WARNING: SPOILERS
I saw this movie when it first aired in 1971. I was 10 years old and the movie was both scary & disturbing. I saw it again a few years later. This is one of several made for TV movies from the 70's that I'd like to see again. It's unfortunate that movies like these are unavailable on DVD or on the internet to be downloaded for a price.
It's been over 30 years since I saw this & my memory's hazy. I do remember the movie starts with Lloyd Bridges (Dr. Hanley) having a nightmare with a group of people (tribunal) after him & cornering him. They then cut his arm & smear or pour a liquid on the cut & he begins to scream. Hanley then wakes up next to his wife in bed. After he gets out of bed he looks down & discovers that he has a cut on his arm identical to the one given to him in the dream.
As I remember, the tribunal in Hanley's dream had condemned him to death but he never really finds out the reason why.
Another part of the movie I recall is when Hanley falls asleep and dreams the dream for the second time. In this dream the tribunal has him and are forcing him into a car (presumably to kill him). Hanley fights back & escapes. In the process of escaping he slams the car door on the foot of one of his assailants, crushing that man's foot. The people then get in the car & begin chasing Hanley trying to run him down & kill him. If I remember correctly, Hanley picks up an object (probably a large rock) & throws it at the car, cracking the windshield. Before the car is able to run down Dr. Hanley, he wakes up. Sometime after that in his awake world, Hanley is walking to a parking lot (possibly outside his place of work) when he spots the same man who was in his dream (the one whose foot was crushed in the car door) walking on crutches with his foot in a cast. Hanley has never seen this man (from his dreams) before in his waking life. Horrified, Hanley goes up & initiates a conversation with the man who tells Hanley that he injured his foot in an accident (possibly skiing: I can't remember for sure). The man then gets in a car and as he starts to pull out of the parking lot, Dr. Hanley sees to his horror that the car is the same one that was in his dream, cracked windshield and all.
I don't remember too many other details from the movie, but I do remember that things spiral downward & get worse & worse. As the movie progresses Hanley slips into the dream every time he falls asleep, even for a few minutes. Also, as things get worse Hanley discovers that close friends in his waking life are part of the group of people (tribunal) who are trying to kill him in his dreams. Toward the latter part of the movie Dr. Hanley discovers to his horror that even his wife is part of the tribunal in his nightmares. In Hanleys waking life these people along with his wife are normal. As the movie progresses Hanley slowly begins to go crazy & lose the ability to discern reality from unreality.
In the end, I remember Dr. Hanley dying in both worlds. In the waking world he flips out, ends up in the hospital where his heart stops & doctors are unable to revive him. Simultaneously in the dreamworld Hanleys assailants succeed in killing him.
Although I'm sure this movie wouldn't have the same impact on me now that it did when I was a kid, I would still like to see it again. Perhaps I can find a bootleg video on ebay.
I saw this movie when it first aired in 1971. I was 10 years old and the movie was both scary & disturbing. I saw it again a few years later. This is one of several made for TV movies from the 70's that I'd like to see again. It's unfortunate that movies like these are unavailable on DVD or on the internet to be downloaded for a price.
It's been over 30 years since I saw this & my memory's hazy. I do remember the movie starts with Lloyd Bridges (Dr. Hanley) having a nightmare with a group of people (tribunal) after him & cornering him. They then cut his arm & smear or pour a liquid on the cut & he begins to scream. Hanley then wakes up next to his wife in bed. After he gets out of bed he looks down & discovers that he has a cut on his arm identical to the one given to him in the dream.
As I remember, the tribunal in Hanley's dream had condemned him to death but he never really finds out the reason why.
Another part of the movie I recall is when Hanley falls asleep and dreams the dream for the second time. In this dream the tribunal has him and are forcing him into a car (presumably to kill him). Hanley fights back & escapes. In the process of escaping he slams the car door on the foot of one of his assailants, crushing that man's foot. The people then get in the car & begin chasing Hanley trying to run him down & kill him. If I remember correctly, Hanley picks up an object (probably a large rock) & throws it at the car, cracking the windshield. Before the car is able to run down Dr. Hanley, he wakes up. Sometime after that in his awake world, Hanley is walking to a parking lot (possibly outside his place of work) when he spots the same man who was in his dream (the one whose foot was crushed in the car door) walking on crutches with his foot in a cast. Hanley has never seen this man (from his dreams) before in his waking life. Horrified, Hanley goes up & initiates a conversation with the man who tells Hanley that he injured his foot in an accident (possibly skiing: I can't remember for sure). The man then gets in a car and as he starts to pull out of the parking lot, Dr. Hanley sees to his horror that the car is the same one that was in his dream, cracked windshield and all.
I don't remember too many other details from the movie, but I do remember that things spiral downward & get worse & worse. As the movie progresses Hanley slips into the dream every time he falls asleep, even for a few minutes. Also, as things get worse Hanley discovers that close friends in his waking life are part of the group of people (tribunal) who are trying to kill him in his dreams. Toward the latter part of the movie Dr. Hanley discovers to his horror that even his wife is part of the tribunal in his nightmares. In Hanleys waking life these people along with his wife are normal. As the movie progresses Hanley slowly begins to go crazy & lose the ability to discern reality from unreality.
In the end, I remember Dr. Hanley dying in both worlds. In the waking world he flips out, ends up in the hospital where his heart stops & doctors are unable to revive him. Simultaneously in the dreamworld Hanleys assailants succeed in killing him.
Although I'm sure this movie wouldn't have the same impact on me now that it did when I was a kid, I would still like to see it again. Perhaps I can find a bootleg video on ebay.