Stephanie Zimbalist & Patty Duke in The Babysitter (1980)

My friend Carol introduced me to this made for TV thriller. It's creepy and has a slow build, but a great pay-off. Joanna Redwine is hired by the dysfunctional Benedicts as a housekeeper. As she settles in to the home she begins to manipulate the family members, encouraging Liz's (Patty Duke) drinking, trying to seduce Jeff (William Shatner) and while daughter Tara (Quinn Cummings) initially loves her, she begins to hate her as she sees how Joanna is using them. All along, next door neighbor Dr. Lindquist (John Housman) is observing Joanna and starts investigating her past. What will he discover, and will it endanger him and the Benedicts?

Though not available on DVD, this HBO production was released on VHS and is still available on Amazon. It can also be seen on YouTube in its entirety. The whole film is above, uploaded by TVTERRORLAND.

Obscurity factor: 9 (on YouTube and VHS, not on DVD, largely forgotten)

Michael Learned & John Housman A Christmas Without Snow (1980)

This movie about second chances and starting over tells the story of Zoe Jensen (Learned), a recent divorcee who moves to San Francisco to begin again. She looks for work and tries to settle in. To make new friends she joins a choir. As they prepare for their Christmas concert the choirmaster, Ephraim Adams (Housman) drives them mercilessly. Will they find common ground or will the emotional toll drive the choir apart? Also look for James Cromwell and Valerie Curtin.

This TV film has been released on DVD and can be seen in full on YouTube. the entire film is above, uploaded by LuckyStrike502.

Obscurity factor: 8 (not well remembered, on DVD and YouTube)

Peter Falk, Madeline Kahn & Eileen Brennan in The Cheap Detective (1978)

Obscurity factor: 7

Hot off the success of Murder By Death, Neil Simon and Robert Moore put this little film together. It extrapolates on the Humphrey Bogart style character that Peter Falk played in the film and pairs him with a bevy of saucy ladies from femme fatales to girls Friday. The film is a parody of the best of the genre, including Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, Chinatown and even A Streetcar Named Desire.

The production values are very high, it's beautifully shot in smoky rooms with dramatic lighting and the costumes and sets are nicely rendered. They provide the setting for some deftly handled, if at times silly comedy. Also look for Ann Margaret, Stockard Channing, Sid Caesar, Marsha Mason, James Coco, Phil Silvers, Fernando Lamas and John Housman.

In the clip above, Eileen Brennan plays a remarkably funny lounge singer, uploaded to YouTube by SueSnell. The film is available on DVD. The poster above is available from MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: 7 (available on DVD, has cult following, but isn't as well known as Murder by Death)