Satan's School for Girls (1973 film)

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Satan's School for Girls
Satans School for Girls 1973.jpg
DVD cover
GenreCrime
Horror
Mystery
Drama
Written by Arthur A. Ross
Directed by David Lowell Rich
Starring Pamela Franklin
Kate Jackson
Lloyd Bochner
Jamie Smith Jackson
Roy Thinnes
Jo Van Fleet
Cheryl Ladd
Music by Laurence Rosenthal
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerPeter Dunne
Producers Aaron Spelling
Leonard Goldberg
Production locations The Rock Store - 30354 Mulholland Highway, Cornell, California
King Gillette Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park - Mulholland Highway, Calabasas, California
20th Century Fox Studios
CinematographyTim Southcott
EditorsBrian Brunette
Allan Jacobs
Running time74 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseSeptember 19, 1973 (1973-09-19)

Satan's School for Girls is a 1973 American made-for-television horror film directed by David Lowell Rich, and produced by Aaron Spelling under its production company Spelling-Goldberg Productions. The film premiered on ABC on September 19, 1973. The film has been named as one of the most memorable television movies of the 1970s. [1]

Contents

Plot

A mysterious person seems to be chasing student Martha Sayers (Terry Lumley), who drives to her sister's lakeside house in Los Angeles. The same day, the police and Martha's sister Elizabeth (Pamela Franklin) find her hanged in the living room. The police rule her death as an unmotivated suicide, but Elizabeth refuses to believe this and investigates further. She decides to visit the exclusive academy that Martha attended, The Salem Academy for Women, despite warnings from Martha's roommate, Lucy Dembrow (Gwynne Gilford). Under the assumed name of Elizabeth Morgan, she enrolls at the college, where she is welcomed by her classmates Roberta Lockhart (Kate Jackson), Debbie Jones (Jamie Smith Jackson) and Jody Keller (Cheryl Ladd).

Newspaper advertisement, September 19, 1973 Satan's School for Girls ad - The Evening News (1973).jpg
Newspaper advertisement, September 19, 1973

Elizabeth notes several strange occurrences, but postpones further investigation. Debbie has an outburst in class. The feared headmistress, Mrs. Jessica Williams (Jo Van Fleet), is worried about the influence of "the new girl". When Lucy commits suicide, Elizabeth resumes her investigation. She becomes intrigued with a painting of Martha in a dungeon-like room. Debbie, who painted it, is terrified of the painting and claims she invented the background, but Elizabeth finds an identical setting in a cellar on campus. When she is startled by a man with a straight razor, Elizabeth flees.

The next night, Elizabeth returns to the cellar with Roberta, who is now suspicious as well. They locate a hidden room in which they find the dead body of Debbie, who earlier that evening had tried to leave the campus. Elizabeth suspects that Professor Delacroix (Lloyd Bochner) is responsible, considering his eccentric and mildly sadistic behavior. Elizabeth bursts into his office, finding him in a deranged state with a gun in his hand. He fears something supernatural is stalking him, and he jumps through the window. After running for some time, he ends up mired in a swamp, where he is beaten with sticks by several students including Jody.

Meanwhile, the otherwise popular Dr. Joseph Clampett (Roy Thinnes) reveals to Williams that he is responsible for all the murders. He orders the headmistress to evacuate the school. Elizabeth and Roberta are unaware of the evacuation. They discover the body of Delacroix, who has been brutally murdered. Elizabeth and Roberta turn to Williams for help, but she has gone insane.

When they are unsuccessful in calling the police, Elizabeth and Roberta go to the cellar to find a gun. Instead, they find Clampett leading a Satanic cult. His followers (including Jody) believe that he is Satan incarnate, and Roberta reveals herself as his loyal servant. Elizabeth is able to escape when she sets the school on fire, and she takes Williams with her. However, the other girls stay behind. The entire building is engulfed in flames. Clampett supernaturally survives the fire and is shown outdoors, then mysteriously disappears, leaving only a patch of charred grass where he stood.

Cast

Reception

In Black Gate, Thomas Parker wrote:

God help me, I love this wretched movie, which is inept in every possible way and only occasionally reaches the level of laughably bad. You can watch it on YouTube if you dare; I paid good money for a DVD of it, which sits on a sulphur-smelling shelf right next to my copies of Trilogy of Terror , The Night Stalker , Killdozer , The Stranger Within , Haunts of the Very Rich ... [2]

Remake

A remake with the same title was released in 2000 with Kate Jackson appearing again, this time as the headmistress. [3] [1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Hal Erickson (2013). "Satan's School for Girls". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on January 15, 2013.
  2. Parker, Thomas. "Movie of the Week Madness: Satan's School for Girls". BlackGate.com. Black Gate . Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  3. "This Month in Horror". Bloody Disgusting. March 2000.