An Eye for an Eye
A teenage boy passing a window sees four-year-old Bobby Cirlin being physically punished by his father, Harold Cirlin, under the direction of his mother, Judy Cirlin. The next day, Tommy Rabbey (Tom…
An Eye for an Eye
A teenage boy passing a window sees four-year-old Bobby Cirlin being physically punished by his father, Harold Cirlin, under the direction of his mother, Judy Cirlin. The next day, Tommy Rabbey (Tom Basham), a childlike man, hosts a live television puppet show called The Mr. Rabbey Show, in which a violent father threatens to throw his son into a cellar. When Richard (Jeff Rice), the show's producer, yells at Tommy in front of the young audience for not following his marks, Carolyn (Gretchen Kanne), the show's co-producer, defends Tommy. She also reminds him that he has an appearance that afternoon at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Tommy rides his bicycle to a park and watches children play, then joins in and sits with them. A mother comes to get her little girl, Debbie, and slaps her for not wanting to go home. Seeing Tommy's disapproval, the mother verbally attacks him and threatens to talk to other parents about his abnormal interest in children. Meanwhile, at LAPD headquarters, Sgt. Graham (Jackson Bostwick) tells Detective Lt. Vince Hayes (Pete Renoudet) about a missing four-year-old boy, and says a young man reported seeing the boy's parents, Harold and Judy Cirlin (Lance Larson and Barbara Grover), beating him the night before. The detectives drive to the Cirlin home, where Sgt. Harry Matthews (John Ashton), waiting on the street, says Bobby Cirlin had been taken to the children's hospital several times in the past for "accidental" injuries. Inside the house, the Cirlins tell the detectives that Bobby must have run away. Meanwhile, Tommy goes to the abuse ward of the children's hospital, where the kids are watching his television show. He dispenses toys and plays with them. Lt. Hayes arrives to talk to a nurse who previously reported Bobby's injuries from falls. She takes Hayes into the abuse ward and introduces him to Jefferson Taylor, a docile African American boy, and demonstrates how she can tell when a child has been traumatized into total obedience by beatings. After watching the nurse's demonstration, Tommy follows Hayes to his car and, using one of his hand puppets, introduces himself as Mr. Rabbey, and asks if Hayes is going to arrest the parents of both Bobby and Jefferson. When Tommy goes back into the hospital, an angry Mrs. D'Sicca is there to take her child, Rosemary, out of the abuse ward. Tommy sees that the little girl is frightened, and hears a doctor murmur "child abuse" to a nurse after the girl leaves with her mother. That evening, in Griffith Park, police call off their search for Bobby at dark and send Mr. and Mrs. Cirlin home. When Sgt. Matthews drops them off, Tommy hides nearby, and watches the parents argue and blame each other for killing Bobby. When they run out of alcohol, Mr. Cirlin leaves to buy more. Tommy slips into the house with his Mr. Rabbey hand puppet and calls to Mrs. Cirlin in a child's voice from another room. As she searches for him, Tommy hits her in the face with a baseball bat and strangles her with a knotted scarf. Mr Cirlin returns, finds Judy's bloody body, and runs back to his car, but Tommy strangles him with the scarf from the back seat. Tommy goes to the darkened television studio, plays piano, and cries. Meanwhile, the police find Bobby Cirlin dead at the bottom of a cliff, but George, the coroner, determines that the boy was already dead from a beating when he fell. Hayes and Graham go to the Cirlin home and find the couple dead. Tommy eats dinner with Carolyn, who is not only his producer, but his closest friend. As Tommy arrays his puppets in her living room, he realizes he left Mr. Rabbey at the Cirlins' house. Carolyn serves him his favorite dish, chocolate cake, and, in the voice of a first-grade schoolteacher, delights in the way Tommy lives in his own world, because it makes children relate to him. In a child's voice, Tommy says if one wishes hard enough, dreams will come true, but suddenly he turns cold and tells Carolyn, "Leave me alone." Later, when Hayes returns to the Cirlin house, he senses someone there, but Tommy has already found his missing puppet and gone. The next day, at the park, Tommy sees Debbie's mother tormenting her again. He follows them home on his bicycle. Sitting outside a window, he hears the mother threaten Debbie with severe punishment if she tells anyone. Afterward, when the mother sends Debbie off with neighbors, Tommy chases her into her garage, starts her gasoline-powered lawn mower, and cuts her to pieces. Tommy returns to the television studio, and Carolyn finds him sitting in the dark. He calls her "Mommie" and plays hide and seek with her, but when she refuses to hide from him, he follows her around the studio with a spotlight. She tells him she lost her job because of his behavior, and the station has just canceled their show. After Carolyn leaves, Tommy sleeps among his props and puppets. Later, he goes to the home of Jefferson Taylor's parents and stabs them to death. Meanwhile, the hospital nurse calls Hayes again to tell him someone has stolen the records of several battered children on her ward. Hayes and Graham are at the Taylor murder scene when Sgt. Matthews arrives with the names of the three missing files: The Taylors, the Cirlins, and the D'Siccas. The police stake out the D'Sicca home and follow Mr. D'Sicca. The manager of the D'Siccas' apartment complex approaches Mrs. D'Sicca to complain about the noise from their apartment and their failure to pay rent for the past two months. Meanwhile, Tommy goes to Mr. D'Sicca's hardware store and buys lawn clippers, but when Mrs. D'Sicca calls to tell her husband about the manager, D'Sicca orders her to stop hurting their daughter. Realizing that the wife is the one who must be killed, Tommy leaves the shop and hurries to the apartment, where Mrs. D'Sicca is ironing. He takes the iron from her and prepares to push it against her face, but her little daughter enters the room with a gun and shoots Tommy who falls dead. Then she shoots her mother dead as well.
