19805.7 / 101h 36mTV Movie Thriller Drama

The Babysitter

“She drove the mother mad. She seduced the father. Now, what's going to happen to little Tara?”

Overprotective mother Liz Benedict meets 18-year-old orphan Joanna Redwine and hires her as house help and live-in companion to rambunctious daughter Tara. Liz's husband Jeff isn't too thrilled with the arrangement, and his fears soon prove justified when Joanna begins to manipulate everyone and to slowly destroy the family. Meanwhile, next-door neighbor Dr. Linquist investigates and discovers Joanna has a disturbing past.

Quick Stats

5.7

TMDB Rating

Votes

1h 36m

Runtime

—

Budget

—

Box Office

—

Return

Key Crew

DirectorPeter Medak

WriterJennifer Miller

CinematographyRexford L. Metz

ComposerJohn Mick

EditorMelvin Shapiro

Production DesignDouglas Higgins

Produced by

Filmways TelevisionMoonlight ProductionsABC

Where to Watch

No streaming information available for The Babysitter yet.

Wuchak

6/10

**_One of the first lethal Lolita flicks_** A wealthy couple and their daughter (William Shatner, Patty Duke & Quinn Cummings) move to Bainbridge Island across from Seattle wherein they enlist the services of an 18 year-old who has befriended their daughter (Stephanie Zimbalist). Big mistake. John Houseman is on hand. "The Babysitter" (1980) is a drama/mystery with a bit o’ thriller/horror that influenced future movies like “Summer Girl” (1983), “Poison Ivy” (1992) and "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" (1992). Patty Duke was 33 during shooting while Zimbalist was 23. Anyone who’s enamored by the latter will like this flick more than me (I think she needed to eat some cheeseburgers). It’s well done for a television production and has a sense of artistry (like “Poison Ivy,” just less so), but there’s also some tedious drama. I appreciated the fact that at least one boating outing was shot in the rain, which is apropos for the region. The movie runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in Burnaby and Deer Park, British Columbia, with some 2nd unit shots of Puget Sound around Bainbridge Island and Seattle. GRADE: B-

Written Mar 13, 2022 · read original