| Murder by Phone | |
|---|---|
 US theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Anderson |
| Screenplay by | Michael Butler Dennis Shryack John Kent Harrison |
| Story by |
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| Produced by | Bob Cooper |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Reginald H. Morris |
| Music by | John Barry |
Production company |
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| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
| Countries | Canada United States |
| Language | English |
Murder by Phone (also released asBells andThe Calling[2][3]) is a 1982science-fictionslasher film directed byMichael Anderson and starringRichard Chamberlain,John Houseman,Sara Botsford,Robin Gammell,Gary Reineke andBarry Morse. Its plot follows a series of murders committed by a disgruntled phone company employee who designs a device that kills victims when they answer their telephones.
The movie was preceded by a novel calledPhone Call written by the screenwriters Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack by author Jon Messman. It was published in 1979, three years before the film version. It is never credited in the film's credits. The link was mentioned on the cover in later editions of the book.[4]
The film was filmed in 1980 inToronto, Ontario.[5] The working title of the film wasBells, which appeared on early promotional material, but it was changed toMurder by Phone before it was released.[2][3]
The score by John Barry is electronic, played entirely withsynthesisers. This was a rarity for Barry. Whilst he composed and conducted the score, it was performed byJonathan Elias and John Petersen. Elias later went on to work with Barry on the scores forJagged Edge andA View to a Kill.
Murder by Phone was first released in Colombia on May 27, 1982. It released in Canada and the United States on October 8, 1982.[a]
Leonard Maltin noted the film's cast and direction as being legitimately "talented," but deemed the film a "hoary horror exercise."[7]
Murder by Phone was released onVHS byWarner Home Video in 1984.[8] The VHS was reissued in 1998.[9]
