I viewed "Bad Ronald" on ABC back on Oct. 23rd,1974 and in repeated viewings after. I remember it quite well. Yes,Ronald is the stereo-typical idea of a high school nerd but he's not stupid in any sense. One day on his way home from school he meets up with a neighbor girl who kind of teases him and Ronald pushes her down after grabbing her by the face
....but she hits her head against the concrete. Ronald runs home to his mother and when she hears what he's done she panics and comes up with (what I still find absurd to this day)a plan to hide Ron in a small bathroom and(somehow in very short time)conceal it so no one knows it's there.
When the police come by the first time,she says he's run away from home. After that,time goes by and she feeds Ron on a tray through a wall opening. Some months later his mother passes on after finally going to the hospital for her gall bladder and the house is emptied for new people to move in. (The workmen or whoever didn't inspect this place to well did they?)
One night the family has the brother,Duane of the girl Ron killed over to dinner and he talks about it with them. All the while Ron is watching through peep holes in the wall.
He uses those to also spy on the daughter of the family. Ron makes a bad decision to go to her and introduce himself. She freaks out of course because he has such a demented look on his face. She runs away from him and in the process discovers the the old lady from next door is gone! Ron dragged her inside sometime ago after she spotted him and fell down some steps!
Now I don't recall if this is when the police come but later they do and Ronald comes crashing through the wall in an effort to escape but tumbles to the ground outside instead.
I believe after 1979,this was not shown on network TV again,I do know it was shown on late night movies a few times but I haven't seen it in about 20-25 years now. I'm still searching for it on video.
Overall,I'd say it is one of the best TV movies of the 1970's,as far as thriller's go. I give it 8 stars for entertainment value.
2 stars off for the unrealistic idea of a family moving in without having the house better inspected and not finding him. (END)
....but she hits her head against the concrete. Ronald runs home to his mother and when she hears what he's done she panics and comes up with (what I still find absurd to this day)a plan to hide Ron in a small bathroom and(somehow in very short time)conceal it so no one knows it's there.
When the police come by the first time,she says he's run away from home. After that,time goes by and she feeds Ron on a tray through a wall opening. Some months later his mother passes on after finally going to the hospital for her gall bladder and the house is emptied for new people to move in. (The workmen or whoever didn't inspect this place to well did they?)
One night the family has the brother,Duane of the girl Ron killed over to dinner and he talks about it with them. All the while Ron is watching through peep holes in the wall.
He uses those to also spy on the daughter of the family. Ron makes a bad decision to go to her and introduce himself. She freaks out of course because he has such a demented look on his face. She runs away from him and in the process discovers the the old lady from next door is gone! Ron dragged her inside sometime ago after she spotted him and fell down some steps!
Now I don't recall if this is when the police come but later they do and Ronald comes crashing through the wall in an effort to escape but tumbles to the ground outside instead.
I believe after 1979,this was not shown on network TV again,I do know it was shown on late night movies a few times but I haven't seen it in about 20-25 years now. I'm still searching for it on video.
Overall,I'd say it is one of the best TV movies of the 1970's,as far as thriller's go. I give it 8 stars for entertainment value.
2 stars off for the unrealistic idea of a family moving in without having the house better inspected and not finding him. (END)