development center and the the new york theatre workshop , the play made its off - broadway debut in 2012 with the epic theatre ensemble , and has since been performed at pasadena playhouse , portland center stage , the guthrie theater , perseverance theatre , seattle’s act theatre , playmakers repertory company , honolulu theatre for youth ( co - produced with daniel dae kim ) , terranova collective , people’s light & theatre , plays and players , coachella valley rep , and silk road rising .
a justin lin ( fast & furious 6 ) yomyomf youtube webseries . a recipient of the la ovation award for best lead actress for her cross - gender portrayal of master hua in chay yew’s
she has recently developed and performed new works with the la jolla playhouse , geffen playhouse , sundance theatre institute and ojai playwrights conference , as well as the east west players , the nation’s premiere asian american theatre . she has also performed with the public theater , lincoln center theater , kennedy center , mark taper forum , south coast rep , american conservatory theater , northlight theatre , intiman theatre , berkeley rep , a contemporary theatre , portland center stage , syracuse stage and the arizona theatre company , and is a member of la’s acclaimed classical group , the antaeus company . other special honors include the 2016 lee melville award for outstanding contribution to the los angeles theatre community from playwrights’ arena , los angeles’ pacific american friends of theatre outstanding artist award , city of pasadena certificate of recogntion for
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hold these truths
was first produced in 2007 by east west players under the title
dawn ' s light : the journey of gordon hirabayashi .
the current production at pasadena playhouse is directed by jessica kubzansky and stars ryun yu who directed and performed in the first run . can you talk about this play ' s 10 year journey ?
we’ve been very fortunate in that we’ve had several different productions that have happened across the country in that 10 - year span . after ryun and jess premiered the play at east west players in 2007 and took it to silk road rising in chicago , lisa rothe directed joel de la fuente in a production at the epic theatre ensemble in new york , that subsequently went to playmakers repertory honolulu theatre for youth , act seattle , and the guthrie . jess and ryun also took the play for a second time to act seattle , then portland center stage , and next year , they’ll be at the arena stage .
leslie ishii directed greg watanabe in a perseverance theatre production , and there have also been two other director - actor teams : daniel student and makoto hirano at players and players , and ron celona and blake kushi at caochella valley rep . marty yu played gordon in the first east west players high school tour . and finally , michael hisamoto will be doing the role in december at lyric stage company , directed by benny sato ambush . so , yes , literally an embarrassment of riches in terms of the brilliant artists and dear friends that have brought hold these truths to life over the last 10 years .
when i first wrote the play , it was intended to be told only from the very personal perspective of gordon himself . after our world premiere in 2007 , i got a chance to workshop the play with the new york theatre workshop , and the main feedback there was that it would be a more powerful play if gordon’s personal narrative were juxtaposed against the larger narrative about the social and political forces operating in 1940s america that led to this mass incarceration of american citizens .
the main reaction i’ve gotten over the years is astonishment from audience members that they have never heard of gordon . his story is simply not in our history books , and that’s a real shame .
also , as our country’s politics have lurched to the right , with hate crimes against minority groups and anti - immigrant hysteria terrifyingly on the rise , more and more audience members seem to be viewing gordon’s story as almost a direct response to threats and tragedies happening here and now .
one of the best moments for sure , was when the hirabayashi family – gordon’s wife , children , nephews and grandchildren all came down to see the play in seattle . they loved the play , which was deeply gratifying , and i even ended up babysitting gordon’s great - grandchild in the lobby so that his granddaughter could watch the show !
the greatest challenge was writing the first rough draft , which incorporated tons of historical research—facts , data . but , above all , i wanted the play to tell a great story , vibrant and alive , and not just be a recitation of those facts . so i had to do a lot of cutting and reworking before i felt i had achieved that .
the title
hold these truths
refers to the passage of the declaration of independence ,
we hold these truths to be self - evident : that all men are created equal .
can you talk about your thoughts on this as it applied in world war ii for japanese americans , and how this might apply now ?
i think it would have been very difficult for most of the wwii japanese american community members to “hold the truths” of their constitutional rights during that period of wartime , so rife with fear and hysteria and racial hostility , and to defy the government orders as gordon did .
many went into the camps , hoping that by cooperating with the government’s orders , they would win the trust of the american government , and also the trust of their fellow americans .
culturally , many were not brought up to resist the group dynamic , as japanese culture emphasizes the group over the individual , and putting the group’s needs first . that’s why gordon’s defiance dismayed and shocked so many in his own community .
today , if the government ordered americans of asian ancestry into concentration camps , i think the reaction would be very different – i think there would be much more active and impassioned resistance , because we have been able to absorb the lessons of our parents’ suffering .
i didn’t have a specific process in mind when i started out – i just plunged in with great passion for the story , knowing that i had terrific mentors like chay yew , len berkman , and so many others to whom i owe so much .
my script is based on personal interviews that i and historians , including roger daniels , had with gordon , as well as letters and articles that gordon wrote . i also drew heavily from dr . peter irons’ book justice at war , and my research on the wwii seattle japanese american community .
in the script , i often used direct quotes of gordon’s and stuck to the events as they actually happened whenever possible , but real life doesn’t always fit into the structure of a good drama , so there is also some ficitonalization of events and conversations in the play , and some chronological changes and compression of events .
in this production , gordon hirabayashi is played by ryun yu , who ' s not ethnically japanese ( it seems , please correct me if i ' m wrong ! ) . have people ever taken issue with this for your play or has this mainly been a non - issue ?
gordon has been played by a korean american , a chinese american , a filipino american and three japanese americans – and gordon’s wife told me she thought gordon himself would have been very pleased by that ! it hasn’t been much of an issue , as i don’t think this particular play demands an exact match of ethnicity . the larger requirement is that the actor cast can command a stage for 90 minutes solo , can bring gordon alive in a dramatically wonderful way , and have the versatility and virtuosity to create some 30 - plus other characters of different genders , ages , ethnicities and dialects !
that’s a huge topic , and i can’t cover it all here , but off the top of my head , i think of the phrase “two steps forward and one step back . ”
there are reasons to be encouraged . there are more asian american series regulars than ever before , more indie filmmakers and screenwriters who are doing stellar work . there are amazing asian american playwrights who are in the spotlight now and who are getting regularly produced at our country’s leading regional theaters .
but that progress is still slowed by whitewashing and limited perceptions on how apas can , and should , be cast .
i hope first , that they will be inspired and uplifted to have shared in a great american story , so little known by most of the country , as i was . i hope they will feel the urgency of recognizing that we can never take our freedom and our constitutional rights for granted , that we have to be willing to fight for them , not just for ourselves , but for future generations . and i hope gordon’s quiet heroism , his persistence and heart , will remind each of us that in our own individual ways , we can take small steps to build a world that may not be here yet , but that is still to come .
