Sara Evans Video:

		List Price: $14.98		Label: Starz / Anchor Bay Salesrank: 94873 Released: August 24, 1999
		Our Price: $89.96
		Used Price: $64.95
		MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
"The telephone was the star of my next film," writes William Castle in his autobiography Step Right Up! I'm Gonna Scare the Pants Off America as he describes I Saw What You Did, a lightweight thriller about two schoolgirls and a prank phone call that backfires with a vengeance. When the girls whisper "I saw what you did, and I know who you are" to a perfect stranger, little do they know he has just murdered his wife and is now out to silence any witnesses. An aging John Ireland plays the homicidal husband and Joan Crawford has little more than a cameo as an amorous neighbor turned blackmailer. Castle leaves the spook-show gimmicks and high-concept twists out of this thriller, which prefigures the teen scream genre by decades, but he proves to be little better than competent as a suspense director. When one of the girls continues to call the killerback, playing at grown-up with a breathy coo and a come-on air, the film shuffles through uncomfortable territory and emerges with an unaccountably cheery denouement. Castle is more at home as a showman, as his giddy, goofy House on Haunted Hill shows, than as a dime store Hitchcock, but the film does exhibit a little Castle flair, such as an inventive prologue framed in a pair of opening and closing eyes. --Sean Axmaker

I Saw What You Did Reviews:
Not William Castle's best flick, but a fun ride
2009-10-23 - I SAW WHAT YOU DID

*** ½ Out of 5

Release Date- July 21st, 1965

Running Time- 82-Minutes

Rating-

Screenplay- William P. McGivern (Ursula Curtiss, Novel)

Director- William Castle

Starring- Andi Garrett, Sarah Lane, John Ireland, Sharyl Locke, Patricia Breslin, Leif Erickson, John Archer and Joan Crawford as Amy Nelson

I Saw What You Did was released in 1965 and directed by William Castle; Castle a cult filmmaker is probably best known for his gimmicks when it comes to his work. In The Tingler certain seats would be rigged to give a zap to the viewer during the scare scenes; with 13 Ghosts the viewer could wear glasses that would allow them to see the ghosts in the house, Homicidal, had the fright meter pop up and finally Mr. Sardonicus the people in the theater voted on what ending they wanted regarding the lead character Mr. Sardonicus. These gimmicks served Castle well and while these movies still might be enjoyable those of us not old enough to see these movies during their original release are missing out.

William Castle was very much a camp director who came up with gimmicks, but he can also tell a story without camp (or too much) and without gimmicks. While I like William Castle's work I wouldn't rate any of his movies among my personal favorites except the 1964 film Straight-Jacket, which was a movie without any gimmicks and in my opinion showed the talent Castle had as a filmmaker when not making anything campy or with a gimmick.

I Saw What You Did is a movie without a gimmick well sort of; there were seatbelts installed in the seats at the theaters so people wouldn't jump out of their seat in fear, but this wasn't the typical Castle gimmick, but I Saw What You Did does have some camp value, which I'm not quite sure how much was intentional and I'll get more into that in just a bit.

The plot is simple, but effective; Libby (Andi Garrett) is watching over her sister Tess (Sharyl Locke) while their parents are away for the night, Libby's friend Kitt (Sarah Lane) comes over to hang out with Libby and with nothing better to do the three girls start to make some prank phone calls. They call a man named Steve Marak (John Ireland), but he's in the shower and when his wife goes into the room in a fit of rage Steve murders her than later buries the body; the girls continue to make prank phone calls only now saying I know who you are and I saw what you did, they end up calling Steve back and say this and of course the girls are unknown to what he actually did, but Steve doesn't know that.

The screenplay by William P. McGivern was based off a novel by Ursula Curtiss; since I've never read the novel I cannot compare the two or what was changed. The script was fairly well written with some decent character development; while the characters don't have a lot of depth McGivern does a good enough job in giving some insight to what the girls are like. Some of the dialogue was a bit silly in some spots and Libby actually goes to Steve's house to see what he looks like and I'm not sure about that. That seems a bit out there, but than again teenagers are known to do some stupid things so I guess it's possible for this to happen. The three main characters are slightly annoying at times, but teenagers and children can sometimes be annoying so the script sort of works due to that. The screenplay is hardly anything special and does have some silly moments, but it serves its purpose.

Director William Castle does a fairly good job with the pacing; even though at times nothing really happens, Castle is able to keep the movie mostly interesting up until the suspense kicks in. I Saw What You Did does have a campy feel through out the movie and I'm not sure how much was intentional; the performances were a bit weak, but the three girls were very early in their career. So with the acting it does add a camp feel. The score was idiotic and felt more like something better suited for a comedy and that also adds the campy feel to the movie.

Castle though manages to deliver some decent suspense and the final act is actually pretty good. The setting is at an isolated farm house and Castle takes advantage of his settings and is able to craft some solid scenes, but the campy acting and silly music does slightly take away from the suspense. The final act almost has a slasher like feel in how its done and I'm sure some filmmakers of the 80s slasher film probably got an idea or two from this. William Castle was an entertaining, but far from masterful director, but movies like I Saw What You Did as well as Straight-Jacket show Castle was a filmmaker with some talent and far more than just a gimmick director.

