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Summary

Shy misfit Sarah Goodwin has a secret gift: the ability to control — and destroy — with her mind. When Sarah goes off to college with her more outgoing and popular sister, Patty, their plans to join the most prestigious sorority on campus are scuttled by snobby president, Jennifer Lawrence. Separated from her sister, Sarah is taken in by a rival, less popular sorority, whose mysterious house mother, Mrs. Hunter, is harboring a secret of her own: a scheme to harness Sarah's terrifying power for revenge. Betrayed by Patty, humiliated by Jennifer, it can only be a matter of time before Sorority Hell Week erupts in flame!

Cast

Kay Lenz

Sarah Goodwin

Shelley Winters

Mrs. Erica Hunter

Tony Bill

Paul Yates

Kathryn Grant

Mrs. Goodwin

Morgan Fairchild

Jennifer Lawrence

Morgan Brittany

Patty Goodwin

Robert Hays

Scott Rafferty

Tisa Farrow

Alberta 'Mouse'

Elizabeth Stack

Laura O'Neil

Deborah Ryan

Bobbie Adams

Nora Heflin

Barbara

Talia Balsam

Allison

Michael Talbott

Freddie

Jennifer Gay

Kathy Anderson

Susan Duvall

Regina Wilson

Albert Owens

Young Man

Debi Fries

Susan

Doug Davidson

Tommy

Madelaine Kelley

Clerk (uncredited)

Karen Purcill

Pledge (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Robert Day

Story

Tom Holland

Story, Teleplay

Carol Saraceno

Teleplay

Don Ingalls

Teleplay

Kenette Gfeller

Reviews

Wuchak

March 6, 2022

7

_**A Tale of Two Sororities with telekinesis and a dab of the occult**_

Two loving sisters, one beautiful & popular and the other adopted & withdrawn (Morgan Brittany & Kay Lenz), start college in SoCal where the former is accepted by an uppity sorority while the latter joins a sorority of outcasts. Havoc ensues. Costars include: Morgan Fairchild, Shelley Winters, Tony Bill and Robert Hays.

"The Initiation of Sarah" (1978) is a television knockoff of “Carrie” (1976) mixed with “Satan’s School for Girls” (1973). While not on the level of the former, it’s superior to the latter because it’s dramatically weightier, plus you can’t beat the notable cast (this was before Fairchild and Brittany shot to fame).

It was remade in 2006 with Morgan Fairchild returning as the mother of the two sisters, Mrs. Goodwin. The movie runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot at S. Lorraine Blvd, Los Angeles (the PED sorority house) and California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

GRADE: B