"Is It Safe?

 


Bravo is repeating its series "100 Scariest Movie Moments" tonight on the vast wasteland, aka television. These next four movies were included. I chronicled the top ten scary movie moments a few moons ago "On Golden Pond." Here are a few that scared the beejeesus out of me as a young teen and young adult.

"The Haunting" was filmed in black and white and was directed by Robert Wise, who would later direct "The Sound of Music." I saw it when I was around 11 or 12. It would stay with me a long time. No gore but a psychological thriller.

"The Wicker Man" is an eerie movie set in a small English seaside town, where residents like to dance around au natural and have human sacrifices. Circa 1974.

Crusty Lawrence Olivier plays a Nazi who comes to America to retrieve diamonds he stole/had during World War II in "The Marathon Man." He is also a Nazi War Criminal who murdered many Jews during the holocaust. "Is it safe?" is the famous line from the flick. Lawrence had been a dentist before joing the German Army, and in this scene, he is attempting to extract info from Dustin Hoffman. Ouch! Unfortunately for Dustin, he knows nothing. I found out, too, after this famous scene, that oil of clove is great for a toothache.

And "Rosemary's Baby" was part of the new wave cinema coming out of the late 60's. All Star cast.