Review of How Awful About Allan (1970) by Jay N — 03 Feb 2011

Suffice to say "How Awful about Allan" probably won't be mentioned in the same breath as "Duel" or "Killdozer!" when it comes time to name the best TV movies of the '70s.

Allan (Anthony Perkins, for once not playing some variation of "Psycho's" Norman Bates) is a young man persistently living in the shadow of his stern academic father. After failing to save his dad in a house fire which also scars his sister (Julie Harris), Allan is committed to a mental institution for months suffering from guilt and hysterical blindness.

But it's not hysterical blindness. If anything, I'd call it "runny-watercolor-vision." And Perkins doesn't even act blind throughout most of the movie.

These major flaws, plus an inert, rather inept plot, make "Awful" a trying sit. Not even producer Aaron Spelling's usual bag of TV-enhancing tricks could save it.