''Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate'' is a 1971 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

directed by

Ted Post Theodore I. Post (March 31, 1918 – August 20, 2013) was an American director of film and television. Highly prolific, Post directed numerous episodes of well-known television series including '' Rawhide'', ''Gunsmoke'', and ''The Twilight Zone'' ...

, starring

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...

, Helen Hayes,

Mildred Natwick Mildred Natwick (June 19, 1905 – October 25, 1994) was an American actress. She won a Primetime Emmy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award and two Tony Awards. Early life Natwick was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Mildre ...

, Sylvia Sidney,

John Beradino John Beradino (born Giovanni Berardino, May 1, 1917 – May 19, 1996) was an American infielder in Major League Baseball and an actor. Known as Johnny Berardino during his baseball career, he was also credited during his acting career as John Ber ...

and

Vince Edwards Vince Edwards (born Vincent Edward Zoine; July 9, 1928 – March 11, 1996) was an American actor and director. He was best known for his TV role as doctor Ben Casey and as Major Cliff Bricker in the 1968 war film '' The Devil's Brigade''. Ear ...

, with the screenplay adapted by John D. F. Black from a novel of the same name by

Doris Miles Disney Doris Miles Disney (December 22, 1907 – March 9, 1976) was an American mystery writer. She wrote 47 novels, many of which were best sellers; several were made into feature films or TV movies. In 14 of her writing years Disney published two n ...

. It was broadcast as the ''

ABC Movie of the Week ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

'' on November 9, 1971.

Plot

Four middle-class

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

ladies in their late sixties ( Helen Hayes,

and Sylvia Sidney) habitually meet for lunch and exchange small talk with their waitress (

Dodo Denney Nora Denney (September 3, 1927 – November 20, 2005), also credited as Dodo Denney, was an American actress. Career Her show business career began in Kansas City when she was hired by the local television station Channel 5 (KCMO TV) to play " ...

). They propose to create a fictitious young woman named Rebecca, and to submit her profile to a

computer dating Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the categor ...

service. Several days after doing so they begin to receive letters from potential suitors, and derive additional amusement from reading them out loud. Concurrently, a young woman ( Diane Shalet) becomes alarmed by her date Mal's (

) attempts to force himself upon her, and manages to escape into her home. His audible thoughts reveal that he has dangerous difficulty in relating to women. Mal turns his obsessive attentions to the fictitious "Rebecca", and not only sends a letter but tracks down the telephone number of "her" address. He calls and speaks to one of the old ladies, who impishly accepts a date with him at a local bar. In a spirit of fun, the four ladies wait at the bar to see what Mal looks like; however, when he arrives he mistakes a hooker, Brenda (Barbara Davis) for "Rebecca", and leaves with her. When they arrive at Brenda's apartment and she asks for money, an outraged Mal attacks and kills her. Once the ladies realize their actions have led to murder, they go to the police; however, they also investigate Mal themselves, which places them in grave danger...

Brief continuation in a similar form

On December 16, 1972, 13 months after the ABC broadcast of ''Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate'' on November 9, 1971,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

reunited Hayes and Natwick in '' The Snoop Sisters'', a two-hour

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

about two aged sisters who write mysteries as well as solve crimes. Although different characters than in ''Do Not Fold'', the Snoop sisters' relationship clearly resembles that of the one adventurous / one sensible style of ''Do Not Fold''s Helen Hayes and Myrna Loy, but with Natwick now cast as the level-headed sibling. Four additional 90-minute episodes of ''The Snoop Sisters'' were broadcast between December 1973 and March 1974.''The Snoop Sisters'' at AllRovi
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Cast

* Helen Hayes as Sophie Tate Curtis *

as Mal Weston *

as Evelyn Tryon *

as Shelby Saunders * Sylvia Sidney as Elizabeth Gibson *

as Detective Hallum * Larry D. Mann as Police Sergeant Lutz * Barbara Davis as Brenda * Paul Smith as Cutter *

Gary Vinson Gary Vinson (October 22, 1936 – October 15, 1984) was an American actor who appeared in significant roles in three television series of the 1960s: '' The Roaring 20s'', ''McHale's Navy'', and ''Pistols 'n' Petticoats''. Early years Vinson was ...

as Jonas * Diane Shalet as Ruth Mellon *

as Trudy * Patrecia Wynand as Hostess * Leonidas Ossetynski as Florist *

John Mitchum John Mitchum (September 6, 1919 – November 29, 2001) was an American actor from the 1940s to the 1970s in film and television. The younger brother of the actor Robert Mitchum, he was credited as Jack Mitchum early in his career. Early years ...

as Mr. Tubbs * Margaret Wheeler as Mrs. Mellon * Joe Haworth as Detective * William Sumper as Man in Handcuffs

Reception

In the 1989 edition of ''

Leonard Maltin's TV Movies & Video Guide ''Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'' was a book-format collection of movie capsule reviews that began in 1969, was updated biannually after 1978, and then annually after 1986. The final edition was published in September 2014. It was originally call ...

'', the film was rated "Average", with the comment that the "way in which prank turns frightening could've been handled far, far better; otherwise, good performances." ''

Steven H. Scheuer's Movies on TV and Videocassette Steven Henry Scheuer (January 9, 1926 – May 31, 2014) was a film and television historian and critic. He edited all seventeen editions of ''Movies on TV'' published between 1958 and 1993 and wrote ''The Movie Book'' (1974), subtitled ''A Compreh ...

'' (1986–87 edition) gave the movie 1½ stars (out of 4), with the opening sentence stating, " is all-star comedy about murder tends to be a bit coy..."

References

External links