8 p . m . tuesdays - fridays , 4 and 8 p . m . saturdays , 2 and 7 p . m . sundays ; ends june 25
this interview was edited for clarity and length , and cross - published in alhambra source .
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first - person essays , features , interviews and q & as ; about life today .
you had the world premiere of your hold these truths ten years ago at the east west players . how does it feel to celebrate its 10 - year anniversary coming full circle with east west involved with the pasadena playhouse this month ?
it feels incredibly gratifying . east west players launched the play in 2007 with our world premiere , and since the script ( then titled dawn ' s light ) was new and untested , it was still in a lot of flux . i have vivid memories of wrestling with the script with jessica ( kubzansky , hold these truths ' director ) and ryun ( yu , the original gordon ) , who both contributed so generously to its development , along with the rest of the team - we were dissecting , cutting , adding , exploring moments from every angle , and then there was the thrill of watching it all come to life onstage for the very first time . and i remember walking into the gorgeous interior of the pasadena playhouse as a young actor , and hoping i would get to work there someday . so , this feels like a special l . a . homecoming in more ways than one .
in the 1990 ' s , i saw on pbs , a documentary film made by john de graaf called a personal matter : hirabayashi vs . the united states , where i first learned about gordon . and i was just floored , because here was this absolutely riveting story about a young japanese - american college student who had taken such a brave stand for his rights as an american citizen , and i had never heard about him . it was fascinating , and enthralling , and also upsetting at the same time . i asked myself the same question that many people ask when they come to see the play -
why haven ' t i heard this story before ? why isn ' t it in our history books ?
after that , i became absolutely obsessed with the story and determined that i was going to find out everything i could about it .
that ' s right . gordon adamantly refused to register for the camps on several occasions , baffling and confounding officials who couldn ' t figure out what to do with him . so , he never set foot in the camps as a prisoner , although he did visit a couple of them .
his immediate family - his mother and father : mitsu and shungo , and his sister and brothers : esther , richard , james and edward - they were all prisoners behind barbed wire at tule lake , along with all of his relatives who lived anywhere on the west coast .
yes , i actually met gordon and his two brothers ed and james , all on the same day . gordon was visiting in california ' s bay area and he needed a ride from james ' place in mill valley to ed ' s in glen ellen , so he suggested i give him a ride and said we could do my first interview with him up at ed ' s . so , my husband and i drove him up there . gordon and ed started reminiscing over lunch and pretty soon they were just laughing and ribbing each other and telling stories about when they were kids . so i just sat there listening , taking it all in . and a story that ed told about the family
ofuro ,
or their japanese - style outdoor wooden bath , made it into the beginning of the play . later on , when i finished a first rough draft , james read it and gave me a lot of great suggestions as well . he also sent me writings by shungo and mitsu , their parents , and more anecdotes and historical details . and finally , in seattle , i met and became good friends with his sister , esther , who passed away only recently ; she was the last surviving hirabayashi sibling .
my father ' s side of the family was living in my hometown of watsonville , california , on the west coast when wwii broke out - so , yes , my father and my aunts and uncles , and my grandparents , all had to pack up with just a few days ' notice , and abandon their homes and schools and business , and they were all imprisoned in the poston camp in arizona .
no , never . if it was ever mentioned , it was in a very oblique way , and then they would quickly change the subject . later on , when i was older , and i was determined to learn more about the camps , i would ask my father questions ; but it was clear from his silences that he didn ' t want to discuss it . i didn ' t get much further with my aunts and uncles - just little bits of information given here and there , but almost secretively , like they weren ' t supposed to talk about it out loud . you could feel how deeply those experiences were buried , how traumatic it must have been for them
allegiance was a tremendous achievement , and i take my hat off to all who had a hand in its making . if you had told me years ago there would be a broadway musical telling the story of the wwii japanese - american concentration camps in my lifetime , i ' m not sure i would have believed it . watching it onstage , i wished my parents were still alive , so that they ' d witness their history being acknowledged on the american stage like that . and i think what allegiance did so successfully was to illuminate the very painful schisms that emerged in the japanese - american community by the internees being forced to declare whether they would : 1 ) be willing to fight in the armed forces for the united states , and 2 ) be willing to swear unqualified allegiance to the united states and forswear all allegiance to the japanese emperor . the paralyzing question of whether to answer
yes , yes
or
no , no
caused great panic and turmoil in the camps and tragically set friend against friend , family member against family member , often for a lifetime . the lasting impression i have of allegiance is watching george stand onstage at the end as the elderly sam kimura , finally forced against his will to come to terms with that schism in his community , in his family , in his own scarred psyche . it ' s a powerful moment i won ' t ever forget , especially knowing george as a friend , and all he went through during wwii with his own family .
i ' ve been in touch with susan carnahan , gordon ' s second wife , over the years , and so when she told me that the hirabayashi family was going to the white house to accept the medal of freedom ' s on gordon ' s behalf , i was just so happy for all of them - and for gordon ' s legacy , because he has been an unsung american hero for so many decades , and still unknown to many americans . i wish this had happened in his lifetime , to have been honored at the very same white house whose occupants persecuted him in the 1940 ' s for standing up for the constitution . and when i watched the ceremony on the white house website , and president obama giving gordon ' s medal to susan , it was incredibly moving .
this happened when i was having talks with the epic theatre ensemble and others in new york about an east coast production . it was suggested that dawn ' s light , while being a beautiful image , didn ' t actually tell you much about what actually happens in the play . so , the brainstorming began for a new title . and i started riffing on phrases from the constitution , from the preamble , from the declaration , the most obvious of these being
we hold these truths . . .
. and my friend zak berkman , one of the epic ' s founders , said ,
hey , what about that phrase without the ' we ' ?
and i knew that would be a great new title , because that is exactly what gordon tries so hard to do through all the twists and turns of this unpredictable journey - to just hold on to the truths of the constitution , and not let go , no matter what .
you bring hold these truths to high schools . why did you condense your 90 - minute show to half its length to tour schools ? was that to better fit into school class period restraints ?
marty yu , the actor that did the first east west players school tour , told me this great story about when he did the play at a high school with a large asian population . when the play finished , these students all jumped to their feet , cheering , and then they rushed up to marty and surrounded him , all wanting to talk . they wanted to help him take down the set , and help him carry the props to the car . and that meant a great deal to me , because when i was a young student growing up at a time when so few people on tv or in the magazines , or in the history books looked like me ; i know how much it would have meant to have a performer of asian ancestry come to my school , and share the story of an asian - american hero .
you are working with director jessica kubzansky and ryun yu as gordon hirabayashi again . ryun was the original gordon and has played the role in numerous productions since the first . any major changes or just minor tweaks between this production and the original 2007 east west production ? any specifics you kept in from the abridged school version ?
