The Bearded Trio

By Paul Gibbs When listing his feature films, Steven Spielberg doesn’t begin with 1974’s The Sugarland Express, his first film to get a theatrical release in the U.S., he begins with the 1971 made-for-television thriller Duel. And yet between these two he projects he directed two other TV movies, which do not earn the same proud place on the bearded one’s self-defined filmography. It’s likely that this is in part because Duel received a European theatrical release, but there is also a likely second explanation: they aren’t quite in the same category. The other two films have never been made available on home video, but a few years ago, I was able to track down one of them. Something Evil is a 1972 horror thriller that was Spielberg’s immediate follow up to Duel.  While not worthy of the same praise as its predecessor, Something Evil is nonetheless a fascinating viewing experience for the serious Spielberg fan, one which improved for me on a second viewing and still manages ...

On January 21 1972, hot on the heels of his highly successful made-for-tv movie Duel, Steven Spielberg presented his second movie (out of his 3 movie-deal): Something Evil. Instead of a monstertruck, Spielberg opted for a haunted house (a theme he re-used, years later for another small film that he produced Poltergeist). The house seems to try and take possession of Sandy, one of its new inhabitants (portrayed by Marjorie Worden). Bound by a tiny budget Spielberg nonetheless impressed viewers with his camera-trickery into believing the unbelievable. He even made a tiny cameo-appearance (along with Carl Gottlieb) as one of the party-guests. Even though it celebrates it's 43th birthday today, the film is still very watchable. Spielberg directing his young cast members. Ronny THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE ...