Ghost Story (1981)

Director:

John Irvin

Writers:

Lawrence D. Cohen (writer)
Peter Straub (novel)

Release Date:

18 December 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Tagline:

The time has come to tell the tale.

Plot:

Four successful elderly gentlemen, members of the Chowder Society, share a gruesome, 50-year old secret...

Plot Keywords:

Secret | Accident | Curse | Female Frontal Nudity | Fall From Height

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Fred Astaire	...	Ricky Hawthorne
Melvyn Douglas	...	Dr. John Jaffrey
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	...	Edward Charles Wanderley
John Houseman	...	Sears James
Craig Wasson	...	Don Wanderley / David Wanderley
Patricia Neal	...	Stella Hawthorne
Alice Krige	...	Eva Galli / Alma Mobley
Jacqueline Brookes	...	Milly
Miguel Fernandes	...	Gregory Bate
Lance Holcomb	...	Fenny Bate
Mark Chamberlin	...	Young Jaffrey
Tim Choate	...	Young Hawthorne
Kurt Johnson	...	Young Wanderley
Ken Olin	...	Young James
Brad Sullivan	...	Sheriff Hardesty

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 | Spain:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Albany, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Young Ricky Hawthorne says, "I can't dance." Old Ricky Hawthorne is played by Fred Astaire. This line wasn't in the novel.

Goofs:

Continuity: Just before Fenny moves toward Ricky in Eva's old house, Fenny's strap is down. In the next shot, it is up.

Quotes:

Ricky Hawthorne: Good Lord, she's in the pond!
Gregory Bate: Alive. Still alive.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in What Lies Beneath (2000)

Soundtrack:

Sweetheart of Sigma Chi

Misbegotten, yet strangely fascinating!

The movie shows signs of severe post-production editing (probably when the studio discovered that the film was something of a mess). There are actors listed in the credits who never appear in the film (the whole poltergeist incident featuring the Dedham sisters - gone! Ricky's parents - gone!). Watch out for the re-use of Astaire's early line to Houseman, "We have to help the boy" in the very late dredging the pond scene (it makes no sense there, but what the hell, they never explain why Astaire suddenly realizes that exposing Eva's body to the light of day will rout her anyway). I just bought the thing on DVD (it was marked down to $9.99!), so I have to admit I love it on some level. Craig Wasson's performance seems to have been sabotaged by editing that places his reactions a beat off every time - either that, or the editors saw no reason to tighten his scenes - in either case, it's an odd portrayal, not helped by a screenplay that makes him the most passive horror hero you ever saw. Aside from the shock cuts to Dick Smith's masterly variations on a corpse theme and Krige's bathtub scream, the movie is eerie rather than scary (see Krige's ghostly wedding dress promenade at the climax). The Gregory and Fenny Bate subplot (Straub's take on THE TURN OF THE SCREW on the novel) should have been handled (or cast) better, or eliminated entirely. In fact, at times the casting seems to be as amateurish as an Ed Wood classic - Gregory, the embarrassed waiter in the restaurant scene, the oddly accented secretary at the school (listen as she turns "Mr. Wanderley" into something like "Wanderlah")- they all seem to be relatives (or dates!) of the production team.

In response to the earlier post concerning Wasson's nude blue-screen jiggling, there was indeed a photo published in CINEFANTASTIQUE documenting his discomfort - and that must be a stuntman who does the naked flop onto the poolside tiles - someone send that man a "Buns of Steel" tape immediately! Phillipe Sarde's over the top but evocative score has, by the way, been turning up on various American soap operas and Spanish telenovelas for years.