despite a rag indifference to the act chop of carol kane i still can barely stand to watch taxi largely due to her annoy grate i decide to give when a stranger call a chance . after all and who hasn not hear about the opening segment of this film and where babysitter jill johnson ( carol kane ) field an increasingly sinister series of phone call implore her to check on the child . linger camera shot show the dark and silent part of the house highlight the grow sense of fear and despair felt by kane character a she bravely stand her ground for the benefit of her employer child . several phone call to the police bring the men in blue into the picture and but will they get there in time if the caller materialize . the ominous shadow on the staircase signal trouble of a most horrific nature and kane reacts and and the scene play out to it grim conclusion . and then the real horror start and the stark and soul shatter horror of watch a movie with a memorable beginning sink into a morass of banality . when a stranger call would have work well a a short and independent film strongly emphasize it bravura open instead of plunge into the sprawling mess we get here . too bad . year after that horrible night curt duncan and the crazed caller and be back out on the street after a lengthy stint in an insane asylum . unfortunately and no one tell retire detective and now private eye john gifford ( charles durning ) and the cop who be there the night the caller terrorize jill johnson . the father of the child brutalize by duncan hire gifford to bring the psycho down anyway he can and if for no other reason than to prevent a repeat performance in some other person family . gifford agree to take the case and begin look for duncan . when a stranger call rapidly descend into boredom from this point forward and a we see duncan attempt to rejoin society and utterly failing . he end up in a bar where he meet tracy ( colleen dewhurst ) and promptly receive a heck of a beating after attempt to ingratiate himself with tracy brings on the wrath of a beefy bystander . why duncan express so much interest in a cranky barfly be just one of the many inexplicable question that arise frequently during the film . you have a good chance of discover the origin of the sphinx or learn quantum physic at the age of three than understand why this movie take the turn that it do here . a duncan take a beating at the bar and gifford enlist the aid of one of his cop friend and charlie garber ( ron oneal ) and now a lieutenant on the force who remember the bloody horror of that night but hesitates in help his buddy . this part of the film be interminable and with lot of shot of tracy stroll through the blasted landscape of her city in the middle of the night and gifford pound the pavement around town try to track down duncan and and the former caller inept attempt to evade capture . see charles durning run and although highly amuse and slightly worrisome from a coronary angle and be not enough to elevate this segment of the film . thankfully and the film return to it frightening pace at the end and when the now marry jill johnson once again encounter curt duncan . and this time she have here own child to worry about . the scene where she take a phone call at a restaurant be worth slog through the precede sixty minute and as be the final showdown shortly thereafter . another let down with when a stranger call come when we finally see curt duncan face to face . the guy simply isn not that scary in person . he old and sort of thin and and look like your average and every day type of guy and not anything like some former sailor with an insatiable lust for blood . apparently and the actor who play duncan and tony beckley and die shortly after make the movie . a for carol kane and she do a good job play the eternally frighten jill johnson but then promptly disappear for a large part of the movie . durning sleepwalks through the role of the determined cop john gifford and colleen dewhurst be largely waste in the meaningless role of tracy . the performance on the whole aren not bad and but the wooden pacing and uninteresting middle part of the film insure that no performer and no matter how good and could have save this movie from the doldrums .