Production
When a Stranger Calls is essentially an expanded remake of Fred Walton's short film The Sitter, which comprised the first 20 minutes of this film. Walton was inspired to turn the short into a feature-length film after the considerable success of John Carpenter's Halloween.
The film marked Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Donald Peterman's feature film debut as director of photography.
Tony Beckley, who plays Curt Duncan, was terminally ill throughout production. Because of this, he did not at all fit the description of the killer, but Fred Walton refused to replace him. Beckley passed away soon after he finished filming his scenes. The 1993 sequel, When a Stranger Calls Back, was dedicated to his memory.
Read more about this topic: When A Stranger Calls (1979 film)
Famous quotes containing the word production:
“[T]he asphaltum contains an exactly requisite amount of sulphides for production of rubber tires. This brown material also contains “ichthyol,” a medicinal preparation used externally, in Webster’s clarifying phrase, “as an alterant and discutient.””
—State of Utah, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
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—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)