with the invaluable input of jess and ryun , i ' d actually made a number of changes in my original script for our ewp premiere . and then afterwards , one more change came about when i had the opportunity to do more work on the play with the new york theatre workshop at their dartmouth residency . up to that point , i had exclusively focused on gordon ' s personal journey in fighting the us government ' s racially targeted curfew order , and later , executive order 9066 . at dartmouth , and working this time with the east coast team of director lisa rothe and actor joel de la fuente , who each made wonderful contributions of their own , i discussed the play with jim nicola , linda chapman and geoffrey scott , who felt the play could benefit by addressing some additional questions : how did this mass violation of thousands of american citizens ' constitutional rights occur ? what were the social and political forces at work that allowed it happen ? who was responsible ? who could have stopped it and didn ' t ? they suggested some answers to these questions would be a great counterpoint to gordon ' s personal quest for justice . so , i added some of that content , and it gave the play a scope and breadth that i ' ve been very pleased with .
hold these truths lives on as you ' re taking it to dc ' s arena stage next year from february 23 through april 8 . any other plans for it ? more school tours ?
i n addition to the arena stage production next year , i ' m excited there will also be two new productions in 2017 in massachusetts - at the new century theatre in south hadley , massachusetts , july 27th to august 5th ; and the lyric stage company in boston , december 1st to 31st . there are also plans being developed to take the play as a dramatic staged reading into colleges , where it would be accompanied with a talk about the wwii japanese - american experience . and i ' m hoping to work on a screenplay soon !
years ago , after one of our very first staged readings in the ctg playwrights ' group , a mexican - american woman in the audience said that the way ryun played gordon , with such an engaging
everyman
quality , along with the ordinary circumstances of gordon ' s college life that had been so similar to her own - dorm life , dating , struggling to pay her tuition , struggling with racial discrimination , experiencing that first political awakening - that all these things made her feel like she was gordon . so much so that in the play , when he was suddenly thrust into extraordinary circumstances where he had to make some agonizing choices , she felt that shock and confusion right along with him . and i think that ' s what we are ultimately hoping for - that our audiences will identify in a very personal way with gordon , that they will feel they are walking in his shoes . i ' m sure gordon himself would wish to impress upon us all , that it is up to each of us to fight to protect our rights as american citizens , that we can never take them for granted . as echoed in the title of john de graaf ' s documentary film , the constitution is a personal matter . it is only a piece of paper unless , we as american citizens , safeguard it and give it life .
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actor / author , hold these truths , inspired by gordon hirabayashi . join us at theatreworks in the bay area , july 11 - august 5 , 2018 !
gordon hirabayashi ' s wife susan has given # holdthesetruths the best review of all :
gordon would have been thrilled .
urltoken
it’s a good time to remember that 3 days ago a school teacher named @ kristinminkdc spoke truth to power , confronting pruitt in a restaurant . the next day pruitt was trending on twitter . we should all have her moral courage and raise our voices . they’re needed now more than ever .
the supreme court was right to overturn korematsu . now it needs to overrule hirabayashi
la - oe - muller - korematsu - hirabayashi - 20180703 - story . html
has begun ! see joel de la fuente as gordon hirabayashi , an unsung american hero , telling the story of japanese internment . buy tickets now !
last week ice reportedly encouraged a brazilian father seeking asylum to accept deportation in order to be reunited with his son . he refused . here he describes what living through family separation feels like .
justice kennedy ' s replacement will be another vote to strike down the aca and pre - existing condition protections . the health care security hotline is up : 1 - 866 - 426 - 2631 call and pass it on ; key points and sample script below urltoken
as a career prosecutor , i actually went after gangs and transnational criminal organizations . that ' s being a leader on public safety . what is not , is ripping babies from their mothers . urltoken
be bold . be courageous . never be afraid to speak up and speak out . together we can build a more perfect union . # goodtrouble
“through a lot of my work , i’m always trying to parse and understand what might really be chinese as opposed to the stereotypical or westernized views of what is chinese . ” –
sen . kamala harris at the families belong together march in los angeles :
we are better than this .
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her television credits include ncis los angeles , tyler perry’s meet the browns , desperate housewives , er , threat matrix , line of fire , presidio med , american family , numb3rs , john ridley’s i got you , the mow’s the reading room , hiroshima , consensual relations .
hold these truths - in act ' s 50th anniversary mainstage season , july 17 - august 16 , 2015 . also july - august 2014 , 4 performances in central heating lab


when a stranger calls is a 1979 american psychological horror film .

it was directed by fred walton and stars carol kane and charles durning .

the film derives its story from the classic folk legend of " the babysitter and the man upstairs " and the 1974 horror classic black christmas .

the film was commercially successful , grossing $ 21,411,158 at the box office , though it received a mixed critical reception .

it was followed by the 1993 made-for-television sequel when a stranger calls back and a remake in 2006 .

the film has developed a cult following over time because of the first 20 minutes , now consistently regarded as one of the scariest openings in horror movie history .

the opening sequence was largely influential for the horror genre and was paid homage to in wes craven 's scream in the latter film 's opening 12 minutes .

when a stranger calls ( 1979 film )

with the headline : screen : a killer returns in ‘when a stranger calls’ .
when a stranger calls is a 1979 psychological horror film . it was directed by fred walton and stars carol kane , tony beckley and charles durning . it was followed by the 1993 made - for - television sequel when a stranger calls back and a remake in 2006 .
pick up the phone : giving when a stranger calls another shot | birth . movies . death .
after the service , he started working at the hal roach studios as a film loader . peterman ' s first feature film credit as director of photography was
when a stranger calls
in 1979 .
when a stranger calls
is also one of the main horror movie inspirations for the scream franchise .
when a stranger calls ( 1979 ) . slasher film . director - fred walton . stars : carol kane , charles durning . moria - the science - fiction , horror and fantasy film review .
i know what you did last summer , when a stranger calls , vacancy - bd triple feature . . .
list of the best movies of 1979 , with movie trailers when available . in 1979 films like apocalypse now had us quoting memora . . .
when a stranger calls is a horror movie that uses the calls are coming from inside the house as a plot . it plays with the urban legend of
the babysitter and the man upstairs
.
when a stranger calls is a 1979 american psychological horror film it was directed by fred walton and stars carol kane and charles durning the film derives its story from the classic folk legend of the babysitter and the man upstairs and the 1974 horror classic black christmas the film was commercially successful grossing $ 21 411 158 at the box office though it received a mixed critical reception it was followed by the 1993 television film sequel when a stranger calls back and a remake in 2006 .
