''Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate'' is a 1971 American made-for-television mystery film directed by Ted Post, starring Myrna Loy,

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

, Mildred Natwick,

Sylvia Sidney Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow; August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American stage, screen and film actress whose career spanned over 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She was nominated for the Aca ...

John Beradino John Beradino (born Giovanni Berardino, May 1, 1917 – May 19, 1996) was an American infielder in Major League Baseball and an actor. Known as Johnny Berardino during his baseball career, he was also credited during his acting career as John Bera ...

and

Vince Edwards Vince Edwards (born Vincent Edward Zoine; July 9, 1928 – March 11, 1996) was an American actor and director. He was best known for his TV role as doctor Ben Casey and as Major Cliff Bricker in the 1968 war film '' The Devil's Brigade''. Ear ...

, with the screenplay adapted by

John D. F. Black John Donald Francis Black (December 30, 1932 – November 29, 2018) was a screenwriter, TV producer, and TV director. He is best known for his work on the TV series ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' in 1966, and its sequel series, '' Star Trek ...

from a novel of the same name by Doris Miles Disney. It was broadcast as the '' ABC Movie of the Week'' on November 9, 1971.

Plot

Four middle-class

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

ladies in their late sixties (

, Myrna Loy, Mildred Natwick and

) habitually meet for lunch and exchange small talk with their waitress (

Dodo Denney Nora Denney (September 3, 1927 – November 20, 2005), also credited as Dodo Denney, was an American actress. Career Her show business career began in Kansas City when she was hired by the local television station Channel 5 (KCMO TV) to play " ...

). They propose to create a fictitious young woman named Rebecca, and to submit her profile to a computer dating service. Several days after doing so they begin to receive letters from potential suitors, and derive additional amusement from reading them out loud. Concurrently, a young woman (

Diane Shalet Diane Shalet (February 23, 1935 – February 23, 2006) was an American Broadway and television character actress. She was perhaps best known for her recurring role as Ms. Hawkins in the drama '' Matlock''. She made a guest appearance on ''The ...

) becomes alarmed by her date Mal's (

) attempts to force himself upon her, and manages to escape into her home. His audible thoughts reveal that he has dangerous difficulty in relating to women. Mal turns his obsessive attentions to the fictitious "Rebecca", and not only sends a letter but tracks down the telephone number of "her" address. He calls and speaks to one of the old ladies, who impishly accepts a date with him at a local bar. In a spirit of fun, the four ladies wait at the bar to see what Mal looks like; however, when he arrives he mistakes a hooker, Brenda (Barbara Davis) for "Rebecca", and leaves with her. When they arrive at Brenda's apartment and she asks for money, an outraged Mal attacks and kills her. Once the ladies realize their actions have led to murder, they go to the police; however, they also investigate Mal themselves, which places them in grave danger...

Brief continuation in a similar form

On December 16, 1972, 13 months after the ABC broadcast of ''Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate'' on November 9, 1971, NBC reunited Hayes and Natwick in ''

The Snoop Sisters ''The Snoop Sisters'' is an American comedy-mystery television show that aired on NBC during the 1973–1974 season, airing on a monthly rotation (referred to as a "wheel") as part of the '' NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie'', sharing the timeslot with ...

'', a two-hour television film about two aged sisters who write mysteries as well as solve crimes. Although different characters than in ''Do Not Fold'', the Snoop sisters' relationship clearly resembles that of the one adventurous / one sensible style of ''Do Not Fold''s Helen Hayes and Myrna Loy, but with Natwick now cast as the level-headed sibling. Four additional 90-minute episodes of ''The Snoop Sisters'' were broadcast between December 1973 and March 1974.''The Snoop Sisters'' at AllRovi
/ref>

Cast

as Sophie Tate Curtis *

as Mal Weston * Myrna Loy as Evelyn Tryon * Mildred Natwick as Shelby Saunders *

as Elizabeth Gibson *

as Detective Hallum *

Larry D. Mann Larry D. Mann (18 December 1922 – 6 January 2014) was a Canadian actor. He was best known as "The Boss" in a series of Bell Canada television commercials in the 1980s and for voicing the character of Yukon Cornelius in ''Rudolph the Red-Nose ...

as Police Sergeant Lutz * Barbara Davis as Brenda *

Paul Smith Paul Smith or Paul Smith's may refer to: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (rock vocalist) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of ...

as Cutter *

Gary Vinson Gary Vinson (October 22, 1936 – October 15, 1984) was an American actor who appeared in significant roles in three television series of the 1960s: '' The Roaring 20s'', ''McHale's Navy'', and ''Pistols 'n' Petticoats''. Early years Vinson was ...

as Jonas *

as Ruth Mellon *

as Trudy *

Patrecia Wynand Patrecia Scott (January 23, 1940 — March 31, 1977) was a Canadian-born model as well as television and stage actress who was married to Nathaniel Branden from 1969 until her death in 1977. Biography Born Patrecia Gullison, she started attending, ...

as Hostess * Leonidas Ossetynski as Florist * John Mitchum as Mr. Tubbs * Margaret Wheeler as Mrs. Mellon * Joe Haworth as Detective * William Sumper as Man in Handcuffs

Reception

In the 1989 edition of ''

Leonard Maltin's TV Movies & Video Guide ''Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'' was a book-format collection of movie capsule reviews that began in 1969, was updated biannually after 1978, and then annually after 1986. The final edition was published in September 2014. It was originally call ...

'', the film was rated "Average", with the comment that the "way in which prank turns frightening could've been handled far, far better; otherwise, good performances." ''

Steven H. Scheuer's Movies on TV and Videocassette Steven Henry Scheuer (January 9, 1926 – May 31, 2014) was a film and television historian and critic. He edited all seventeen editions of ''Movies on TV'' published between 1958 and 1993 and wrote ''The Movie Book'' (1974), subtitled ''A Compreh ...

'' (1986–87 edition) gave the movie 1½ stars (out of 4), with the opening sentence stating, " is all-star comedy about murder tends to be a bit coy..."

References

External links