Fred Walton

Someone is alone, the telephone rings, and Walton delays the relief of knowing precisely what the danger is. He returns to threats at doors and down telephone lines, using urban-legend situations without much visible violence. We were unnerved by the opening of When a Stranger Calls (1979), because he makes the telephone frightening while showing almost none of the violence we anticipate. The restraint works because we have time to worry about the person receiving the call.

That approach was already there in The Sitter (1977), the short he co-wrote with Steve Feke and expanded into When a Stranger Calls. The theatrical films that followed did not simply repeat its premise. April Fool's Day (1986) plays with slasher conventions, which made its promotion as a conventional slasher a poor guide to its tone. The Rosary Murders (1987), adapted with Elmore Leonard and starring Donald Sutherland, pursues suspense through character and moral choices.

Miami Vice (1984), on which Walton has a directing credit, is worth watching for its leads, expressive music and sadness beneath the pastel clothes. We favour the early seasons, before the weaknesses in the storytelling become harder to overlook. The care lavished on the images remains part of its appeal, even when the writing cannot keep pace. For us, the melancholy is a reason to keep watching beyond the appeal of the clothes and the images. The later weaknesses matter because the leads make us care, and we want their stories to hold our attention as securely as the music does.

After The Rosary Murders, television films and occasional series episodes became his main work. His recurring actors include Charles Durning and Carol Kane, the latter appearing in both When a Stranger Calls films. The television sequel When a Stranger Calls Back (1993) revisits the earlier premise, while The Stepford Husbands (1996) marks the end of his directing career. Start with When a Stranger Calls, and give the waiting a chance to work.