It happened at 8:30 a.m.

Movie
German title	It happened at 8:30 a.m.
Original title	I saw what you did
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1965
length	82 minutes
Rod
Director	William Castle
script	William McGivern
production	William Castle for Universal Pictures
music	Van Alexander
camera	Joseph F. Biroc
cut	Edwin H. Bryant
occupation
	Joan Crawford : Amy Nelson; John Ireland : Steve Marak; Leif Erickson : Dave Mannering; Sarah Lane : Kit; Andi Garrett : Libby;

It happened at 8:30 a.m. (OT: I Saw What You Did ) is an American crime film from 1965 starring, among others, Joan Crawford . Directed by William Castle , with whom Crawford had worked in The Straitjacket the previous year.

action

Libby, Kit and Tess, three young girls, pass the time babysitting with pranks on the phone. You call strangers, I know what you've done and I know who you are on the phone and quickly hang up. They also play the prank on Steve Marak, who just recently killed his wife. In a panic, Steve hides the body in the garden. Just back in the door, Amy is next to him, his adorable neighbor, with whom Steve has been having an affair for some time. Steve claims his wife left him head over heels. Amy finds out by accident what actually happened to Mrs. Marak. She wants to blackmail Steve and is murdered herself. Meanwhile, Steve can find out Libby's identity. He tries to kill her, which in the end fails.

background

Joan Crawford said goodbye to the big screen in 1957, despite a large number of offers, in order to devote herself to the concerns of the beverage company Pepsi after she had married its chairman Alfred Steele in 1955. When Steele died unexpectedly in 1959, he left Crawford with millions in debts. The actress was more or less forced to take up film offers again in order to pay off the liabilities. The comeback in All my dreams in 1959 brought her a handsome fee and other offers. Among the multitude of projects, Crawford ended up collaborating with Robert Aldrich and Bette Davis in What Really Happened To Baby Jane? . The macabre story of two sisters who are chained to each other in a hateful relationship brought Crawford a lot of money, as it was a percentage of the box office profits. Overall, however, the success permanently ruined her career in the long run. Neither the appearances in Women Who Are Not Allowed to Love nor in The Straitjacket in the following corresponded to the acting skills of Joan Crawford.

Due to an illness of Joan Crawford, plans to work again with Bette Davis in the film Lullaby for a Corpse were broken . Crawford was then considered no longer insurable, as no company was willing to issue a default policy for an actress with such unstable health. It was William Castle who offered Joan Crawford another chance. They had both worked together on The Straitjacket , and now he's offered her a prominent supporting role in his thriller It Happened at 8:30 AM . Despite only having a handful of scenes, the actress was featured in the first place. The low production budget only allowed black and white instead of technicolor and Crawford used her own wardrobe for the role. Crawford and John Ireland had already played in bondage together in 1955 .

The script takes over motifs from the novel Out of the Dark by Ursula Curtiss .

In 1988, I Saw What You Did was remachined for television with Robert Carradine , David Carradine , Tammy Lauren and Shawnee Smith .

Reviews

The contemporary critics criticized a certain length of breath in the staging.

Howard Thompson wrote in the New York Times :

“Unfortunately, director and producer William Castle is slowing the pace. There is also a superfluous plot section, which revolves around the free-running, angry killer, played by John Ireland, and his ruthless, loving neighbor Miss Crawford. "

Variety found:

“[...] a well-produced, well-acted excursion into the realm of suspense. [...] Top billing for Miss Crawford is only justified as a concession to her pulling power at the box office. But her role as Ireland's vicious, ruthless lover is well played and very important to the course of the plot. The veteran can express vivid feelings with the smallest of gestures or expressions. "

literature

Roy Newquist (Ed.): Conversations with Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1980, ISBN 0-8065-0720-9 .
Lawrence J. Quirk : The Complete Films of Joan Crawford . Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1988, ISBN 0-8065-1078-1 .
Lawrence J. Quirk, William Schoell: Joan Crawford. The Essential Biography . University Press, Lexington, KY. 2002, ISBN 0-8131-2254-6 .
Alexander Walker: Joan Crawford. The Ultimate Star . Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983, ISBN 0-297-78216-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Unfortunately, William Castle, the director-producer, dawdles the tempo. And there is a redundant middle chapter involving the aroused, snarling killer, played by John Ireland, and his predatory, love-hungry neighbor, Miss Crawford.
^ [...] a well-produced, well-acted entry in the suspense-terror field. [...] Top billing for Miss Crawford is justified only by making allowances for drawing power of her name. But her role as Ireland's shrewish, predatory lover is well handled and vital to the story. Slightest gesture or expression of this veteran thesp conveys vivid emotion.

[1] Unfortunately, William Castle, the director-producer, dawdles the tempo. And there is a redundant middle chapter involving the aroused, snarling killer, played by John Ireland, and his predatory, love-hungry neighbor, Miss Crawford.

[2] [...] a well-produced, well-acted entry in the suspense-terror field. [...] Top billing for Miss Crawford is justified only by making allowances for drawing power of her name. But her role as Ireland's shrewish, predatory lover is well handled and vital to the story. Slightest gesture or expression of this veteran thesp conveys vivid emotion.