Dying Room Only is a 1973 American made-for-television horror mystery thriller film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Cloris Leachman and Ross Martin.

Written by Richard Matheson and based on his 1953 short story of the same name, the film follows a woman whose husband disappears after they stop by a rural diner in the Arizona desert.

Produced by Lorimar Productions, who was also in charge of many television films of the period, Dying Room Only had its world premiere broadcast on ABC as a Tuesday movie of the week on September 18, 1973.

Bob Mitchell and his wife Jean are driving through the Arizona desert on their way home to Los Angeles.

At Jean's request, Tom agrees to go into the men's room to see if Bob is alright.

Jean goes next door to the motel, where a woman named Vi works the front desk.

Later, Vi refuses to place a call to the FBI, and Jean cannot reach her home in Los Angeles.

Peeking through the keyhole into the restroom beyond, she spies Tom entering and notices a light bulb illuminate next to her.

[2] Dying Room Only had its world premiere on ABC as part of the network's Movie of the Week series, airing for the first time on September 18, 1973.

Although the film was praised for its acting and cinematography, it did receive feminist criticism for its positioning of Leachman's character as a "helpless woman" who has had her "selfhood stolen" when she loses her husband.

[3] In review after its world broadcast, Jack Friedman of The Village Voice criticized the film, saying, "The only frightening aspect of this tale of horror was that its latent hatred (class, regional, sexual) were being spewed all across the country.