I Saw What You Did

Overview

With true William Castle-style flamboyance the advertisements for I Saw What You Did intrigued non-etymologically inclined audiences by warning them that this suspenseful thriller was about uxoricide. He then had some of the theaters where the film was shown equipped with seat belts so frightened audience members wouldn't flee the theater in a panic. It was a spooky film, but wasn't all that scary. The tale begins upon a dark and foggy night as two teenage girls, bored with their baby-sitting job, decide to have a little fun and make some prank phonecalls. Every time some hapless person answers, they whisper conspiritorally "I saw what you did. I know who you are." Unfortunately, they happen to call a man who has just murdered his wife --- in the shower no less! He takes the call seriously and so sets off into the night to find the girls and silence them forever.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/05/2017
UPC:	0191329008591
Original Release:	1965
Rating:	NR
Source:	Universal Studios
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	1:23:00
Sales rank:	20,359

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Joan Crawford	Amy Nelson,Trooper
John Ireland	Steve Marak
Andi Garrett	Libby Mannering
Sarah Lane	Kit Austin
Leif Erickson	Dave Mannering
Sharyl Locke	Tess
Patricia Breslin	Ellie Mannering
John Archer	John Austin
Joyce Meadows	Judith Marak
Douglas Evans	Tom Ward
Barbara Wilkins	Mary Ward
Barbara Wilkin	Mary Ward
Van Alexander	Composer

Technical Credits

William Castle

William P. McGivern

William Castle	Producer,Director,Screenwriter
William P. McGivern	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

This late-period William Castle thriller never hits the feverish heights of The Tingler or Homicidal but offers a few quirky delights for the patient viewer. The script's unusual combination of sub-Hitchcock thriller theatrics and Father Knows Best-styled moralizing never quite hits the fever pitch necessary for a top-notch thriller but is oddly compelling enough to keep the viewer involved. The performances are decent but lack the spark that would have enlivened the story: Sarah Lane and Andi Garrett are competent but not terribly charismatic as the teen heroines and John Ireland underplays his murderer role in a way that keeps it from being as menacing as it could have been. The one really memorable performance comes from Joan Crawford, who tears into her supporting role with a scenery-devouring vigor that is fun to watch. On the plus side, I Saw What You Did benefits from slick technical credits: Joseph Biroc's sharp black-and-white cinematography adds some much-needed atmosphere to the story and Van Alexander's swinging, Henry Mancini-esque score brings a certain period charm to the film. However, the best element of I Saw What You Did is William Castle's direction: He creates an inspired variation on Psycho's shower scene early in the film and creates a memorably spooky and intense finale in an isolated suburban home. In the end, I Saw What You Did is one of the lesser entries in the William Castle filmography but Joan Crawford's performance and a few flashes of Castle's campy showmanship make it worth a look for kitsch aficionados.