did you know there is a sequel to when a stranger calls ? i’m not taking about the remake that came out in 2006 . a direct sequel to the original 1979 film exists , a made - for - television film from 1993 called when a stranger calls back . i’ve known this for about a year or so , but thanks to youtube , i was able to view the whole film online today while sick in bed . it keeps the feel of the first film , but contains a few plot holes .
this page uses content from wikipedia . the original article was at when a stranger calls ( 1979 film ) . the list of authors can be seen in the page history . as with horror film wiki , the text of wikipedia is available under the gnu free documentation license .
carl denham ( robert armstrong ) remarks in willis o’brien’s king kong ( 1933 ) that “every legend has a basis of truth” and when a stranger calls is no exception . a
urltoken when a stranger calls : carol kane , charles durning , colleen dewhurst , rutanya alda , fred walton , doug chapin , steve feke , inc . simon film prods . : movies & tv
10 mandrakis residence ( when a stranger calls , 2006 ) many a gen - xer will recall the original when a stranger calls , but unlike the urban house of that 1979 spine - tingler , the remake is set in a modernist mansion on a bucolic hill . as teenage babysitter jill johnson starts to receive spooky calls from a stranger – “have you checked on the children ? ” – she runs up floating wood stairs , takes shelter in a central greenhouse and is terrorized by the intruder’s silhouette against all those translucent surfaces . the real horror : this awesome house is just a set , and doesn’t actually exist .
during their christmas break , a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger .
vader breath : many of the phone calls made by the titular stranger consist of his creepy , heavy breathing .
as a big fan of the 1979 version of when a stranger calls , i was always disappointed by the unnecessary sub - plot in the movie ' s second act . it is a much stronger piece , and scarier as a short film . as a fun experiment , i tightened some scenes and cut the second act sub - plot . enjoy .
sinister silhouettes : the stranger , combined with face framed in shadow , when he ' s first revealed .
the film was originally a short called “the sitter” and was basically the first 20 minutes of when a stranger calls . after the success of halloween the director decided to expand the movie to a full length , focusing more on the killer .
filmmaker nicholas mccarthy made fun of a stranger calls in an interview , and that led him to revisit the oft - mocked horror film . what did he find ?
the convention of a killer calling from inside the house that was utilized in this film would serve as inspiration for the legendary opening 20 minutes of when a stranger calls ( 1979 ) which would only come out 5 years later . both films are inspired by the urban legend
the babysitter and the man upstairs
.
robert zemeckis ' inventive , animated and live - action film was a milestone film .
when a stranger calls is a pulse pounding horror film . this is one of those films that use suspense to build effective horror to create the tension on - screen . director fred walton crafts a tension filled horror film that combines suspense , terror with a few slasher film elements and crime film rolled into one film . the thing that impressed me about when a stranger calls is the fact that director fred walton keeps the gore on a down low , unlike so many other horror films in the slasher genre of the 1980 ' s , this one relies more on the suspense factor to build up the terror and tone of the entire film . like with every viewer , i have to say that the first twenty minutes of this film are the most terrifying and intense ; ion other words , it starts the film off with a bang . i enjoyed this film and i think it ' s a very good concept for a horror flick . i think the fact that the film limits its gore factor much like halloween did , adds a lot more credibility to the film . the acting is good here , and the actors deliver memorable performances . when a stranger calls is different , and it ' s a film that blend psychological horror with a few slasher elements , but isn ' t a straight forward bloodbath . when a stranger calls is a terrific horror flick that uses traditional horror elements to create the horror that we see on - screen . the result is a terrifying and memorable film
oh crap : several times , most notably when jill finds out just where the calls are coming from . . .
when a stranger calls is an expanded remake of fred walton ' s $ 12 , 000 short film for columbia pictures , the sitter , which comprised the first 20 minutes of this film . walton was inspired to turn the short into a feature - film after the considerable success of john carpenter ' s halloween ( 1978 ) .
( cambridge , ma : harvard university press , 1984 [ 1979 ] ) , 1 - 9 .
when a stranger calls is essentially an expanded remake of fred walton’s $ 12 , 000 short film the sitter , which comprised the first 20 minutes of this film . walton was inspired to turn the short into a feature - length film after the considerable success of john carpenter’s halloween . the film derives its story from the classic folk legend of “ the babysitter and the man upstairs “ .
when a stranger calls
is the twelfth episode and season finale of season 2 of the television series scream . it is the twenty second episode of the series overall . it aired on august 16th , 2016 .
stalker without a crush : the stranger seems to be stalking jill just to enjoy her fear .
this classic psychological thriller is all about creepy phone calls : a babysitter receives late - night phone calls from a stranger , who asks her about the sleeping children she’s watching . after several calls , she finally calls the police , who tell her they can track the caller’s location if she can keep him on the phone . they track his location only to find out that he’s calling… from inside the house .
a young high school student babysits for a very rich family . she begins to receive strange phone calls threatening the children . when she finally realizes that it ' s not a joke , she calls the police , only to find that the call is coming from inside the house . . . camilla belle jill johnson katie cassidy tiffany tommy flanagan stranger
fred walton originally shot this film as a short entitled ' the sitter ' , which was essentially the opening 20 minutes of ' when a stranger calls ' . however after the huge success of halloween ( 1978 ) walton saw the potential of expanding the short into a full - length feature . the script was then expanded into a feature length film about the pursuit of villain curt duncan .
) , who plays the voice but not the body of the stranger .
one of my favorite films of all time , i saw this when it originally came out in 1979 and will never forget it . i had no idea what it was about , other than a babysitter .
,
there is much room for improvement where 1979 ' s
when a stranger calls
stands . that picture starred carol kane as a vulnerable teenage babysitter terrorized by ominous , gradually threatening phone callsfor the opening twenty minutes . afterward , the tension dissipated in the place of an admittedly rather dull crime drama before returning to its scary roots by the finale . 1993 ' s made - for - cable sequel ,
when a stranger calls back ,
followed the same structure as its flawed predecessor , but was actually a superior effort . its initial twenty - five minutes , which cleverly twisted around the original ' s first act , are genuinely tense and ingeniously written , pre - dating the similar drew barrymore opener in
scream
by three years . all of the above , of course , heavily lifted major plot points found in 1974 ' s
black christmas
and urban folkloremost notably the menacing calls that are discovered to be coming from inside the housebut then , no one could really accuse any incarnation of
when a stranger calls
as a poster child for originality .
when nbc showed the film during prime time ( under the title
stranger in the house
) , it was deemed ' too scary ' for network television and was pulled off the air .
the film had only moderate box office success and negative critical reception when originally released , however the film went on to have a large cult following . it has since received a critical reevaluation and is now considered a classic .
