Sneha Girap (Editor)

Crawlspace (1972 film)

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
7
/
10
1
Votes
Alchetron7
7
1 Ratings
100
90
80
71
60
50
40
30
20
10
Rate This

Rate This

Director
  
Music director
  
Duration
  

Country
  
United States

6.8/10
IMDb

Genre
  
Horror, Thriller

Costume design
  
Joseph G. Aulisi

Language
  
English

Crawlspace (1972 film) movie poster

Release date
  
February 11, 1972

Cast
  
(Albert Graves), (Alice Graves),
Tom Happer
(Richard Roy Atlee), (Sheriff Emil Birge), (Dave Freeman),
Dan Morgan
(Mr. Harlow)

Similar movies
  
John Newland directed Crawlspace and Dont Be Afraid of the Dark, Living Hell (2008), The Shortcut (2009), Lovely Molly (2011), Ghost Voyage (2008)

Tagline
  
They Wanted A Son ... He Gave Them A Nightmare!

Crawlspace 1972 tv movie


Crawlspace is a 1972 made-for-television horror film and thriller directed by John Newland and Buzz Kulik and produced by Herbert Brodkin and Robert Berger. The movie starred Arthur Kennedy, Teresa Wright, and Tom Happer in the title roles of the movie and Ernest Kinoy wrote the screenplay. The movie aired on February 11, 1972 on CBS.

Contents

Crawlspace 1972


Movie Origins

The movie was based on the novel of the same name written a year earlier. The novel, entitled Crawlspace, was written by Herbert Lieberman. The plot of the novel surrounds an elderly couple by the names of Albert and Alice Graves. Later on in the story, an oil man named Richard comes by to refill the furnace. In doing so, Alice invites the boy to stay for dinner. Afterwards, to the couple's surprise, they find the boy has been staying in the couple's crawlspace. The novel was published on January 1, 1971.

Plot

The plot of this film closely follows the novel of the same name by Herbert Lieberman (which forms the basis of the Ernest Kinoy teleplay).

Elderly couple Albert Graves, (Arthur Kennedy) and his wife Alice (Teresa Wright) have just moved from the city to a small country town to help Albert recuperate from a heart attack.

After they discover a problem with the furnace in their basement, they call for a repairman to come out and service it. The repair company sends a boy by the name of Richard Atlee, (Tom Happer) to the house. The couple takes an interest in Richard, so they invite him to stay for dinner.

A few days later, Arthur awakens to hear noise coming from under the house. To Arthur's shock and bewilderment, he finds that the boy, Richard, has taken residence in the crawlspace of the house. Arthur and Alice, have longed for a child of their own for years, so they decide to take Richard in and more or less raise him. But Richard refuses to sleep in the main part of the house, only wanting to stay in the crawlspace. Even after being warned about Richard by the sheriff, Sheriff Birge (Eugene Roche), the couple continue to develop a close bond with the boy.

Sheriff Birge's suspicions are confirmed when Richard begins acting violently toward the Graves and the town. Richard even resorts to crime. During one of his violent outbursts, he smashes up a section of the town's general store.

The film ends on a somber and unresolved note.

Cast

  • Tom Happer as Richard Roy Atlee
  • Arthur Kennedy as Albert Graves
  • Teresa Wright as Alice Graves
  • Eugene Roche as Sheriff Emil Birge
  • Matthew Cowles as Dave Freeman
  • Dan Morgan as Dr. Harlow
  • Roger Serbagi as Davalos
  • Louise Campbell as Miz Gerard
  • Fleet Emerson as Wheeler
  • DVD release

    Crawlspace was released on DVD on October 1, 2007 by Wild Eye Releasing.

    References

    Crawlspace (1972 film) Wikipedia
    Crawlspace (1972 film) IMDb Crawlspace (1972 film) themoviedb.org