''Death Scream'' is a 1975 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 for ...
crime drama film
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
loosely based on an actual event concerning the real-life account of "
a young woman whose murder was witnessed by fifteen of her neighbors who did nothing to help and refused to cooperate with the police."
[Marill, Alvin H. ''Movies Made For Television'', Da Capo Press, Inc., reprint by arrangement with Arlington House Publishers, New York, NY, 1980.] It originally aired on
ABC on September 26, 1975.
The film had the working title of ''Homicide'', and its rerun title was ''The Woman Who Cried Murder''.
Premise
On March 13, 1964, Catherine "Kitty" Genovese was attacked and viciously stabbed several times by a
psychopath
Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been u ...
while nearby residents watched but did nothing to help.
Cast
*
Raul Julia
Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he took an interest in acting while still in school and pursued the career upon completion of his studies. After ...
as Detective Nick Rodriguez
*
John P. Ryan as Detective Dave Lambert
* Phillip Clark as Detective Johnny Bellon
*
Lucie Arnaz
Lucie Désirée Arnaz (born July 17, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Early life
Arnaz was born at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of acto ...
as Judy
*
Ed Asner
Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both '' The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' ...
as Peter Singleton
*
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won List of awards and nominations received by Cloris Leachman, many accolades, including eight Primetime ...
as Mrs. Singleton
*
Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed Norton on the si ...
as Mr. Jacobs
*
Diahann Carroll
Diahann Carroll (; born Carol Diann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. She rose to prominence in some of the earliest major studio films to feature black casts, including '' C ...
as Betty May
*
Kate Jackson
Lucy Kate Jackson (born October 29, 1948) is an American actress and television producer, known for her television roles as Sabrina Duncan in the series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1979) and Amanda King in the series '' Scarecrow and Mrs. Kin ...
as Carol
*
Tina Louise
Tina Louise ( Blacker; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her role as movie star Ginger Grant in the CBS television situation comedy ''Gilligan's Island''. With the death of Dawn Wells in 2020, Louise became the la ...
as Hilda Murray
*
Nancy Walker
Nancy Walker (born Anna Myrtle Swoyer; May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director (lending her talents to ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', on w ...
as Mrs. Jacobs
*
Eric Braeden as Kosinsky
*
Thelma Houston
Thelma Houston ( Jackson; born May 7, 1946) Retrieved . is an American singer. Beginning her recording career in the late 1960s, Houston scored a number-one hit record in 1977 with her recording of " Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the Gramm ...
as Lady Wing Ding
*
Dimitra Arliss
Dimitra Arliss (October 23, 1932 – January 26, 2012) was an American actress.
Early life and education
Of Greek descent, she was born in Lorain, Ohio, on October 23, 1932. She attended Miami University.
Career
Arliss's acting caree ...
as Mrs. Kosinsky
*
Bert Freed
Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 – August 2, 1994) was an American character actor, voice-over actor, and the first actor to portray Detective Columbo.
Life and career
Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Freed began acting while attending ...
as Detective Ross
*
Allyn Ann McLerie as Alice Whitmore
*
Tony Dow as Joey
*
Sally Kirkland
Sally Kirkland (born October 31, 1941) is an American film, television and stage actress and producer. A former member of Andy Warhol's The Factory and an active member in 1960s New York avant-garde theater, she has appeared in more than 250 fi ...
as Mary
*
Belinda Balaski as Jenny Storm
*
Helen Hunt as Teila
*
Joan Goodfellow
Joan Goodfellow (born February 2, 1950) is an American actress and singer who appeared on stage, screen, and television throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Best known for her lead role in ''Buster and Billie'' (1974) as well as her performance in '' L ...
as Mrs. Daniels
*
Les Lannom as Mr. Daniels
Notes
External links
*
1975 films
1975 television films
American television films
Films directed by Richard T. Heffron
Films scored by Gil Mellé
Films set in New York City
Films with screenplays by Stirling Silliphant
Television films based on actual events
1970s English-language films
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