''Savage Intruder'' (also known as ''Hollywood Horror House'') is a 1970 American

psychological horror Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre freque ...

film directed by Donald Wolfe and starring Miriam Hopkins, John David Garfield and

Gale Sondergaard Gale Sondergaard (born Edith Holm Sondergaard; February 15, 1899 – August 14, 1985) was an American actress. Sondergaard began her acting career in theater and progressed to films in 1936. She was the first recipient of the Academy Award ...

.Nissen p.202

Plot

Katharine Packard, a once-prolific movie star now struggling with alcoholism, lives a quiet and reclusive life of retirement with a small group of servants in a mansion in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills is a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It borders Studio City, Universal City and Burbank on the north, Griffith Park on the north and east, Los Feliz on the southeast, Hollyw ...

. One morning, during a drunken stupor, Katharine accidentally falls down the stairs and injures her leg, and is told she will have to stay in a wheelchair for a while because of it. As a result, Katharine and her servants hire a young man named Victor "Vic" Valance to act as her personal assistant and nurse. Unbeknownst to any of them, however, is that Vic is actually a serial killer who has been murdering and dismembering middle-aged women in and around the Hollywood area. Over time, Katharine and Vic develop a close friendship, and even begin to develop romantic feelings for each other. During this time, Vic begins dating and eventually has sex with Katharine's personal cook, Greta. Tensions arise after Katharine's secretary Leslie insinuates to Greta that Vic and Katharine are in a sexual relationship; something that Greta was apparently unaware of. When Greta confronts Vic about it, an argument breaks out which results in Vic slapping her and attempting to hold her back when she tries to run away. Devastated, Greta tells Leslie that she is quitting her job at the mansion and will be leaving in the morning. That night, Greta is decapitated by Vic with a cleaver. The next morning, Vic tells Leslie that Greta has left the estate, which makes her suspicious of him because Greta had told her that she was going inform Katharine of her relationship with Vic before leaving. That night, Leslie sneaks into Vic's room and finds a herion needle in his drawer. She also finds a small briefcase in his closet, but Vic suddenly appears before she can open it and orders her to leave. Leslie complies, but not before accusing Vic of "taking advantage" of Katharine's vulnerability and telling him that she will do everything she can to ensure that he leaves and never comes back. The following day, Leslie manages to convince Katharine that Vic is no more than a "vulgar opportunist", and so Katharine orders him to leave. Vic obliges, but returns not long after and knocks Katharine unconscious before injecting vodka into her bloodstream. Eventually, after psychologically tormenting her, Vic murders Katharine, and, by using his manipulation skills, as well as a mannequin that resembles Katharine, Vic is able to establish himself as the new man of the house after murdering Leslie and Katharine's maid Mildred.

Cast

* Miriam Hopkins as Katharine Packard * David Garfield as Vic Valance (as John David Garfield) *

as Leslie Blair * Florence Lake as Mildred * Virginia Wing as Greta * Lester Matthews as Ira Jaffee * Riza Royce as Mrs. Jaffee *

Joe Besser Joe Besser (born Jessel Besser, August 12, 1907 – March 1, 1988) was an American actor and comedian known for his impish humor and wimpy characters. He is best known for his brief stint as a member of The Three Stooges in movie short subject ...

as Bus Driver * Charles Martin as Doctor * Jason Johnson as Josef * Bill Welsh as TV Announcer * Minta Durfee as Guest

References

Bibliography

* Axel Nissen. ''Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties''. McFarland, 2007.

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0063552 1970 films 1970s horror thriller films 1970 horror films American horror thriller films Films scored by Stu Phillips 1970s English-language films 1970s American films Psycho-biddy films English-language horror thriller films