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
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		writer
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
Irving Buchman	....	makeup 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

Art Department
Jim Allen	....	assistant decorator
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
Henry Millar Jr.	....	special effects

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

Stunts
Erik Cord	....	stunts
Rita Egleston	....	stunts
Hill Farnsworth	....	stunts
Larry Holt	....	stunts
John Meier	....	stunts
Jeff Ramsey	....	stunts
Glenn Randall Jr.	....	stunt coordinator
Dick Warlock	....	stunts

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

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
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
Dean Lyras	....	second assistant stage manager
Phill Norman	....	title designer
Suzanne E. Petersen	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

Distributors

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

Special Effects

• Universal Title (optical effects)

Other Companies

• Westheimer Company  title opticals

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:

Interiors were constructed inside the abandoned Union Station, the former New York Central Railroad's passenger train station on Broadway in Albany, NY and included a two story set. The murder or death scene was filmed on the second floor of that set. Scenes were filmed in sequence and the two story set was significantly aged after the death scene so that it later appeared as the derelict house. After the movie, the old station was refurbished and restored to its former grandeur and served as office space for Fleet Bank and now Bank of America.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ricky is having the car dragged up from the lake, it changes between day and night several times.

Quotes:

Don: You're dead!
Eva: And you will be, too. Dead and wet and cold.

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.