Ghost Story (1981)

Director:

John Irvin

Writers:

Lawrence D. Cohen
Peter Straub (novel)

Release Date:

18 December 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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:

Ghost Story | Ghost | Picture | Accident | Secret

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
Guy Boyd	...	Omar Norris
Michael O'Neill	...	Churchill
Robert Burr	...	Peterson - the principal of Orlando College
Helena Carroll	...	Mrs. Meredith - Peterson's secretary
Robin Curtis	...	Rea Dedham
Breon Gorman	...	Nettie Dedham
James Greene	...	The Postman
Cagle D. Green	...	Eva's Ghost
Kyra Carleton	...	Eva's Ghost
Ruth Hunt	...	Florence - Sears and and Ricky's secretary
Deborah Offner	...	Helen Kayon
Virginia Bingham	...	Sears' Mother (as Virginia P. Bingham)
William E. Conway	...	Sears' Father
Russell R. Bletzer	...	Reverend Wilkinson
Terrance Mario Carnes	...	The Waiter
Alfred Curven	...	Man in the Coffin
Edward F. Dillon	...	The Judge
Alvin W. Fretz	...	The Coroner
Hugh Hires	...	Student Solt
Raymond J. Quinn	...	Ricky's Father
Barbara von Zastrow	...	Ricky's Mother
Betty Low	...	Irmengard
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gale Grindle	...	Student (uncredited)

Directed by
John Irvin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lawrence D. Cohen
Peter Straub		novel

Produced by
Douglas Green	....	co-producer
Ronald G. Smith	....	associate producer
Burt Weissbourd	....	producer

Original Music by
Philippe Sarde

Cinematography by
Jack Cardiff

Film Editing by
Tom Rolf

Casting by
Mike Fenton

Production Design by
Norman Newberry

Art Direction by
Norman Newberry

Set Decoration by
Mary Ann Biddle

Costume Design by
May Routh

Makeup Department
Rick Baker	....	special makeup effects artist
Irving Buchman	....	makeup artist
Carl Fullerton	....	special makeup effects artist
Albert Jeyte	....	makeup artist
Robert Jiras	....	makeup artist
Philip Leto	....	hair stylist
Rick Sharp	....	makeup artist
Dick Smith	....	special makeup

Production Management
Robert Latham Brown	....	production manager
Ronald G. Smith	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dan Kolsrud	....	first assistant director
Dean Lyras	....	second assistant director

Art Department
James Allen	....	assistant decorator (as Jim Allen)
William Apperson	....	construction foreman
Michael Seymour	....	visual advisor
John Zemansky	....	property master

Sound Department
James R. Alexander	....	sound (as Jim Alexander)
Charles L. Campbell	....	supervising sound editor
Larry Carow	....	sound effects editor
Samuel C. Crutcher	....	sound effects editor
Richard C. Franklin	....	sound effects editor (as Rick Franklin)
Robert L. Hoyt	....	sound re-recordist
David Pettijohn	....	sound effects editor
Stanley H. Polinsky	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Stan Polinsky)
Mark Server	....	boom operator
John J. Stephens	....	sound re-recording mixer (as John Stephens)
John Roesch	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Steve Johnson	....	special effects
Henry Millar Jr.	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Syd Dutton	....	matte artist
Dennis Glouner	....	matte photographer
Bill Taylor	....	matte photographer
Albert Whitlock	....	special visual effects
Henry Schoessler	....	matte crew (uncredited)
Susan Turner	....	visual effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Erik Cord	....	stunts
Rita Egleston	....	stunts
Diamond Farnsworth	....	stunts (as Hill Farnsworth)
Larry Holt	....	stunts
John Meier	....	stunts
Jeff Ramsey	....	stunts
Glenn Randall Jr.	....	stunt coordinator
Dick Warlock	....	stunts
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	stunt player (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lou Barlia	....	camera operator
Bobby Brown	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Jack Brown	....	assistant camera
Dick Mingalone	....	camera operator
Reggie Newkirk	....	first assistant camera
Ted Varnadoe	....	electrician

Editorial Department
Michael Ripps	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Harry Betts	....	orchestrator
John Caper Jr.	....	conductor
John Caper Jr.	....	music coordinator
Mickey Crofford	....	music recordist
Peter Knight	....	conductor
Peter Knight	....	orchestrator
Michel Mention	....	additional orchestrator
Peter T. Myers	....	orchestrator (as Peter Myers)

Transportation Department
Patrick A. DiCocco	....	production driver
Doug Wilson	....	driver

Other crew
Phil Bowles	....	first assistant stage manager
Jan DeWitt	....	second assistant stage manager
Sonny P. Filippini	....	script supervisor
Mike Henry	....	production assistant/logistics co-ordinator
Phill Norman	....	title designer
Suzanne E. Petersen	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1982) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1982) (France) (theatrical)
• Esselte Video (1982) (Finland) (VHS)
• MCA Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1990) (1999) (Finland) (TV)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1982) (Spain) (theatrical)
• EuroVideo (2010) (Germany) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Westheimer Company  title opticals
• Universal Title  opticals

Also Known As:

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Albany, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

First of two early eighties horror movies that starred a quartet of mostly seasoned veteran actors who were all film luminaries and screen legends. Ghost Story (1981) starred Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, John Houseman and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. whilst House of the Long Shadows (1983) starred Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and John Carradine. Both pictures were iconic in that they both starred four significant senior actors in the one movie.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Don's apartment in Orlando, FL, has an ocean view. Orlando is near the middle of the state, far from any ocean.

Quotes:

Don:Well, what happened to her?
Sears James:Well, that's obvious, isn't it?
Ricky Hawthorne:We killed her.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Sweetheart of Sigma Chi

I Wanted to Know What They Did

I read Peter Straub's book and was quite pleased with the result of the movie. First of all, like many, I loved the cast. They are all great men of the world cinema and the pull off the story with great aplomb. The movie is about something someone does in his or her youth and then must live with forever. In a good ghost story, the characters get no points for being once youthful and reckless. The fact that they meet and share their stories means that they never seem to intend closure. They never allow themselves to face the music and, hence, the revenge of the spirit is acceptable in the world where they find themselves. I just thought that a society devoted to the telling of ghost stories was a great idea. Anyway, while the plot does wander around a bit and it takes time to get to the point, it still works great. It was nice to see that Fred Astaire could still act (because he was such a great dancer we forget that he had a great comic talent and, in this case, a dramatic talent). The others are equally formidable. There are also some pretty slimy, putrid visions that appear and make for a pretty good rank on the jump scale. The actually scene that explains everything (I won't spoil it) is both sad and revealing. While not the greatest movie, it works very well and I would recommend it.