When a Stranger Calls Page #2

Synopsis: When a Stranger Calls is a 1979 American psychological horror film. It was directed by Fred Walton and stars Carol Kane and Charles Durning. The film derives its story from the classic folk legend of "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs" and the 1974 horror classic Black Christmas. The film was commercially successful, grossing $21,411,158 at the box office, though it received a mixed critical reception. It was followed by the 1993 made-for-television sequel When a Stranger Calls Back and a remake in 2006.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror
Production: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
  1 win.
 
IMDB:
6.5
Metacritic:
58
Rotten Tomatoes:
31%
R
Year:
1979
97 min
738 Views


JILL:

Okay, Nancy. Bye. And thank you.

NANCY (O.S.)

Yeah. Bye.

Jill makes a face at the phone and hangs up. She tries to go

back to her homework, but she cannot.

CUT TO:

INT. LIVING ROOM - LATER

Jill is working now, diligently. The phone rings. She picks

it up.

JILL:

Hello?

There is a brief pause; then the line goes dead and a dial

tone cuts in. Jill hangs up and goes back to work.

Pause.

The phone rings again. Jill picks it up.

JILL:

Billy?...

A VOICE speaks on the other end of the phone.

DUNCAN (O.S.)

Have you checked the children?

JILL:

What?

The line goes dead. Dial tone. Jill hangs up and goes right

back to work.

CUT TO:

INT. LIVING ROOM - LATER

Jill sits at the table as before, doing her homework, smoking

a cigarette. The phone rings. Jill picks it up.

JILL:

Hello?

DUNCAN (O.S.)

Have you checked the children?

JILL:

Mrs. Mandrakis?

The line goes dead. Dial tone. Jill hangs up and looks off

into space, thinking.

O.S. we hear a faint rattling noise from somewhere in the

house. Jill hears it too. She stubs out her cigarette, gets

up from the table and walks out of the living room.

INT. HALLWAY

Jill enters the hallway and pauses. Then she starts walking

slowly down the hall to the kitchen door.

Again the rattling noise O.S., only louder this time. Jill

stops dead, listens, then continues forward even more

cautiously.

INT. KITCHEN

As Jill enters. She cannot find the lightswitch, so she stands

in the darkness listening. Again the rattle, very close now.

Jill turns her head sharply, then walks to the refrigerator

and opens it. It is only the automatic icemaker creating the

rattle.

Jill takes a piece of cake from the refrigerator and leaves

the kitchen.

INT. LIVING ROOM

Jill is sitting at the table, polishing off the cake. Then,

the phone rings. Jill stands up quickly and picks up the

phone.

JILL:

Hello!

Pause.

DUNCAN (O.S.)

Have you checked the children?

JILL:

Billy! I don't think this is very

funny!

Pause. "Billy" doesn't answer.

JILL:

...Who is this?

The line goes dead. Jill stands frozen beside the table with

the phone in her hand as the dial tone gets louder and louder.

CUT TO:

INT. LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Jill is standing at the wet bar in the corner, pouring herself

a drink. She samples the alcohol, doesn't cough, and starts

to pour a little more into the glass.

The phone rings. Jill turns, then slowly walks to the table,

kneels down and quietly picks up the phone and brings it to

her ear. She waits and listens, a full three seconds. No

sound comes to her.

She quickly hangs up the phone before the silence can be

broken by the voice she knows is waiting on the other end.

Then, she shuffles through her books and papers on the table-

top until she finds the notepad the doctor's wife has left

for her with the name and phone number of the restaurant.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Fred Walton

Fred Walton is a director and writer, known for When a Stranger Calls (1979), When a Stranger Calls Back (1993) and April Fool's Day (1986). He has been married to Barbara Boles since 1979. They have two children. more…

All Fred Walton scripts | Fred Walton Scripts

0 fans

Submitted by aviv on February 09, 2017

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "When a Stranger Calls" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/when_a_stranger_calls_1008>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    When a Stranger Calls

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.