while julia ( jill schoelen ) was the main character of the film , and billed first , it was jill ( carol kane ) who stole the show . she acted so much better in this film than in the previous one , and i must say i found her more attractive with age . in this film , having survived horrific events in the last film , she is very bad ass…karate , courage , gun carrying , etc . she’s awesome . but , whoever researched her character from the last film didn’t do a good job . if you remember , in the second portion of when a stranger calls , jill is a married woman , gaining a new job promotion , with two kids . in when a stranger calls back , none of this information is mentioned and jill is almost portrayed as a wealthy hermit .
i watched this film when it first came out . the trailer for the film showed an audince watching a film ( from behind their hands or the person beside them ) and jumping back in shock as one and the voice over said
these people are watching when a stranger calls
and they were right . the film is a bit dated ( my children could not understand why a babysitter was using a house phone ! ! ) but the shocks are still there and it really is an edge of your seat film without the usual blood and gore . get this film but dont watch it if you are going babysitting or staying in alone or need to
check the children
jill pins the stranger ' s hand to the floor with a sharp fire poker during their final struggle .
ack in november 1979 , five horror flicks opened in the same week , two starring jamie lee curtis and three concerning marauding psychopaths . one , about a terrorised babysitter , has now been remade under the same title , when a stranger calls , and with a much larger budget . set in a fabulous state - of - the - art house in the colorado countryside , it ' s conventionally scary and features music that is the aural equivalent of a cattle prod . in 1979 , the maniac was british actor tony beckley . another brit , the ferociously scarred tommy flanagan , plays him this time .
incoherence can be a point . but not when the coherence of the plot - - the endangered babysitter - - is already in cultural circulation . this stranger is far too familiar .
jill survives and the stranger is taken into custody , but jill has been left severely traumatised by everything she ' s gone through and is plagued by nightmares of the stranger .
in the original , babysitter jill ( carol kane ) is rattled by phone calls from a raspy - voiced stranger who repeatedly asks : “have you checked on the children ? ” jill’s fear intensifies when the calls are traced to a phone line inside the house . the ’79 pic then leaps ahead a few years to set up a reunion between the phone caller , escaped from a mental hospital , and jill , who now has her own offspring .
maslin , janet . “hollywood : more for the grown - ups . ” new york times , august 26 , 1979 : 59 .
buckley , tom . “at the movies : brian de palma makes a thriller near the docks . ” new york times , november 30 , 1979 : c9 .
a modestly clever concept gets indifferent execution in “when a stranger calls , ” another bigger - yet - blander remake of an allegedly “classic” ’70s shocker . unleashed without press previews for a super bowl weekend opening frame , pic might scare up some small change by appealing to ticket buyers in the same demographic as its feisty teen heroine . but it’s more likely that this “ stranger ” won’t get acquainted with a wider aud until it is reintroduced in homevid format .
the film marked academy award - nominated cinematographer donald peterman ' s feature film debut as director of photography .
my car hates me : tiffany , when she tries to leave the house .
when a stranger calls was dana kaproff’s second film score – his first was for bert i . gordon’s empire of the ants ( released by kritzerland ) – and kaproff deserves a good deal of the credit for the film’s suspense level . it is simply unthinkable to imagine this film without his score because his score is as much a leading player as any of its cast . it’s relentlessly suspenseful music – there are no pretty themes to lull you and give you security – just dread , pure dread , and then almost psychotic music for those moments when things , well , get out of hand . the score is written for strings , prepared piano , and percussion . it is a superb genre score and a classic . this is the world premiere release of the soundtrack to when a stranger calls . the film , of course , was mono , as is this recording , taken from the original session tapes . we present every note of music kaproff wrote , in film order , as that’s the way it plays best – like a symphony of dread and terror . - kritzerland
there are two versions : the 1979 original , starring carol kane ( followed by a 1993 made - for - television sequel , when a stranger calls back ) , and a 2006 remake , with camilla belle . the 2006 remake uses handheld phones ( both home and cell phones ) instead of the technical impossibility of a rotary - dial phone calling itself , and is no less effective for it . also worth mentioning is that the remake is more of an extended re - imagining of the original ' s opening sequence , rather than a straight remake .
a modestly clever concept gets indifferent execution in “when a stranger calls , ” another bigger - yet - blander remake of an allegedly “classic” ’70s shocker . unleashed without press previews for a super bowl weekend opening frame , pic might scare up some small change by appealing to ticket buyers in the same demographic as its feisty teen heroine . but it’s [ … ]
by emphasizing female - on - female violence failed badly when the film excited not only charges of misogyny but accusations of homophobia as well .
soft - spoken and well - adjusted , jill ( camilla belle ) is a high school track star with boyfriend troubles . this is essentially all the information provided about the hero of simon west ' s when a stranger calls , an uninspired remake of the 1979 film . that the original features the quite young and extraordinary carol kane doesn ' t help the inevitable comparisons . though bell brings a certain dark - eyed earnestness to her version of the babysitter in peril , she ' s hampered by an unimaginative screenplay , which essentially rehashes the first film ' s premise , the only new concept being the cell phone .
the remobilization of a hook across several campaigns produces stasis . conversely , incremental changes occur when hooks are emphasized , deemphasized or dropped , or when hitherto unused hooks are introduced into the mix .
after surviving her ordeal , jill has a nightmare of waking up in an abandoned hospital , and being attacked by the stranger .
star tony beckley was terminally ill throughout the production , because of this he did not fit the description of the killer but fred walton refused to recast him as they were good friends . he later passed away just after the principal photography was shot . director fred walton dedicated the film ' s 1993 sequel ' when a stranger calls back ' to the memory of beckley .
nevertheless , “when a stranger calls” is an energetic first film ; if mr . walton hasn ' t yet learned his lessons well , he ' s certainly chosen the right teachers . the frightened‐babysitter opening of the movie is marvelously modern , as mr . walton demonstrates that a haunted house with an ice‐making refrigerator is intrinsically scarier than a house without one . he also makes the most of that fearsome modern weapon , the telephone .
with all things considered , when a stranger calls back is a very decent film . i was entertained the entire time , except for maybe 10 minutes towards the end . i would recommend it to anyone who was a fan of the first film . in terms of rating , it got an r rating , but that was back in 1993 . now , i would probably only give it m , for mature . it’s not pg - 13 , but it’s not exactly g either .
bourdieu , pierre [ translated by richard nice ] . distinction : a social critique of the judgment of taste . cambridge , ma : harvard university press , 1984 [ 1979 ] .
wood , robin . “returning the look : eyes of a stranger . ” in american horrors : essays on the modern horror film , ed . gregory a . waller . urbana : university of illinois press , 1987 :
t he gimmick behind “when a stranger galls” is a scary one , but it ' s been played for more than it ' s worth . a babysitter begins receiving annoying phone calls , so she calls the police . everyone gets annoying phone calls , the police say . later she complains again , and the calls are traced , and they turn out to be originating at the very house she ' s in . this time , the police are willing to take the matter more seriously , but it ' s too late for the children in the house . the man who ' s been tormenting the babysitter , an escaped mental patient , has long since torn them limb from limb .
