Sweet, Sweet Rachel (1971 TV Movie) User Reviews (10)

Eye, knife, raven, doll, coffin

[d_m_s · 6/10 · 29 April 2019]

Quite a decent TV movie, at least to start with.

A man suffers a hallucination which causes him to jump out of a window and die. His wife is then subjected to psychic attacks seemingly intent on driving her mad. She goes to visit an ESP centre and they try to help her get to the bottom of it. She is then visited by her weird aunt who has psychic powers and who puts her under lock and key. The aunt turns out to be quite an effective red herring though.

It's decently paced and engaging. Some weird editing and shots give it a surreal atmosphere. The reason for the psychic attacks is a bit run of the mill. It's an interesting concept that doesn't feel as though it's been utilised as well as it could have been.

Psychic overload!

[Coventry · 5/10 · 11 July 2017]

Out of the literally hundreds of made-for-TV occult horror and thrillers movies that the glorious seventies & eighties decades brought forward, I wouldn't list "Sweet, Sweet Rachel" in my personal top 20. I even doubt it would make top 50, and yet it still remains a more than adequate and worthwhile effort with an overall sinister ambiance, a couple of admirable fright sequences and a number of terrific performances. Like more often the case during the early 70s, the film served as a pilot episode for a TV-series that was named "The Sixth Sense" and ran for a season or two. As the title implies, the series dealt with paranormal phenomena and various types of psychic powers. In "Sweet, Sweet Rachel" as well, almost every character is either telekinetically gifted or an expert in the domain of ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) so as the viewer you'll require at least a fair portion of suspension of disbelief in order to enjoy the film. Rachel's beloved husband Paul fell – or jumped – to his death from a window and our grieving widow is terrified that her telekinetic powers unconsciously caused his death. Psychic powers apparently run in the family, as it turns out that Rachel's aunt Lillian played ESP games with Paul over the phone and that also her niece Nora was desperately in love with him. Dr Lucas Darrow, a medical authority in the field of ESP, investigates the murder case with the help of his blind assistant Carey, but strange mental forces nearly get them both killed as well. Clearly someone is using his/her psychic powers to commit murder. Is it Rachel, either consciously or not, or another member of the family driven by the good old-fashioned motives of greed and jealousy? One thing's for sure, you definitely don't need any paranormal superpowers in order to figure out the film's plot. When there are only six lead characters, of which two are good guys and the other four behave themselves in various degrees of suspicious, you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes in order to point out the culprit. The highlights of "Sweet, Sweet Rachel" exist of isolated moments of tension, for example a few menacing phone calls and a talking sculpture's head. The lovely Stephanie Powers makes an excellent damsel in distress, and she receives solid support from a handful of veteran actors like Alex Dreier, Pat Hingle, Louise Latham and Chris Robinson. Director Sutton Roley also made the fantastic - albeit criminally underrated – apocalyptic horror film "Chosen Survivors" that every fan of 70s horror should watch.

Pilot of The Sixth Sense

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 20 May 2020]

Originally airing on October 2, 1971 on ABC, this movie is a hidden pilot for the series The Sixth Sense. The role of Dr. Lucas Darrow would be replaced by the younger, more handsome Gary Collins and then, in syndication, that series would be spliced into Night Gallery, infuriating a young Sam who only wanted to see Rod Serling stories.

Here, Darrow is played by Alex Dreier, who is in The Boston Strangler and was well-known for his voice. He's backed up by a blind man whose ESP voice connected him to the other world, as he's left his surgical life behind to investigate the unknown.

Rachel Stanton (Stefanie Powers) comes home just in time to watch her husband crash through a window like Oliver Reed in Burnt Offerings. He soon receives a phone call that has a woman's voice that matches the ESP cards on the table in front of him. What an awesome open!

On a slight TV budget and with the morals of the time, this is as close as a made for TV movie is going to feel to a giallo. That's a good thing. This has so many red herrings and people who could have killed Stanton's husband. It could be Rachel. It could be cousin Nora (Brenda Scott, Simon King of the Witches), who claims that he loved her and wanted out of the marriage. Is it psychic Aunt Lillian (Louise Latham, Marnie). Or is it Uncle Arthur (Pay Hingle, who would one day be Commissioner Gordon)?

71 minutes worth of seventies occult psychobabble. You should be so lucky to watch this.

Stephanie Powers holds herself responsible for what has happened to her husband. In-laws interfere and there is chaos everywhere.

[morrisfam41 · 2 September 2006]

I first saw this when I was 9 years old and although it's probably well past dated by now, at the time it was a pretty scary movie for the ABC movie of the week. The tunnel scene with Louis Latham as Nora Piper still gives me chills and the opening sequence with the ESP cards is a pretty good setup to the whole premise of the movie. This was around the time of the TV series "The Sixth Sense" and it has that kind of feel to it. Another ABC Movie of the Week recommendation is "Crowhaven Farm" or even "The Eyes of Charles Sand" which were both creepy and had a sense of dread to them. I kind of wish they made movies like this again or at least try to remake them so they don't seem dated.

