MovieChat Forums > Bad Ronald (1974) Discussion > Mrs. Schumacher

Mrs. Schumacher

posted 19 years ago by jsfmt99
18 replies | jump to latest

Wasn't the Wilby's nosy neighbor Mrs. Shumacher really creepy?. I thought that that one of the scariest moments in the movie was when she caught Ronald raiding the refrigerator. That was a great scene and cleverly executed because it was done from Ronald's perspective and made the viewers feel like they were caught too. After Ronald realized that he had been seen, it was an unusual twist that instead of running away, he simply walked slowly toward Mrs Schumacher as she stared at him in disbelief through the window. The way that she fell down the stairs and died looked kind of fake but it made the movie even more creepy by knowing that Ronald buried her body under the house.

[–] mamamiasweetpeaches 19 years ago

Not counting bits and pieces I saw as a kid, I've seen this movie twice as a grown up. The first time ...when I saw him eating out of the fridge and then turning to see Mrs Schumaker peering shocked into the window I swear my heart missed a beat and my blood went cold! I dont know why that scene is so scary...but it is!
Why the hell was Mrs Schumaker still peekin in windows now that a new fmily had moved in? What a b*tch!
Of course we know we would have just left her dead busy body corpse there and let the authorities think the old biddy had just had a heart attack and croaked....but the scene shows us how Ronald is starting to get warped...as he slowly walks over and says he'll be blamed for THIS death too...and then drags Mrs Schumaker to the basement to bury her. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Good movie!

LOUD & PROUD HAL LOVER
LIVING IN THE PAST
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6spdi/index.html

[–] spindaddydad 19 years ago

Here's a shot of the creepy Ms. Schumacher:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=241459&messageid=1046560780

[–] mamamiasweetpeaches 19 years ago

Wow..that sums it up perfectly. The eyeball (where the hell were Ronalds glasses???), the young girl walking into the room and seeing the picture of a princess hangin there while dirty Ronald sputtered madness, that *beep* b**** Mrs Schumacer!!!
This movie does not get it's "props" folks!
Spread the word! At least once a month vow to tell someone new about BAD RONALD!

LOUD & PROUD HAL LOVER
LIVING IN THE PAST
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6spdi/index.html

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] tdf5g 19 years ago

Bad Ronald (Scott Jacoby) also helps Jodie Foster bury bodies in "The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane"

[–] mamamiasweetpeaches 19 years ago

Yes, yes! I have that video too! Nobody could bury a body in the basement like Scott Jacoby!

LOUD & PROUD HAL LOVER
LIVING IN THE PAST
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6spdi/index.html

[–] Jpebony123 19 years ago

I agree. I was about 12 when I was first told about the movie by my hair stylist. (She and I had a common interest in scary movies.) The way that she told the story freaked me out almost as much as the actual movie did when I saw it later.

The scene with Mrs. Schumacher took me totally off guard. Did they ever find her body the night that they found Ronald? Long after I watched the movie, I wondered how long it was before the family found her -- that's if they stayed in the house!

Another part that gave me goosebumps was when Ronald whistled and nibbled on the candy bar like a mouse.

They sure don't make good movies like that anymore!

[–] Buskieboy 19 years ago

Wait a minute.....you had a hair stylist at 12!?
What were you? A child actor or a rich kid? ;o)

PEPPIER (pehp ee ay')
n. The waiter at a fancy restaurant whose sole purpose
seems to be walking around asking diners if they want ground pepper.

(Rich Hall)

[–] Jpebony123 19 years ago

No, nobody famous or rich. I wish!!

I just had unmanagable hair and lots of cowlicks. (I always looked like I went to bed with wet hair, until I found someone who could give me a haircut and tame it down!!) I didn't even go to the ritzy places.

I referred to the lady as a hairstylist now because I once called one a "beauty operator" instead. Boy was she offended!! She said, "Oh, we don't use that name anymore," and cringed. (Emphasize the "that"!)

Fortunately, she had the scissors facing away from me!

[–] Tresix 18 years ago

This aired two days away from my fourteenth birthday. Maybe it's a commentary on how sick I am, but I actually LAUGHED when Mrs. Schummacher died! I thought it served the old biddy right. I have a book called "What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History" and they list this movie. I totally disagree with that assessment! In fact, I think this is probably one of the best made-for-TV movies of all-time.

s to the left of me.
s to the right.
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you!

[–] ash-61 17 years ago

Sometimes I feel like killing my nosy neighbours as well. It's not their house, what do they care? Mrs Schumacher deserved what she got.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jefgg 12 years ago

Why did Ronald bury Mrs. Schumacher? He should have let her rot. His name was Bad Ronald, not Dumb Ronald. Maybe he panicked. Was he afraid Mrs. Schumacher would be resuscitated then blab that he was still around?

[–] Tresix 12 years ago

Was he supposed to just let her lie there on the back porch? That would bring the authorities all over the place and maybe exposed him sooner than he would have liked.

"I'm in such bad shape, I'm wearing prescription underwear." Phyllis Diller 1917-2012

[–] jefgg 12 years ago

An older lady who died on the stairs of a heart attack would probably bring less heat than an older lady vanishing into thin air.

[–] Tresix 12 years ago

From what I've seen, no one knew she was there since no one mentions her after she's gone. Unless the rest of the neighborhood didn't like her neither.

"I'm in such bad shape, I'm wearing prescription underwear." Phyllis Diller 1917-2012

[–] tbirdman-1 11 years ago

Well I read all of the posts on this thread about Mrs. Schumacher
and nobody mentioned the fact that after Ronald had buried her
remains in the ground. That the old woman's state of human decomp
would have really stunk up the property to high heaven! Yes I
know this all too well from watching many episodes of original
CSI and surprised that no one else has posted this factor! Plus
there is also the strong possibility that her body would have
been detected and eaten by any neighborhood dogs not to mention
being feasted on by beetles and maggots would have really drawn
a very foul stench which the new family would have noticed. And
therefore the local cops would have dug up her remains and
started an homicide investigation! So I do think that Ronald
made an error in judgment by deciding to bury Mrs. Schumacher's
remains! Had he left her body on the property then the family
and the cops would have concluded that she suffered a fatal
heart attack.

Lorenzo Sunny Arizona

Call me a sailor or a swabby just don't call me a squid!

[–] tpupkin 9 years ago

Yes, she was creepy, and here's all you need to think about: she had a baby doll hanging by a noose in her basement.

If I followed the action correctly, the girl escapes from Ronald, runs out of her house and into the next door neighbor's house. I assumed it was Mrs. Schumacher's and no one knew she was dead yet. The girl goes down to the basement, and Ronaldo locks her in. While she's down there she encounters a baby doll swinging from a rope:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQYCCbSUkAAfr5n.jpg

Why would anyone, let alone old Mrs. Schumacher, do this?