The Screaming Woman

Laura Wynant, [Olivia de Havilland] is a wealthy former mental patient who travels to her country estate to recuperate. While there, she begins to hear faint cries for help, and she becomes convinced that a woman has been buried alive somewhere on the grounds. Her discovery sets off a tense chain of events, because those around her doubt her, attributing the cries to a relapse rather than a real danger.

Laura tries to alert others, but her warnings are met with skepticism, and her family begins to worry that her condition is slipping. With her hands nearly crippled by arthritis, she cannot dig the woman out herself. In a desperate bid to get help, she tricks a local boy into aiding her by claiming she is searching for a lost earring, and she is soon forced to tell the boy the truth when the cries become too alarming. This leads to a confrontation with the boy’s angry father, underscoring how fragile Laura’s situation has become.

Seeking assistance door to door, Laura crosses paths with the buried woman’s husband, Howard Wynant, Charles Robinson. He had buried his wife after striking her on the head with a shovel, and he believed she was dead. Laura’s pleas for help intensify the danger, and she is ultimately confined to her home under the doctor’s orders.

Dr. Amos Larkin, [Walter Pidgeon], prescribes strict rest, but a moment of renewed strength—almost a miraculous recovery in her hands—gives Laura the chance to act. With that newfound power, she returns to the task of uncovering the trapped woman, and she begins to dig through the earth at the site where the cries originated. The buried woman remains alive, and the stakes climb as the danger closes in on Laura and those helping her.

In the midst of the peril, the Wynant family dynamics are brought into sharper focus. Caroline Wynant, [Laraine Stephens], Laura’s relative, stands by as the tension escalates, illustrating how family ties complicate the struggle for survival. The moment of imminent danger arrives when Howard Wynant reappears, intent on finishing what he started, and a chilling confrontation unfolds as he looms behind Laura with the deadly shovel.

The buried woman’s grip on Laura’s hand becomes a pivotal moment, a lifeline that allows the survivor to pull herself up from the ground just as the cold reality of the threat sinks in. The suspense peaks as the woman, still alive, joins Laura in a fragile stand for safety. The arrival of the authorities arrives just in time, and the revelation of the buried woman’s survival, coupled with Laura’s endurance, leads to the capture of the danger and the saving of both women.

Throughout the ordeal, the story maintains a steady, restrained tone that underscores the fragility of perception and the courage it can take to convince others when fear, doubt, and danger collide. The film blends psychological tension with a claustrophobic sense of place on the estate grounds, where every creak of the floorboards and faint sound of dirt shifting becomes a signal of life—or potential peril. The final sequence emphasizes resilience, the will to persist against overwhelming odds, and the thin margin between sanity and fear, delivering a conclusion that honors Laura’s determination and the buried woman’s chance at a new beginning.