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SIAN BARBARA ALLEN IN THE TV-HORROR 'SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY'

Year: 1973 Rates: ***1/2

Sian Barbara Allen is one of those artsy-looking actresses that could only derive from the 1970's: A round-faced Jessica Harper type that a guy would hopelessly crush on after being her friend a little while, and is so down-to-earth she doesn't quite realize how PRETTY she is, even when that aspect pivots the title SCREAM PRETTY PEGGY... yet all she really does is whine the name, "Jeffrey..."

A sculptor living in a dark spooky mansion with lushy mom Bette Davis, playing a mellower BABY JANE here... but since horror leans towards youth, Sian Barbara Allen is both the ingenue and antagonist...

As in, antagonistic, nosy and downright pushy to her new boss (hired for light housekeeping) played by benign THAT GIRL actor Ted Bessell... 

Who, it turns out, harbors a crazy sister in the guest house and, well, let's just say the end twist of this Universal TV-Movie is both predictable and blasphemous to a theatrical classic about a man-child with mommy-issues... 

And yet the dark and contained setting serves up a nicely balanced combination of old school haunted house and modern exploitation body count, which only includes two victims but it's genuinely terrifying how "the sister" looks, knife-poised in semi-darkness, and it's no surprise this kinda show scared television audiences when we all had relatively small screens as today, a wider view uncovers all the dated flaws... yet there's still a nice little short-story vibe showcasing both the creepiness of a slowburn-creepy little tale and the monkey-cuteness of the ingenue (who'd appear on a Columbo with the same stock music). 

Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY with Ted Bessell

Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY
Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY
Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY
Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY
Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY
Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY
Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY
Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY
Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY
Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY
Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY with Johnnie Collins III
Sian Barbara Allen and BETTE DAVIS in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY
First role for Tovah Feldshuh in the intro to SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY
Sian Barbara Allen as Peggy in SCREAM, PRETTY PEGGY

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