Betrayal is a 1974 ABC Movie of the Week directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Amanda Blake and Tisha Sterling, adapted from the novel Only Couples Need Apply by Doris Miles Disney. It first aired on December 3, 1974.[1]

Betrayal
Title card
GenreDrama
Thriller
Based onOnly Couples Need Apply
by Doris Miles Disney
Teleplay byJames M. Miller
Directed byGordon Hessler
StarringAmanda Blake
Tisha Sterling
Theme music composerErnest Gold
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerCharles W. Fries
ProducerGerald Isenberg
Production locationsGulls Way Estate - 26800 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California
CinematographyJacques R. Marquette
EditorJohn A Martinelli
Running time74 minutes
Production companyMetromedia Productions
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseDecember 3, 1974 (1974-12-03)

Plot

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Helen Mercer, a wealthy elderly widow, hires a young woman, Gretchen Addison, as her secretary. Mercer, nicknamed "Deadeye" after having shot her criminal handyman, is lonely, and her ad for a secretary is as much about companionship as business. Little does she suspect, though, that the woman and her boyfriend Jay are criminals on the run after a killing, who target elderly women to extort them. The partners plan to make Mercer their next victim, killing her and stealing her money. Addison, however, grows to admire Mercer, and decides she needs to change her ways.

Cast

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Critical reception

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Journalist David Deal wrote in 2005 that the film was "mild in the terror department but the fears it depicts are very real nonetheless."[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Deal, David (27 January 2015). Television Fright Films of the 1970s. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. pp. 11–12. ISBN 9780786455140. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
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