in this thriller , a baby - sitter is terrorized by an anonymous telephone caller who turns out to be a particularly persistent serial killer . when a stranger calls to ask ,
have you checked the children lately ?
teenaged sitter jill johnson ( carol kane ) is understandably spooked . after a series of increasingly creepy calls culminates in a request for
your blood . . . all over me ,
jill learns from the police operator that the man is calling from inside the house . one narrow escape and two dead children later , the police capture british maniac curt duncan ( tony beckley ) . several years later , the killer escapes from a mental institution and plagues tracy ( colleen dewhurst ) , a hard - drinking new yorker . foiled by john clifford ( charles durning ) , the same cop who investigated the original case , duncan sets his sights back on his original victim , jill johnson , who , now married and out to dinner with her husband , has left her own young children at home - - with a baby - sitter . when a stranger calls helped inspire drew barrymore ' s famous opening scene in wes craven ' s scream . kane , durning , and director fred walton would return for 1993 ' s tv - movie sequel , when a stranger calls back . beckley died a year after the original film ' s release .
released on friday , october 12 , 1979 , fred walton’s when a stranger calls pits babysitter jill johnson ( carol kane ) in the home of dr . mandrakis ( carmen argenziano ) and his wife ( rutanya alda ) who are going out for the evening . their two children are upstairs asleep . an hour later , jill gets a phone call wherein the caller hangs up , and then a second one where a mysterious voice asks her , “have you checked the children ? ” initially she thinks this is a friend of hers playing a prank , but after three more of these calls throughout the night she calls the police who brush it off as innocuous . several more calls of this nature compel her to call the police back , and they agree to trace the call , which is a good thing as the caller is calling from another phone line inside the house and , horrifically , has murdered the two children she is in charge of baby - sitting .
“when a stranger calls” ( sony , $ 28 . 95 ) next to bratty kids who lock you in the closet and sick babies who throw up on your new sweater , a baby sitter’s worst nightmare is the psycho killer stalking you by phone . hollywood’s incessant parade of bad horror remakes continued with this update of the 1979 thriller , camilla belle starring this time as the teen terrorized by a nutcase who phones to ask , “have you checked the children ? ” – with the calls originating from inside the house . the dvd includes deleted footage and a making - of featurette . director simon west joins cast members for commentary , and screenwriter jake wade wall provides separate commentary .
a young babysitter , all alone in the house with two children asleep above , is bothered by a stranger . unfortunately , the phone ' s dead . . .
although walton contrives to keep most of his contrivances on the safe side of absurdity ,
stranger
is at best a close call .
( roman polanski , 1968 ) as , among other things , a gothic horror film and a female audience picture .
common sense media , a nonprofit organization , earns a small affiliate fee from amazon or itunes when you use our links to make a purchase . thank you for your support .
original 1979 thriller achieved semi - cult status with an ingeniously nasty first act that has inspired countless imitations — and quite a few spot - on parodies . ( did somebody say “scream” ? )
nicholas mccarthy is the director of the pact and at the devil ' s door , which is now available on vod . he just finished an ama on reddit , which you can read here . he wanted to publish this piece with us after he revisited when a stranger calls , a movie he had mocked in an interview . we happily gave him the space .
plutzik , roberta . “just plugging along brands become the name of a film game . ”
“when a stranger calls” next to bratty kids that lock you in the closet and sick babies that throw up on your new sweater , a baby sitter’s worst nightmare is the psycho killer stalking you by phone . hollywood’s incessant parade of bad horror remakes continued with this update of the 1979 thriller , camilla belle starring this time as the teen terrorized by a nutcase who phones to ask , “have you checked the children ? ” — the calls originating from inside the house . the dvd includes deleted footage and a making - of featurette . director simon west joins cast members for commentary , while screenwriter jake wade wall provides separate commentary . dvd , $ 28 . 95 . ( sony ) read the review
list of the best 1979 horror movies , ranked by how many upvotes they ' ve received by other fans of the genre . all types of sc . . .
tony beckley , who plays curt duncan , was terminally ill throughout production . because of this , he did not at all fit the description of the killer , but fred walton refused to replace him . beckley passed away soon after he finished filming his scenes . the 1993 sequel , when a stranger calls back , was dedicated to his memory .
( james bridges , 1979 ) , in which jane fonda had also played a newscaster , this angle undermined claims of misogyny by aligning above - the - line talent to on - screen victims .
it was shaped by developments at the north american domestic box office and in us critical circles that unfolded from 1976 to 1979 . they indicated that placing emphasis on topicality and sensation led women - in - danger film to perform badly .
emma duval carried a gun , brooke maddox carried a sickle , noah foster held a chopping knife , audrey jensen used a machete and kieran wilcox alternated between using a dagger , a hammer and a gun .
“after the initial opening sequence when the film shifts to the escaped lunatic seven years later , the overall tone of the film also changes drastically from a tense and unbearable horror film to a slow , seedy dramatic thriller almost akin to the depressing character study of taxi driver . quite unexpected , this change doesn’t really work for the film as a whole and these two sections feel like separate films with different agendas . ” tyler baptist , sound on sight
from kritzerland on cd and is worth having even if you’re not a fan of the film .
provided a fitting epitaph to hollywood’s most intense involvement in women - in - danger film distribution .
, the story of a model who turns vigilante when the man acquitted of raping her turns his attentions to her adolescent sister .
the 1970s gave us a decade of classic horror films including the exorcist , jaws , halloween , the texas chainsaw massacre , and when a stranger calls . what made these films so iconic and scary were the settings and themes . a generation of people refused to go in the ocean after jaws . catholics and non - catholics alike had nightmares the devil had taken hold of them after seeing the exorcist . and every girl in america jumped out of her seat and screamed bloody murder every time a phone rang when she babysat the kids down the block .
although when a stranger calls was released just a year after john carpenter ' s 1978 halloween , this thriller by longtime actor - turned - director fred walton has held a strong following of its own . in an exemplary piece of suspense , the film begins with a babysitter ( carol kane ) fielding threatening phone calls while on the job . she soon finds that a pair of children in her charge have been murdered in their beds ; she is nearly killed herself by the homicidal maniac before police arrive . as with halloween , the action jumps some years ahead , when kane ' s character is herself a wife and mother - - and the monster escapes from a mental institution to recreate his original carnage in the heroine ' s own home . between these exciting bookends , the film loses its way and becomes dissatisfying and obscure . but walton compensates by engineering a couple of great horror moments worth savouring . - - tom keogh , urltoken
as a tongue - in - cheek popcorn entertainment ,
when a stranger calls
achieves what it sets out to do . there are enough medium - sized thrills to excite the preteen , teen and twentysomething audience , and a big helping of filmmaking style goes a long way in making up for the picture ' s glaring inadequacies , including a finale that is anticlimactic , and then an ultra - lame epilogue that should have been excised long before the finished product hit the screen . additionally , this is one case where the film suffers because of the limits of the pg - 13 rating . violence is mild , blood is nonexistent , and there is a safeness to the whole production that makes one long for the days when horror flicks were unequivocally r - rated affairs . an added dose of palpable danger and a shot of gruesome goods could have done wonders for the overall outcome . judged on its own respective merits , however ,
when a stranger calls
doesn ' t pretend to be anything but what it is : a fun , undemanding , frequently exciting hour - and - a - half tour of the oldest tricks in the book .
