It's not a happy Christmas for the unhappy Morgan sisters. Their father whom they've been estranged for years from has summoned them to his bed side. It's not happy news that Walter Brennan brings them. He thinks that his second wife Julie Harris is trying to poison him.The sisters cover quite a span of years. From Eleanor Parker the oldest to Sally Field the youngest with Jessica Walter and Jill Haworth in the middle. None of them seem to have any men in their lives for various reasons. Brennan was quite the tyrant in his younger days and no doubt scared a lot of them off. As it goes in these Gothic horror films the bodies start dropping and the survivors start running. One of the women is indeed the guilty party. I think you'll probably figure it out as this is a made for TV film. A theatrical film might have had it come out differently.The cast is as professional as they come. Sally Field was shedding her Gidget/Flying Nun image and on her way to a pair of Oscars. Eleanor Parker is the tower of strength and Walter and Haworth are a pair of party animals. Brennan did not look well, I suspect he was having real health issues.Fans of Gothic horror and any and all of the cast should be pleased.

Revisited this after two decades since my only recollection of it was that it featured a lot of rain. Family matriarch Benjamin Morgan (Walter Brennan) has his three estranged daughters - Frederica (Jessica Walter, Christine (Sally Field) and Joanna (Jill Haworth) - join him and his fourth daughter, Alex (Eleanor Parker), for Christmas. His reason is simple - he wants them to kill his new wife Elizabeth (Julie Harris), who he believes is slowly poisoning him. This is an effective holiday horror with great performances by all of the leading ladies. The mystery by writer Joseph Stefano might be easy to figure out, but there are still some great moments of suspense. Some of it is pretty shocking for a early '70s TV movie. For example, there is one great bit where Benjamin is dressing down his daughters and he flat out says Frederica was a hussy in junior high. Don't think that would fly today. Director John Llewellyn Moxey does a great job creating the trapped, rainy night atmosphere and gets the most out of their location (which is the same farmhouse where Spielberg shot SOMETHING EVIL).

Actually, "Home for the Holidays" has little in the way of horror and little in the way of Christmas. It comes across as a sort of excuse to gather these various stars (Jessica Walter, Sally Field, Julie Harris, Walter Brennan) together and give the audience the task of guessing who the killer is. I'll admit that I didn't guess, but otherwise, the movie consists of people getting on each other's nerves (I probably would have gotten like that had I been with them).So, it's not terrible, just little that we haven't seen before. I just thought that it would be neat to see Sally Field do horror. But let's hope that from now on, she sticks with the kinds of roles with which she's most associated.PS: Another "Flying Nun" cast member (Shelley Morrison, aka Sister Sixto) also starred in a psycho-killer movie in the '70s: "Devil Times Five".

This is a neat little thriller by the prolific producing team of Spelling-Goldberg. It's written by the screenwriter of "Psycho"! When Christmas comes and a glut of weepy or cheerful specials are filling the airwaves, sometimes a dose of morbid, downbeat drama can be a nice change! Ever-cranky Brennan plays a father who is dying (and suspects his second wife, Harris, of doing him in.) He sends for his four daughters (Parker, Walter, Haworth, Field) to come to his aid. At 50, 32, 26 and 26, these ladies are the least likely sisters one could imagine! In fact, Parker had played Field's mother only two years prior. The ladies don't even look like they could be related. It matters little, though, once the drama sets in and the acting begins. Brennan apparently would have preferred sons as each lady has a male nickname: Alex, Freddie, Jo and Chris. Parker, still lovely when lit correctly, does a great job in her role. Harris matches her and gives a good performance in a difficult part. Walter is a touch over the top, but is fine and Field is charming...though eventually she gets to scream her head off. The film is very simple, made during a time when TV movies didn't feel the need to pad out to fill two hours if the material didn't warrant it. The movie, sans commercials, runs 78 minutes. The result is a pretty tight little story that builds to some genuine suspense. The climactic thunderstorm goes a long way in providing the right atmosphere.