When their babysitter cancels, Dave and Ellie Mannering (Leif Erickson and Patricia Breslin) leave their teenage daughter Libby Mannering (Andi Garrett) home alone to watch their younger daughter Tess (Sharyl Locke). Libby has her friend, Kit Austin (Sara Lane), come over to hang out. The two teens decide to play a telephone game. They pick random numbers out of the phone book, call people, and play pranks on those that answer. At one point they call the number of Steve Marak (John Ireland). Steve’s wife, Judith (Joyce Meadows) answers the phone.
Judith and Steve do not get along. Judith has been packing getting ready to leave and file for divorce. She knocks on the bathroom door to tell Steve that there is a woman on the phone. Believing that the call is from his mistress, Judith starts a fight. Judith picks up a knife to confront him. Steve pulls her into the shower and stabs her to death. The next-door neighbor, Amy Nelson (Joan Crawford) comes over. Amy had an affair with Steve in the past and is still in love with him. She surmises what is going on but leaves to let Steve take care of business. Steve puts Judith in a steamer trunk and carts her body off to the woods to dispose of her. While he is trying to dig her grave, a car stops to let a dog out to do his business. When they leave, they pass Steve’s car. The woman in the car gets suspicious and contacts the police.
Libby and Kit continue making crank calls to random people. When Steve returns home, Amy is ready to take over his life. As they are talking the phone rings. Libby and Kit place another call to Steve. When he answers Libby says, “I saw what you did, and I know who you are”. Steve is now paranoid believing that the woman in the woods saw him and is on the phone. Libby, intrigued by Steve’s voice, decides to go to the address in the phone book and see what Steve looks like. At Steve’s house Amy confronts Libby and chases her away, but not before taking the registration out of the car. She then confronts Steve who, in for a penny in for a pound, kills Amy. He then takes the registration and heads off to the Manning residents to deal with who he thinks is planning to blackmail him.
“I Saw What You Did” was released in 1965 and was directed by William Castle. It is an American thriller. The film was based on the 1964 novel “Out of the Dark” by Ursula Curtis. The story was remade as a made for Television movie in 1988.
Famous for his use of gimmicks for promoting his films, Director William Castle, for this film, placed a plastic phone near each theater entrance. Audience members were encouraged to dial a number that was supposed to have a message that said, "I saw what you did, and I know who you are." The phone lines got jammed which resulted in complaints from phone companies all over the country. Castle ended up canceling the stunt. Castle also sent out press items declaring the movie as being about Uxoricide, which is the killing of one’s wife.
Some of William Castle’s films have a tongue-in-cheek attitude to them on the surface but still manage to have some actually creepy or almost scary aspects interspersed. You’ll find some of that here. The music score is far more upbeat than is should have been which makes the movie feel sillier than it should. If you’re looking to see a lot of Joan Crawford, you may be a little disappointed. Her part is not much more than a glorified cameo.