This is the second tape in a row where I’ve re-recorded the same film over a previous recording. This is a fairly early tape in the collection. There’s the Universal logo at the start, then a new recording starts, with the more modern BBC 2 logo, and a Moviedrome introduction from Alex Cox, which is always nice to have.
In this case, it’s possibly the best introduction he’s ever done. After giving some biographical and historical context for Eastwood’s influences in this, his first film as director, he spends almost all of the intro wondering why Hollywood seems so interested in presenting stories about homicidal women. Given that there had been a spate of them at the time – Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle – when “women tend not to be the aggressors in the domestic violence stakes”. Thus saving me making the same point.
Then he tells us that this is the longer version of the film, not seen before in Britain, and also explains that because films play at 25 frames per second on TV, even though this cut has a film running time of 102 minutes, on TV it runs for 97 minutes and 52 seconds. Pure TV nerdery, and I love it.
So, onto the film. When I first watched this, I thought it was a completely different type of film, a romantic story, so I think it worked even better for me than if I’d been clearer about its genre.
Eastwood plays a DJ, whose programme is five hours of ‘mellow’ music. He has a regular caller, who calls in to ask him to ‘Play Misty For Me’.
Later, in a bar, he meets Evelyn, played by Jessica Walter, and drives her home. She reveals she wasn’t at the bar because she was stood up, she’s actually a fan and went there because he talked about it. So they have sex, after she tells him it’s no-strings, since he’s not looking for a relationship.
Imagine his surprise when, the next day, she appears at his house with an armful of groceries, acting for all the world like a girlfriend.
She seems surprised when he’s not immediately receptive to the idea, but, she smiles sweetly, and they spend the day together.
But Eastwood’s reluctance to commit is because he’s already sort-of involved with another woman, who had left town for a while, wanting some time alone. When he catches up with her, they talk about his interest in other women. He tells her he’s been trying not to be such a womaniser. “Boy there must be real consternation among those gropies” she says. “That’s groupies, isn’t it?”
But Evelyn is still after him. She’s now leaving creepy presents outside his door. I love the way everything she’s done so far is in the realms of cringy inappropriate social behaviour.
But it soon starts being obsessional, until she bangs on his door late at night, convinced he’s got another woman there, and when she goes into the bathroom to wash her face before she leaves, she’s in there a bit too long, and he finds her like this.
But now, Eastwood feels guilty that he might have caused this attempt, so he spends time with her to make sure she’s OK. But he regrets it again when he goes to meet a woman organising a festival for which he might do some work, and Evelyn turns up assuming it’s romantic, and it extremely rude.
Worse to come, as she’s had his house key copied, then trashes the house, and attacks his housekeeper. This time, though, she’s arrested and admitted to a mental institution.
Clint now thinks he’s safe, so he and his girlfriend go for a trip in the woods, and a montage of woodland walks and alfresco sex. There’s also a long section at the Monterey Jazz Festival which seems like an indulgence on Clint’s part.
Back home, he gets a call. It’s Evelyn, calling from San Francisco airport, flying out to Hawaii, having been released from hospital. Which Clint believes because he’s never seen the kind of film he’s in before. Cue a nice jump scare as he wakes up that night to see this.
We have to pause for a moment to note that Clint wears Y-Fronts.
Clint gets a policeman to protect him, and there’s a brilliant reveal when we learn that his girlfriend’s new housemate, who we’ve heard about because it’s a running theme that she has a never ending parade of housemates, is actually Evelyn, pretending to be a woman called Annabel. And now the audience knows that (because we’ve seen her there) Clint remembers a poem that Evelyn quoted. “And this maiden she lived with no other thought/Than to love and be loved by me.” and he finds it, sees the name of the poem and puts two and two together.
His detective gets to the house first, and doesn’t have a happy ending.
So now all that’s left is for Clint to leave a tape of his radio show running while he zooms up the coast to his girlfriend’s house for the final confrontation, which is suitable stabby. The very end is nicely ironic too.
BBC Genome: BBC Two – 9th August 1992 – 21:30
After this, recording switches to later in the evening for an episode of Kolchak The Night Stalker called Primal Scream. An ape is attacking people around the city. Jamie Farr guests as a science teacher.
BBC Genome: BBC Two – 9th August 1992 – 23:40
There’s an advert for the Radio Times – this must be close to the time when they had to stop doing actual adverts for RT.
Then, the tape plays out with the start of The Secret Beyond the Door. The tape ends during this.
VHiStory 