] sharon ? please , do me a favor . just tell me truthfully , when was the last time you checked my children ?
frameworks that have been developed in the study of film genres and cycles can enrich the way we understand how the marketing of a particular type of film develops over time .
the greatest threat to a film’s commercial viability came from feminist activists and pro - feminist media elites .
keir dullea worked only for a week on this film , never meeting margot kidder and barely meeting john saxon , but the film is edited in such a way that he appears to be present throughout .
it proclaimed the film to be “a thrilling vision of romance and terror , ” “a romantic thriller , ” “a powerful love story , ” and “a subliminal mystery , a tragic love story , and a revelation about the nature of the movie medium itself . ”
just after the school year ended in june 1984 , i went to a friend’s house on a friday night to watch the premiere of carlin on campus , an hbo concert of one of my favorite comedians , the legendary george carlin . when the concert was over , my friend switched around until he reached nbc - tv . they were airing when a stranger calls , a 1979 thriller starring carol kane , charles durning , and colleen dewhurst . i saw the film from the beginning , and the first twenty or so minutes had me utterly captivated . it presented a scenario that i found to be terrifying , and apparently so did rex reed , whose proclamation “some of the most terrifying sequences ever filmed” was used in the newspaper ads . i thought it was so original – until i saw bob clark’s frightening black christmas ( 1974 ) four years later and saw where the “inspiration” may have come from . but my impressions of the film never left me .
high school student jill johnson agrees to baby sit while the dr . and mrs . enjoy a night on the town . after she tucks the children snuggly into bed , upstairs , telephone calls from a stranger begin to disrupt what she had planned as a quiet evening of study . at first , the unidentified caller says nothing which leads jill to believe that an acquaintance is playing a joke . after several similar calls , she becomes unnerved and calls the police when the silent stranger still offers no clue to his identity . the phone calls continue . . . finally , an eery voice on the other end of the line asks ominously
have you checked the children , lately ?
it appears that the stranger can see her and is aware of her movements . she closes all the curtains and turns out the lights believing that the darkness is her only hiding place . by this time , the police are tracing the origin of the calls . jill is told she must stall for time , the next time he calls , so that the trace can be completed . more calls . . .
why haven ' t you checked the children ?
the caller asks . jill , by now frightened nearly out of her wits , screams into the receiver
leave me alone !
and slams the phone down onto it ' s cradle . again , the phone rings , but this time it ' s the police who have successfully traced the call .
jill ,
the detective says ,
we ' ve traced the calls . . . they ' re coming from inside the house !
there are none of the later slasher ingredients of slumber parties , teen sex , unsupervised campgrounds , and dumb pranks in cheerleader locker rooms , and you could say that when a stranger calls , at least in its opening and closing , does a much better job in capturing the simple creepiness of a campfire maniac - with - a - hook - hand anecdote than did the later urban legend and i know what you did last summer series that strive to hook young viewers . still , it ' s pretty disturbing stuff for tweens . there ' s also the issue of revenge in the plot , and whether clifford ' s deadly mission is at all justified . while history has chosen to pigeonhole when a stranger calls as low - grade horror , the same question of vengeance and morality came up with more emphasis on the ethics in the upscale jack nicholson drama the crossing guard .
this is similar in scream 2 , when the killer shows short clips of staking the victims to gale and dewey before a chase occurs .
: when jill is being given a tour of the house , chester the cat is first seen eagerly watching the birds in the aviary .
film industry analyst aljean harmetz noted , “ [ … ] the blatant advertising campaign [ tore ] away the film’s last shreds of dignity . ”
( 1978 ) by director fred walton . this consisted only of the first section of this film , the scenes with carol kane in the house being taunted by phone calls . with the success of
one night , while babysitting for a local couple , high school student jill johnson ( carol kane ) is troubled by a spook caller who keeps asking ' have you checked the children lately ? ' when she eventually phones the police to report the problem , she is told that the calls are coming from inside the house . . . . seven years later , when jill has become a mother herself , the troubles start up again .
the film inspired a 1993 sequel with durning and kane returning under the direction of walton . in 2006 , a theatrical remake was released .
murphy , a . d . “audience demographics , film future : loss of youth adjustment due . ” ,
nowell , richard . blood money : a history of the first teen slasher film cycle . new york :
this controversial , tangled and convoluted film - noirish feature film from canadian director atom egoyan was a lurid and sexy backstage crime / murder mystery based upon rupert holmes ' 2003 novel .
: the kids survive in the remake , but it is entirely possible that the stranger intended to kill them after bumping off jill .
director clark claims that he re - wrote half of roy moore ' s script , adding some humor into the film . moore was also against the idea of never seeing the killer however when he saw the finished film , he was very pleased with it .
–a tale of a fashion photographer who foresees a series of murders being committed in the style of her work–showed that women - in - danger marketing could fuel solid ticket sales and help a film to avoid controversy .
that logo recast a shot of a woman pulling a turtleneck sweater over her face , which had been extracted from the film , as a stereotyped female horror spectator who is too frightened to look at the screen .
such was the strong grip when a stranger calls had on the movie going audience . the iconic twenty minute opening of the film is still listed as once of the scariest horror film sequences of all time . and with good reason . this is a film i try to watch every year during halloween to get my scare on . it still causes my heart to race some 30 + years after it was made . it has such staying power . i did watch the remake when it came out , something i almost never do as i feel the remakes don’t live up to the original , and while that is true in this case it’s not the worst remake i’ve seen . still , it doesn’t hold a candle to the performances turned in by carol kane , charles durning , colleen dewhurst , and tony beckley ( the killer ) , who passed away from a terminal illness not long after principal shooting on the film had concluded .
