She never would have been a victim on Falcon Crest, always having a way to worm her way out of danger when confronted by the various psychos that went through the Tuscany Valley, but here, Jane Wyman is the target of a psycho former student (Dean Stockwell), someone who wasn't even in her own class. She was standing in for an absent teacher during finals and ended up failing him, and now he is back for revenge. Things keep standing in the way of his getting her alone and in his grasp, but there's still one day left before she retires, packs it in and heads to London.
There are some weird moments, particularly with Wyman's performance and some of the lines that she has to say. She indicates that a high school diploma isn't everything, a very strange thing for a teacher to say, especially at the end of her career. Wyman is also incessantly cheerful, that is up until she realizes the truth. A subplot involving another teacher, Dana Andrews, indicates that she had another reason for retiring a little early. Stockwell is indeed very frightening, and in the last quarter, Wyman finally finds the right course for her character. I don't necessarily blame her because she is always messed Mariah's end, but she is defeated by the direction and obviously the script.
There are some weird moments, particularly with Wyman's performance and some of the lines that she has to say. She indicates that a high school diploma isn't everything, a very strange thing for a teacher to say, especially at the end of her career. Wyman is also incessantly cheerful, that is up until she realizes the truth. A subplot involving another teacher, Dana Andrews, indicates that she had another reason for retiring a little early. Stockwell is indeed very frightening, and in the last quarter, Wyman finally finds the right course for her character. I don't necessarily blame her because she is always messed Mariah's end, but she is defeated by the direction and obviously the script.