An Eye for an Eye
Horror,Thriller
Film Details
A teenage boy passing a window sees four-year-old Bobby Cirlin being physically punished by his father, Harold Cirlin, under the direction of his mother, Judy Cirlin. The next day, Tommy Rabbey (Tom Basham), a childlike man, hosts a live television puppet show called The Mr. Rabbey Show, in which a violent father threatens to throw his son into a cellar.
When Richard (Jeff Rice), the show's producer, yells at Tommy in front of the young audience for not following his marks, Carolyn (Gretchen Kanne), the show's co-producer, defends Tommy. She also reminds him that he has an appearance that afternoon at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Tommy rides his bicycle to a park and watches children play, then joins in and sits with them.
A mother comes to get her little girl, Debbie, and slaps her for not wanting to go home. Seeing Tommy's disapproval, the mother verbally attacks him and threatens to talk to other parents about his abnormal interest in children. Meanwhile, at LAPD headquarters, Sgt.
Graham (Jackson Bostwick) tells Detective Lt. Vince Hayes (Pete Renoudet) about a missing four-year-old boy, and says a young man reported seeing the boy's parents, Harold and Judy Cirlin (Lance Larson and Barbara Grover), beating him the night before. The detectives drive to the Cirlin home, where Sgt.
Harry Matthews (John Ashton), waiting on the street, says Bobby Cirlin had been taken to the children's hospital several times in the past for "accidental" injuries. Inside the house, the Cirlins tell the detectives that Bobby must have run away. Meanwhile, Tommy goes to the abuse ward of the children's hospital, where the kids are watching his television show.
He dispenses toys and plays with them. Lt. Hayes arrives to talk to a nurse who previously reported Bobby's injuries from falls.
She takes Hayes into the abuse ward and introduces him to Jefferson Taylor, a docile African American boy, and demonstrates how she can tell when a child has been traumatized into total obedience by beatings. After watching the nurse's demonstration, Tommy follows Hayes to his car and, using one of his hand puppets, introduces himself as Mr. Rabbey, and asks if Hayes is going to arrest the parents of both Bobby and Jefferson.
When Tommy goes back into the hospital, an angry Mrs. D'Sicca is there to take her child, Rosemary, out of the abuse ward. Tommy sees that the little girl is frightened, and hears a doctor murmur "child abuse" to a nurse after the girl leaves with her mother.
That evening, in Griffith Park, police call off their search for Bobby at dark and send Mr. and Mrs. Cirlin home.
When Sgt. Matthews drops them off, Tommy hides nearby, and watches the parents argue and blame each other for killing Bobby. When they run out of alcohol, Mr.
Cirlin leaves to buy more. Tommy slips into the house with his Mr. Rabbey hand puppet and calls to Mrs.
Cirlin in a child's voice from another room. As she searches for him, Tommy hits her in the face with a baseball bat and strangles her with a knotted scarf. Mr Cirlin returns, finds Judy's bloody body, and runs back to his car, but Tommy strangles him with the scarf from the back seat.
Tommy goes to the darkened television studio, plays piano, and cries. Meanwhile, the police find Bobby Cirlin dead at the bottom of a cliff, but George, the coroner, determines that the boy was already dead from a beating when he fell. Hayes and Graham go to the Cirlin home and find the couple dead.
Tommy eats dinner with Carolyn, who is not only his producer, but his closest friend. As Tommy arrays his puppets in her living room, he realizes he left Mr. Rabbey at the Cirlins' house.
Carolyn serves him his favorite dish, chocolate cake, and, in the voice of a first-grade schoolteacher, delights in the way Tommy lives in his own world, because it makes children relate to him. In a child's voice, Tommy says if one wishes hard enough, dreams will come true, but suddenly he turns cold and tells Carolyn, "Leave me alone." Later, when Hayes returns to the Cirlin house, he senses someone there, but Tommy has already found his missing puppet and gone. The next day, at the park, Tommy sees Debbie's mother tormenting her again.
He follows them home on his bicycle. Sitting outside a window, he hears the mother threaten Debbie with severe punishment if she tells anyone. Afterward, when the mother sends Debbie off with neighbors, Tommy chases her into her garage, starts her gasoline-powered lawn mower, and cuts her to pieces.
Tommy returns to the television studio, and Carolyn finds him sitting in the dark. He calls her "Mommie" and plays hide and seek with her, but when she refuses to hide from him, he follows her around the studio with a spotlight. She tells him she lost her job because of his behavior, and the station has just canceled their show.
After Carolyn leaves, Tommy sleeps among his props and puppets. Later, he goes to the home of Jefferson Taylor's parents and stabs them to death. Meanwhile, the hospital nurse calls Hayes again to tell him someone has stolen the records of several battered children on her ward.
Hayes and Graham are at the Taylor murder scene when Sgt. Matthews arrives with the names of the three missing files: The Taylors, the Cirlins, and the D'Siccas. The police stake out the D'Sicca home and follow Mr.
D'Sicca. The manager of the D'Siccas' apartment complex approaches Mrs. D'Sicca to complain about the noise from their apartment and their failure to pay rent for the past two months.
Meanwhile, Tommy goes to Mr. D'Sicca's hardware store and buys lawn clippers, but when Mrs. D'Sicca calls to tell her husband about the manager, D'Sicca orders her to stop hurting their daughter.
Realizing that the wife is the one who must be killed, Tommy leaves the shop and hurries to the apartment, where Mrs. D'Sicca is ironing. He takes the iron from her and prepares to push it against her face, but her little daughter enters the room with a gun and shoots Tommy who falls dead.
Then she shoots her mother dead as well..