The performances were ok, but a bit wooden. Andi Garrett and Sarah Lane were good in their roles, but this I believe was their feature film debut so it wasn't perfect, but they do feel real and act like teenagers; Sharyl Locke as Tess was cute, but slightly annoying. John Ireland as Steve was good, but he never has that real creepy feel needed to elevate the movie; Joan Crawford appears in a small role that doesn't really add anything to the movie besides Steve being able to locate the girls.

Overall I Saw What You Did was an entertaining movie that has built up a nice cult following; this was one of Castle's better flicks, but it's far from a classic. Like I said this was an entertaining movie and does make for a fun time. I Saw What You Did would have a TV remake in 1988, which starred a young Shawnee Smith (Saw) and was directed by Fred Walton director of When a Stranger Calls and April Fools Day.

I wonder if this movie was of any influence on Wes Craven; in one scene Tess makes a prank phone call and says she's trying to reach her mother who is supposed to pick her up and she says the theater is on Elm Street, when Tess ends up giving the woman her house number, she calls and Libby answers and pretends to be the mother and refers to Tess as Nancy; I'd say this has to be more than a coincidence.

"Joan Steals This Picture"
2009-06-27 - Although Joan Crawford had a small role in "I Saw What You Did", she nevertheless steals the film from her costars. Joan plays a neighbor to a man who turns out to be a killer unbeknownst to her. She is also having a sordid affair with him. The movie is mainly about two teenage girls making prank phone calls to people at night. The movie is pure fun escapism, especially in this age with caller ID.
This is the second movie Joan did for director Herman Cohen; the first was 1964's "Straight Jacket"; that film is better than "I Saw What You Did', but this film has more than enough campy Joan Crawford scenes to fulfill all Crawford enthusiasts. Joan is also reunited with her "Queen Bee" co-star and real-life former lover John Ireland. I also must add Miss Crawford looks beautiful in this. She was 61 years old when she shot this film, but looks breathtaking! This was also the first film she did when she walked away from "Hush, Hush...Sweet Charlotte".
"I Saw What You Did" is long out-of-print, but the costs of these used DVD's are worth all the money that you spend on them. Sit back and enjoy a great 1960's film and watch Miss Crawford tear up the scenes as well as her co-stars!
The trailer is also included in the set.

crank yankers
2008-04-15 - The DVD includes the original trailer as well as a brief promo that Vincent Castle did for the movie. "I Saw What You Did" shows what happens when you make too many prank phone calls! I love this movie because it's so funny. These kids in this film are so totally silly. And everyone was so polite. What's up with that? Were people really like this in the 1960's? As usual Joan was perfect. My favorite scene was the one where she went nuts on Libby and chased her all the way back to the car. It was so funny, I thought Joan was going to have a heart attack. Rock on.

I Saw What You Did and I Rate It a 5!
2007-07-03 - This movie is really a great film for the Low Budget films of Days gone by. Joan Crawford is in this, but just for a few fleeting moments. It's not her best acting gig, and she sure didn't get any awards for this film. I noticed that some people gave it only 1 star...I bet that these people are younger and don't remember our old phone systems and the simpler days of living. This movie will keep your attention, especially if you are a baby boomer or older, as you will remember all the pranks that we all used to do on the phone. The first time I ever saw this film, it scared the crap out of me! The out in the middle of nowhere house, the fog...Boy can I relate to that growing up in the country!This film is scary, without all the blood, gore and violence that you see in todays horror films! I highly recommend this film!

Vintage William Castle Thriller Combining An Interesting Premise With A Solid Cast Including Joan Crawford
2007-03-20 - Producer/Director William Castle will always be remembered as a "B" level showman renowned for getting his best thrills in his movies through cheap tricks like wiring theatre seats with light electricity or dangling skeletons over audiences during the screenings in a feeble attempt to increase the "thrill factor". However I believe he has often been unfairly dismissed in his movie output and could on occasion produce interestingly original work in his movies. His highly effective "The Night Walker" starring Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor from 1965 comes to mind as fitting this category. 1965 also found him working off another interesting premise to create an entertaining and well acted little thriller in "I Saw What You Did". Admittedly the film is no masterpiece however it does succeed in its 80 or so minutes running time to create quite suspensful viewing. The idea of a prank phone call going terribly wrong and leading to a potentially deadly situation might not seem very original however here it is handled in a manner that allows the tension to slowly build and then mushrooms into a fast moving and tense climax. Castle was aided greatly here by a terrific cast headed by top billed veteran actress Joan Crawford who actually has a smaller role than the billing would suggest. Reteamed here with her old "Queen Bee" costar John Ireland this thriller would sadly prove to be Joan's last American film with her last two efforts being made in England. She however more than makes up for her limited screen time by totally dominating the action in her scenes making her role seem larger than it actually is. The cast includes an interesting mixture of veterans and complete new comers and they work extremely well together on what was obviously a small budget and limited production schedule. These limitations however work in the stories favour keeping the story moving at a satisfying pace with not alot of character development going on. Even the black and white photography, obviously chosen for budgetry reasons, proves highly effective here in creating just the right mood where so much of the story takes place on an eerie fog shroud night in an isolated country area.