Okay, if not a bit silly.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 23 October 2016]

Whether you will enjoy "Sweet, Sweet Rachel" will most likely depend on your attitude towards psychics and psychic phenomena. I think it's all kind of silly....so keep this in mind as you read.

This movie is a pilot for a short-lived series, "The Sixth Sense" that ran for 25 episodes over two seasons. The cast changed completely in the TV series and I have not actually seen that.

When the film begins, Rachel (Stephanie Powers) is having weird psychic hallucinations...and even weirder, folks nearby ALSO see these weird visions and one kills himself as a result! Some psychic researchers from the university investigate and discover, ultimately, that these visions are being deliberately caused by someone with a particularly strong ability...an ability to do 'telepathic hypnosis'. But with a mind this powerful, how can anyone stop this menace...whoever they are?!

This film has zillions of red herrings...so many that it felt a bit contrived and confusing. Plus, instead of being believable, it came off much like an episode of "Kolchak: The Night Stalker". Not terrible but purely a time-passer.

Things are absolutely not what they seem.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 28 April 2021]

This frightening TV psychological horror film is one that requires much concentration and acceptance of the unknown, particularly in paranormal situations such as the one that insinuates that the widowed Stephanie Powers was responsible for her husband's suicide. Distant relatives include uncle Pat Hingle, aunt Louise Latham and their daughter Brenda Scott, as well as the doctor of paranormal activity Alex Dreier and the blind Chris Robinson, and until the end, nobody seems to be who they really are.

It's Louise Latham as Powers' aunt who get to showiest role, playing a true eccentric, reminding me of the oddball characters played by Jeanette Nolan. The cameraman also gets really good opportunities to shine here with some angles that add to the mood. I was frustrated a bit at times because it seemed to be stuck in a way that could not be resolved but the twists at the end I did not see coming. Above average for TV psychological horror and well worth seeking out.

Watching Stefanie Powers Go Insane

[Rainey-Dawn · 5/10 · 5 December 2016]

Why didn't Rachel (Stefanie Powers) just go to a psychologist or counselor if she was having problems coping with her husbands death? Instead she sees an ESP person or "expert", ends up in some weird stuff, her Aunt is a medium or psychic and Rachel goes crazy thanks to her Aunt trying to drive her that way -- all over wanting control of the family money. About 1/2 of the people in the film are insane. - So if that sounds appealing then you might like this film a little bit. Its' not the best of it's kind but it's not the worst of it's kind either.

I like films about ESP, psychics, telepathy and those types of things but this one I found just so-so - not bad but not good.

OH, if you watch this film, prepare yourself for some awful singing at a funeral from a woman who's voice will drive all of the mice in your house away and gag maggots. Her voice is worse than fingernails on a blackboard. *Shivers*

5/10

Another Key ABC 'Movie of the Week' Pilot!

[riverheadestelle · 9/10 · 5 December 2005]

This was the pilot for the short-lived ABC series called 'The Sixth Sense'. By the time the series got under way, actor Gary Collins took over the part of Dr. Darrow. This character was primetime's first paranormal psychic investigator - way before another ABC favorite, 'The Night Stalker'. At any rate, the history of 'The Sixth Sense' is a very unhappy one. It's hard to get the original episodes of the series, if not impossible. It was chopped up and reedited into Rod Serling's 'Night Gallery', according to the accounts of many fans and people who know much more about the show's history.

The series was basically about Dr. Darrow getting to the origins of certain paranormal disturbances and hauntings in various places. It was a great show, from what I remember of it. Too bad the original episodes can't ever be seen again. All we are left with are the re-edited versions that were incorporated into 'The Night Gallery' series. Sometimes you have to wonder where Hollywood's mind is. They deliberately ruin good shows for reasons beyond our comprehension!

"Answer The Phone, Rachel!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 14 August 2018]

SWEET, SWEET RACHEL opens in ominous fashion, as an apparent premonition concerning the title character (Stephanie Powers) causes her husband to plummet to his doom.

Seeking answers, Rachel goes to the office of Dr. Lucas Darrow (Alex Dreier), a parapsychologist working in the field of telepathy / ESP / precognition. Darrow and his team, including Carey (Chris Robinson), a blind man with the sixth sense, delve into Rachel's subconscious mind, where Darrow, clairvoyant himself, can see what she sees. He finds that someone is using this psychic ability as a weapon.

As Darrow investigates further, he finds a definite family connection, and some very interesting characters. Especially, Rachel's oddball Aunt Lillian (Louise Latham) and Uncle Arthur (Pat Hingle). He also discovers that whoever is behind this is using their powers to stop, even kill him! What is the secret that's being so vigorously covered up?

A fantastic made-for-TV movie, and the pilot for THE SIXTH SENSE series, this is one of the best films dealing with this subject. Ms. Powers is her usual, lovable self, and Dreier makes a sober, believable Darrow. RACHEL deserves to be re-discovered!...