1970s cult TV movies

[Gothick]

Dan Curtis's daughter Cathy is interviewed briefly in this article. NIGHT STALKER and TRILOGY OF TERROR are mentioned.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-st-tv-horror-movies-20190301-story.html

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Not to mention Gargoyles. 

[Uncle Roger]

Isn't it Shocking is set in Maine, if I remember correctly, though the atmosphere is much closer to Twin Peaks than DS. Plus,  Louise Lasser seems to be doing a dry run for her characterization of Mary Hartman.

[Philippe Cordier]

There were so many scary made-for-TV movies in the 1970s. A few that come to mind - "When Michael Calls," I think with Elizabeth Ashley and I think this was available on DVD a few years ago but I neglected to buy it. Someone here once identified a movie I remembered vaguely which was "Crowhaven Farm" with Hope Lange, which I see is on DVD currently. From the article, I remember Sandy Dennis in "Something Evil," but I don't see that as available on DVD despite what the article says. I don't seem to remember ever seeing Jonathan Frid with Shelley Winters in "The Devil's Daughter," which is currently on DVD. I remember the one with Barbara Eden who was pregnant with the Devil's child.

There was something with Olivia deHavilland (not "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte), and Joan Crawford in an ESP episode of a Sunday night TV show.

I'm not sure how much time I would invest in revisiting any of these now, but they made quite an impression at the time.

One of the best TV movies I remembered years later that wasn't horror but had Death as a character was a remake (something not known to me at the time) of "Death Takes a Holiday" with Yvette Mimieux, Monte Markham, and Melvyn Douglas and Myrna Loy. I was able to purchase a DVD of that memorable movie some years back and I watched with my mother, who thought it was quite good though not exactly her cup of tea; and Melvyn Douglas's performance was outstanding.

And here's one I never saw or remember hearing of that sounds quite DARK SHADOWS-ish and I just might purchase on DVD. Note the familiar DS aspects of the Old House, hauntings and possessions by spirits of the original inhabitants, a local professor, etc.:

"The House that Would Not Die":
Ruth Bennett (Barbara Stanwyck) has inherited an old house in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Amish country. She moves into the house with her niece, Sara Dunning (Kitty Winn). The house was built before the Revolutionary War and is said to be haunted by the spirits of its original inhabitants. With the help of Pat McDougal (Richard Egan), a local professor, and one of his students, Stan Whitman (Michael Anderson Jr.), they delve into the history of the house and find a scandal that involves a Revolutionary War general, who was suspected of being a traitor, and his daughter, who had disappeared after eloping with her boyfriend, a young British soldier. The spirits of the general and his daughter take possession of Pat's and Sara's bodies and a dark secret is revealed. Directed by legendary TV-movie director John Llewellyn Moxey (The Night Stalker, Home for the Holidays) and with a teleplay by the great Henry Farrell (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte).

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   I remember loving all of those TV-movies you've mentioned, particularly Crowhaven Farm and The House That Would Not Die. Both are available on YouTube:

Crowhaven Farm

The House That Would Not Die

[Uncle Roger]

The Olivia deHavilland movie is probably The Screaming Woman. It's based on a Ray Bradbury story. It reunites Olivia with her Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte costar Joseph Cotten and features Ed Nelson, cast way against type. It is also on YouTube.
The Joan Crawford one is an episode of The Sixth Sense, with the amusing title Dear Joan, We're Going To Scare You To Death. Gary Collins does not appear in the story itself, just acts as host and discusses ESP with Joan afterwards. Anne Lockhart did work with Joan and told me that Joan could not have been nicer to her and went out of her way to see whatever Anne was appearing in. This was one of Crawford's last performances, maybe even her final one. Not her finest hour but definitely a step or two up from Trog.

[Gerard]

For me, the most frightening were Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Bad Ronald.  Regarding the former, my dad watched it while I did.  He always thought that "spooky movies" were "junk."  But with this one, he was totally freaked out.

One fairly notable made-for-TV spook-film that came out in the next decade ('82, to be exact) was Don't Go to Sleep, with Valerie Harper, Dennis Weaver, and the great Ruth Gordon.  It could've been better, but had its terrifying moments.  It's about a family haunted by a deceased daughter's ghost that became a murderous, vengeful demon. 

Gerard

[Gerard]

The Joan Crawford one is an episode of The Sixth Sense, with the amusing title Dear Joan, We're Going To Scare You To Death. Gary Collins does not appear in the story itself, just acts as host and discusses ESP with Joan afterwards. Anne Lockhart did work with Joan and told me that Joan could not have been nicer to her and went out of her way to see whatever Anne was appearing in. This was one of Crawford's last performances, maybe even her final one. Not her finest hour but definitely a step or two up from Trog.

Joan's daughter, Christina, had landed a part in a Marcus Welby, MD, episode.  In her excitement about her hopefully advancing career, she called her mother to tell her the news.  Her mother responded in a direct opposite way.  After several phone calls to mutual friends, she discovered why Joan was so upset.  A friend told her that she had been "gloating" about being on that show when she supposedly knew "that's the one show Joan wanted to be on but could never get a part."  Afterwards, Christina got a part on a The Sixth Sense episode.  And then, guess what?  Joan gets her own episode, the last thing she did after doing that terrible Trog.  Guess she had to show her daughter up one last time without wire coathangers and exploding bottles of cleanser. 

