Irresistible premise (which could easily be adapted to today's technology) is well-executed in this tense if overextended thriller. William Castle throws you a little off at the start with playful music and young girls as the leads, but then he recreates the shower murder scene of "Psycho" - and outdoes it in viciousness! The two girls, and especially Andi Garrett as Libby, are natural and believable and not very cutesy (though they are cute!); John Ireland is scarily convincing as the baddie. Joan Crawford has a secondary role. *** out of 4.

"I saw what you did...and I know who you are!" This is what teenagers Kit and Libby say to Steve Marak (John Ireland), whom they've randomly dialed as a prank. Trouble is, they don't know that Marak's just killed his wife, who was about to leave him, and has buried her in a shallow grave. Now he thinks his mysterious caller knows too much - and he's out to find her.This is another post-gimmick horror movie from the legendary William Castle, and like The Night Walker and Strait-Jacket, there are plenty more genuine scares than campy laughs. This is also the kind of movie that couldn't quite be duplicated in this day and age, of course. The girls find their numbers not by just dialing random digits but by picking names out of the phone book. That's because back then, many numbers weren't even used (even though the full number consisted of a two-letter designation for the town/exchange and then five numbers), so Kit and Libby could have tried a score of phone numbers before getting an answer.But the use of the phone book adds to the story in another way. Kit and Libby think Steve's voice sounds darn hunky, so they decide to snag Libby's mom's car and head to good ol' Steve's house. You know, just to see what he looks like. Late at night. They're not even going to get out of the car! They drag along Libby's kid sister Tess, because they're not going to leave her alone in their secluded forest house! They're responsible! There's a side plot. Steve's a little crazed (even before killing his wife, played by Joyce Meadows), but he's almost stable compared with his neighbor Amy, played by the inimitable Joan Crawford. Amy is obsessed with Steve - it's unclear whether they'd been having an affair, but Amy's intentions are transparent - to the point where, once she realizes what Steve's done, she attempts to blackmail him into marrying her and having a whopping fun life together. It's wacked-out Crawford at her late-career best. This was supposed to be a cameo, but she nails the role so perfectly that she gets extra time for bad behavior.Prank calls, kids. They were a bad idea in 1965, and they're a really bad idea in 2014, when anyone can either tell who is calling them or call them back with that old standby the *69. You know, for those who don't have call-waiting. So you can't pull this malarkey nowadays - too likely that you get some crazed lunatic with no sense of humor.Another fun Castle thriller with some pretty solid work from even the kid actors (Sara Lane, Andi Garrett, Sharyl Locke). The moody fog surrounding the isolated home also sets the perfect tone for an underrated thriller.

Another camp Castle classic, "I Saw What You Did" presents an amazingly good premise that gets seriously botched by the usual amount of plot holes and implausibilities these kinds of teen horror flicks are rife with. No sense rehashing the plot; you already know it. But we already know villainous John Ireland is twisted. Why else would he murder his sexy wife (Joyce Meadows) in order to carry on with neighbor, Joan Crawford, who possesses all the feminine allure of a '63 Chevy Suburban? It's always fun to watch Joan in these later films, seen here wearing industrial-strength costume jewelry and a hairdo that would survive a nuclear disaster. She is quite good here, and provides the few real dramatic sparks in the film. Too bad her murder in the second reel is so anti-climactic.The one character we actually want to see murdered is head teen prankster Libby (Andi Garrett), if only because she won't die from her own stupidity!In one "good" scene, neighbor Joan catches a peeping Libby snooping next door at the house of her intended future hubby, Ireland. In a spiteful move, Big Bad Joan rips the vehicle registration card from Libby's car, and inadvertently provides Ireland with the name and address of his next victim. OOPS! Much of the film is oddly scored with peppy beach party-type music which doesn't lend an altogether convincing sense of suspense and dread. The final scene probably sums up the film's ineptitude best. Crying and shaking one moment after almost being strangled to death, Libby and her kid sister Tess then share giggles and laughter while the murderer lies slumped over dead in the car's back seat. Say, who's up for some cocoa!You certainly won't be wondering how many Academy Awards this was nominated for. It's a definite curio and good for lots of unintentional laughs.

Libby Mannering's parents are going out for the night. The regular sitter had to cancel because of illness, so the elder Mannerings figure Libby can take care of herself and her younger sister Tess. Kit Austin, a friend of Libby's, is coming to spend the night with her friend. Libby is into mischief. She loved to make phone crank calls at random, so she proposes a game: how about calling people for kicks. Libby concoct stories as she goes along. Kit has second thoughts, but goes along with her friend.The people that answered the girls first calls took the prank in stride, but not so Steve Marak. When he answers the phone, Libby, pretending to be older and more sophisticated, proceeds to tell the man she saw what he did. Had he been another man, he would have dismissed the statement, but not so Steve, for a reason: he had just killed his wife, who was in the process of leaving him. So Steve's guilt feelings begin to get the best of him since he had figured he had covered his tracks.Added to the suspense is a woman of a certain age, Amy Nelson, a neighbor, who had set her eyes on Steve as a possible romantic partner. Steve, who had no intentions of starting anything with Amy, goes to bury the body of his slain wife. Amy figures there is something more to the man she likes, than really meet the eye. Amy begins spying on Steve to see what really is going on with him.When the girls, on a whim, decide to visit Steve's house, they had no idea as to how deep they had gotten and the mess they had created. Amy, noticing the girls outside Steve's house, figures the young women are up to no good. Amy pushes her luck with the man she wants and does not live long after her would be lover decides to eliminate her. Now Steve must get back to the teenagers to get rid of them.Not having seen the film before, we decided to take a look when it showed up on cable recently. This was a William Castle product, a man that had great success in the horror genre. The director enjoyed a long career in the movies, but he was not lucky in the way he planned to present the film. The premise was good. Of course, it is dated, by today's standards when not many people engage in those pranks, something that is not easily condoned, or justified by present laws that would consider Libby's actions as a kind of harassment, punishable by law. Basically, our main interest in watching was to see Joan Crawford, who is featured in the film, but whose presence is only minor within the context of the narrative. John Ireland does not impress as Steve. The production is made more creepy by the use of a fog that envelops most of the scenes involving the suburban house.