) and first - time scripter jake wade wall have reworked and expanded that bravura first twenty minutes to 83 - minute feature length . because of this very smart decision , the new
when a stranger calls
moves at a tauter pace and isn ' t nearly as uneven , quickly getting right to the point and doing a skilled job at sustaining an aura of apprehension for almost its whole running time . stylistically and technically , the film is top - notch . from an acting and writing standpoint , the picture skates perilously throughout on thin ice .
this position emerged when some feminist activists and journalists derided what they saw as the films’ celebration of misogynistic violence .
this
new
technology means that , following a couple of egregiously ominous foregroundings of the landline phone , she starts carrying the mobile version around with her . and so she can take the stranger ' s calls while moving through the house . once the
oooh , creepy
effect of this strategy wears off , however ( in about a minute ) , the film is left pretty much idea - less .
gained a certain amount of respectability . it is not the same type of slash - and - stalk film that
the makers of the film had gone to great lengths to make it marketable as a self - reflexive , female - oriented thriller . for one thing , they had cast the outspoken feminist actress lee grant as a similarly outspoken feminist anchorwoman who encounters a misogynist maniac . however , the film’s distributor twentieth century - fox had gone to equal lengths to mask these characteristics when it marketed
the film ' s legendary opening 20 minutes of jill getting harassed on the phone by a killer only to find out that the calls are coming from inside the house were inspired by a similar sequence in the original black christmas ( 1974 ) . both films took inspiration from the urban legend
the babysitter and the man upstairs
, though this film is more of a direct adaptation of the myth .
sickening crunch : several are heard in the opening when the police chief is shown the remains of stacey the babysitter .
ozon ' s provocative film can do much to improve attitudes towards lgbti people .
and its $ 13m production and marketing budget plunged the film into the red .
margot kidder and andrea martin became close friends on the set of the film .
“when a stranger calls” is the first feature to be directed by fred walton , who originally told this same story —with steve feke , his co‐screenwriter —in the space of a 20‐minute short . but for the sake of a full‐length format , they ' ve broadened the plot considerably without digging any deeper . the killer , whose craziness is quite unexplained , now spends the mid‐section of the film being pursued by an ex‐cop with an all‐purpose motive : he saw the first murder , he ' ll get this guy if it ' s the last thing he does , and so on . the cop is
the film is regarded as being one of the first slasher films ( with the texas chainsaw massacre ( 1974 ) , a bay of blood ( 1971 ) , psycho ( 1960 ) , and peeping tom ( 1960 ) preceding this film ) . it set the layout for films such as john carpenter halloween ( 1978 ) . however , director bob clark considered it to be more of a psychological horror film than a slasher film .
also literalized a connection between the motives of the film’s makers and the violent misogynists whom they portrayed on the screen .
although this film ' s original title was silent night , evil night it shares no connection to the silent night , deadly night ( 1984 ) film , another christmas horror movie , or any of its sequels . another similarly titled film called silent night , bloody night ( 1972 ) also has no relation to the film .
[ note : the 2006 big - budget remake followed fairly closely to the original 1979 film , with the additional murders of jill ' s ( camilla belle ) best friend tiffany ( katie cassidy ) and the maid rosa . also , the mostly - unseen stranger ( voice of lance henriksen ) was not killed , but apprehended and taken away by police . while hospitalized , jill continued to have insane delusions about the stalker attacking her . ]
when a stranger calls ( 2006 ) directed by simon west cast : camilla belle , tommy flanagan , katie cassidy , tessa thompson , brian geraghty , clark gregg , derek de lint , kate jennings grant , david denman , arthur young , madeline carroll , steve eastin , rosine ' ace ' hatem ; voice of lance henriksen 2006  83 minutes rated : ( for violence and some language ) . reviewed by dustin putman , february 4 , 2006 .
wes craven was a fan of this film , particularly because of the iconic opening 20 minutes , and paid tribute to this film in the opening 12 minutes of his teen slasher flick scream ( 1996 ) .
peterman ' s last film was
how the grinch stole christmas
in 2000 .
the film is listed number 87 on bravo channel ' s 100 scariest movie moments .
when the stranger calls , frequently , jill tries out various strategies of dealing with him . first , he might be bobby , then , he ' s trying to scare her , and finally , he ' d better leave her alone . none of this is compelling , and jill ' s range of responses - - tentative shallow breathing , teary fearfulness , and plucky defiance - - is excruciatingly limited . when the stranger does speak , he reveals that he is aware of her actions ( telling her to check on the kids and then noting that she has done so ) , leading jill to close all the gigantic draperies and then huddle on the floor so she can call the cops again , with a more urgent sense of her danger .
barely concealed her disdain for hemingway when she reported that the actress had failed to understand the term “sodomy” and had burst into laughter after she had mislead the film’s director lamont johnson into believing that she herself had once been the victim of a rape .
unlike the first film where the suspense drops 90 % after the first 20 minutes , when a stranger calls back is able to keep things interesting for the most part . the first 20 minutes are pretty important , but aren’t the basis of the entire film . also unlike other films , jill is actually pretty smart . you’ll learn why pretty quickly , although if she had ocd she probably would have been a little bit more on top of things from the beginning . she does have one dumb moment , though . at one point , during one of the peak times of tension , she checks to make sure the back door , a sliding glass door , is locked…like the attacker couldn’t just bust through the glass .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
the calls are coming from inside the house : said almost word - for - word ( though this movie isn ' t the trope namer ) .
have you checked the children ?
. . . . . . . . . . . 5 star baby sitter gets phone calls thriller ~
there were several attempts over the years to produce a sequel for the film . halloween ( 1978 ) was originally conceived as a sequel to this film by john carpenter , who was a fan of this film , before the project became a standalone film . after the failure of the remake bob clark began work on the sequel before he tragically passed away on 2007 . in all these attempts olivia hussey and john saxon were to reprise their roles of jess and lieutenant fuller respectively . jess would have become the new housemother of the sorority in clark ' s treatment for the film back in 2007 .
was intended for male sadists who rooted for a misogynistic maniac . tv spots eschewed a protracted game of cat and mouse between a cop and a killer that dominated
an early example of a largely mainstream film containing the word
cunt
. this was cut out for its uk release .
although halloween doesn’t revolve around phone calls , phones play a big part in the storyline . at one point , a girl is murdered by michael myers after she receives a phone call from her boyfriend ( asking her to pick him up ) . in another scene , myers strangles a girl with a phone cord . remember how phones used to have cords ?
the film managed to gross $ 4 , 053 , 000 on a relatively small budget of $ 620 , 000 at the box office . by today ' s standards those numbers would be a $ 21 million dollar gross on a $ 3 million dollar budget which would mean that the film grossed 7 times its budget turning in a profit .
by way of black - and - white advertisements that featured a close - up of a female face and a telephone .
the audio for the demented phones calls was edited into the film during post - production . while shooting the footage for the phone call scenes the actresses were actually just reacting to threatening dialog being spoken from director bob clark from off - camera .