Meanwhile, the urban-legend rumor that Dan Curtis initially wanted Joan to play Elizabeth Collins Stoddard but decided not to because of Joan's - ahem - "problems" lives on

Gerard

[Philippe Cordier]

My memories of many details of these movies has dimmed through the years. A search of this board shows that "Crowhaven Farm" was the title of a movie I was trying to identify based on some pretty clear memories of the movie. The thread where this was discussed was back in 2002, and when I read the description I wrote then, I'm amazed because I don't remember much of the movie now, as I did in 2002, though at that time I no longer knew the movie's title. (Is this normal, or do I need to be concerned about a failing memory?, i.e. loss of memory since 2002 about a movie not seen since about 1970?)

The other movie someone kindly identified for me in the 2002 thread was "Haunts of the Very Rich."

Thanks to Uncle Roger for identifying "The Screaming Woman." That sounded right, and when I looked up a description in imdb, that definitely was the Olivia deHavilland TV movie I remembered.

And the Joan Crawford TV appearance was definitely "The Sixth Sense," possibly identified previously on this forum, too. That must have been a short-lived TV show. I remember Joan Crawford being interviewed at the end of the segment and describing her own personal experience with ESP.

MB, thanks for the links to "Crowhaven Farm" and "The House That Would Not Die." Hope to re-watch the first one, and see the second for the first time!

I was also curious a while back and don't remember if I posted any inquiries here or not, about the TV show "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." I think I only watched a few of the episodes. I believe that was on Friday nights after one or two other shows that my sister and I watched, and there was a limit to how much TV we watched, and I don't think my sister was interested in "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." I have had the pleasure of catching the last half hour or so of the movie of that title on Turner Classic Movies a couple of years ago, and got the DVD, though haven't set aside the time to watch it yet.

Anyway, when I watched a couple of episodes of "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" on Youtube, I was a little disappointed in how kiddish it was and I didn't pursue further. But the movie is another matter. Regarding the TV show, the name of actor Edward Mulhare wouldn't have meant anything to me back in the 1970s, but he had an interesting role as confidante of Deborah Kerr in "Eye of the Devil." A comparable character, that of a gentleman Platonic friend and confidante of the beleaguered heroine was played by Herbert Lom as Ingrid Thulin's friend in what may have then been called a "melodrama," "Return from the Ashes."

"Return from the Ashes," "Death Takes a Holiday," and "Two on a Guillotine" were the three movies I most wanted to track down from this period as an adult, and "Return from the Ashes" and "Two on a Guillotine" have been available as print-on-demand DVDs from amazon. "Death Takes a Holiday" hasn't been available except through someone who somehow taped it (in the '70s?) and transferred to disc.

[Gothick]

If you liked THE HOUSE THAT WOULDN'T DIE with Barbara Stanwyck (based on the novel AMMIE COME HOME by Barbara Michaels), you will probably love A TASTE OF EVIL (1971), also with Miss Stanwyck:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMHo7DjUj64

A much better role for her, in my opinion. Roddy McDowall is also on hand--this seems to be a remake of a 1961 Hammer film, SCREAM OF FEAR, though certain details of the plot were changed (might have been a case of a professional writer deftly recycling a script).

G.

[Uncle Roger]

Another one of my favorites from this era was Sweet, Sweet Rachel. Stefanie Powers is Rachel, whose husband died under mysterious circumstances and now she's having visions of him that are scaring her big time. She consults a psychic investigator to learn who's after her and hopefully find a way to stop the visions and save her life.
This was actually the pilot for The Sixth Sense but it was considerably reworked before it became a series. Most notable was the replacement of newcaster turned actor Alex Dreier, kind of a Thayer David type, with the handsome but rather bland Gary Collins 
Sweet, Sweet Rachel is on YouTube.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I remember liking Sweet, Sweet Rachel too. But then I'm a fan of Stefanie Powers.

[Uncle Roger]

I met Stefanie at Chiller Theatre last fall. She is still a remarkably attractive woman. I didn't bring up Sweet, Sweet Rachel but I did mention a particularly goofy episode of The Girl From UNCLE, where the villain puts her and Stan Freberg in a giant pop up toaster.

Top that, Caped Crusader!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Watching The Girl from UNCLE after school when it was in syndication was how I became a SP fan.

And imagine my surprise when Grayson Hall popped up in an ep because back then I had no idea she'd guested on the show.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I just checked out the opening of Sweet, Sweet Rachel - waves crashing on the rocks, Greek Revival mansion a la the Old House - very DS. Can't wait until I get the chance to watch the whole thing.

I did mention a particularly goofy episode of The Girl From UNCLE, where the villain puts her and Stan Freberg in a giant pop up toaster.

Top that, Caped Crusader!!

What was her response?