How Awful About Allan (1970) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A traumatized man's struggle with guilt, paranoia, manipulation, and recurring blindness culminates in a revelation that does not end his psychological torment.

Story Structure — 6 Plot Phases

Ashes Beneath Home

The childhood fire establishes Allan's guilt, blindness, and Katherine's scars. Allan returns from psychiatric care to a home still shaped by the tragedy.

Key Events

• The Fatal Childhood Fire — Paint thinner near a heater catches fire, killing Allan's father and scarring Katherine. Characters: Allan, Katherine Location: Family home
• Psychosomatic Blindness — Allan develops psychosomatic blindness and spends months in a mental hospital. Characters: Allan Location: Mental hospital
• Allan Returns Home — Partially cured, Allan returns home and struggles to readjust to domestic life. Characters: Allan, Katherine Location: Family home
• The Whispering Boarder — Katherine takes in a boarder who claims a throat injury and speaks only in a whisper. Characters: Allan, Katherine Location: Family home
• A Voice Calls Allan — Allan hears his name whispered and partly sees a dark figure approaching him. Characters: Allan, Katherine Location: Family home

The Whispering Presence

A supposedly injured boarder appears, and Allan begins hearing his name whispered by a dark figure. He documents his fears while questioning his own sanity.

Key Events

• Recorded Suspicions — Allan records his suspicions about the mysterious lodger and the possible plot against him. Characters: Allan Location: Allan's bedroom
• Olive Reappears — Olive, Allan's former fiancée, renews contact and gradually persuades him to see her again. Characters: Allan, Olive Location: Family home
• Olive Watches The Lodger — Allan asks Olive to observe the lodger so she can describe the figure he cannot clearly see. Characters: Allan, Olive, Katherine Location: Family home
• The Library Car Trip — Olive drives Allan into town and leaves him alone while returning books to the university library. Characters: Allan, Olive Location: Town
• The Crashed Car — Hearing the whispering again, Allan tries to drive away and crashes Olive's car. Characters: Allan, Olive Location: Town street

Trust Begins To Fracture

Olive reconnects with Allan, but his attempts to escape the whispering lead to a car crash and a knife injury. Katherine and Olive begin confronting the seriousness of his condition.

Key Events

• The Kitchen Window Shock — A delivery boy at the kitchen window startles Allan, causing him to cut himself with a knife. Characters: Allan Location: Kitchen
• Hospital Return Proposed — Katherine urges Allan to see the psychiatrist again as his fear and accidents continue. Characters: Allan, Katherine Location: Family home
• Eric Seen In Town — Olive says she saw Katherine's boyfriend in town, but Katherine denies that he has returned. Characters: Allan, Olive, Katherine, Eric Location: Town
• Nightmares Of The Fire — Allan relives childhood punishment and hides in a dark cupboard during a nightmare. Characters: Allan Location: Allan's bedroom
• The Burnt Room Vision — A whispering voice leads Allan to a seemingly burnt room where ceiling timbers fall, and he later finds burnt wood. Characters: Allan, Katherine Location: Family home

Voices Without Certainty

Allan's nightmares and the burnt wood deepen his belief that the supernatural-looking events are real. The psychiatrist is unavailable, while Eric's arrival adds another disturbing connection.

Key Events

• The Psychiatrist Is Away — Allan calls the hospital seeking the psychiatrist but learns that the doctor is away. Characters: Allan Location: Family home
• Eric Drives The Cab — Allan slips while going to the cab; Eric is the driver, and Olive helps Allan back inside. Characters: Allan, Eric, Olive Location: Family home
• The Tape Recorder Breaks — Allan tries to prove the whispering was recorded, but Olive is absent when playback begins; he smashes the recorder. Characters: Allan, Olive, Katherine Location: Family home

The Mask Comes Off

A pantry fire forces Allan into a physical struggle with the masked attacker. His restored vision reveals Katherine, who confesses to orchestrating the torment.

Key Events

• The Pantry Fire — A whisper lures Allan into the pantry, where a fire is set and the door is locked behind him. Characters: Allan, Katherine Location: Kitchen pantry
• Katherine Unmasked — Allan extinguishes the fire, breaks out, wrestles with the attacker, and recognizes Katherine beneath the mask. Characters: Allan, Katherine Location: Kitchen pantry
• Katherine Confesses — Katherine reveals that her scar was removed and says it should have remained as a mark of Allan's crime. Characters: Allan, Katherine Location: Family home

Sight Lost Again

Allan appears to regain ordinary stability with Olive, but Katherine's letter from psychiatric care reopens the unresolved trauma. His blindness returns in the final moment.

Key Events

• A Fragile Normality — Later, Allan returns home and speaks with Olive while appearing more normal after taking a music appreciation course. Characters: Allan, Olive Location: Family home
• The Final Blindness — A letter from Katherine pleads for release from psychiatric care, and Allan's vision suddenly goes dark again. Characters: Allan, Katherine Location: Family home

Story Breakdown

• Traumatic Origin — The childhood fire creates the guilt and injuries that shape the entire narrative.
  • Fatal House Fire — Paint thinner near a heater catches fire and kills Allan's father.
  • Lasting Injuries — Allan develops psychosomatic blindness while Katherine is scarred.
• Homecoming Suspicion — Allan returns from treatment and encounters an apparently threatening boarder.
  • Unsteady Return — Allan attempts to readjust after months in a mental hospital.
  • Whispering Figure — A dark figure whispers Allan's name and appears to approach him.
• Olive Reconnects — Olive becomes Allan's principal outside support as his fears intensify.
  • Former Engagement — Olive renews contact with Allan after their earlier engagement.
  • Town Car Crash — Allan tries to escape the whispering and crashes Olive's car.
• Reality Unravels — Accidents, nightmares, and conflicting information make Allan doubt whether the threat is real.
  • Waking Injuries — A delivery boy startles Allan into cutting himself with a knife.
  • Burnt Room Evidence — A nightmare appears to become real when Allan finds burnt wood.
• Hidden Scheme Revealed — The apparent external threat is connected to Katherine and her campaign against Allan.
  • Eric's Croaky Voice — Eric arrives as the cab driver with a voice resembling the feared whisper.
  • Broken Tape Proof — Allan smashes the recorder after playback fails to confirm his suspicions.
• Pantry Confrontation — Katherine's psychological attack becomes a direct physical struggle involving fire.
  • Locked Pantry Fire — Allan is trapped with a fire but uses flour to extinguish it.
  • Masked Sister — Allan removes the mask and recognizes Katherine beneath the disguise.
• Aftermath Relapse — The apparent resolution collapses when Katherine's letter triggers Allan's final return to blindness.
  • Katherine's Confession — Katherine says Allan deserves punishment for his father's death.
  • Sight Goes Dark — After a period of apparent normality, Allan becomes blind again.

Directed by

Curtis Harrington

Key Cast

• Anthony Perkins — Allan
• Julie Harris — Katherine
• Joan Hackett — Olive
• Kent Smith — Raymond
• Robert H. Harris — Dr. Ellins