Love at Stake (1988)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

John Moffitt

Writers:

Lanier Laney (writer)
Terry Sweeney (writer)

Release Date:

April 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Blazing witches, young exorcists. It's the history of the world Momma never told you about!

Plot:

The mayor and judge of Salem trump up the notorious witch trials in support of their land grab scam...

Plot Keywords:

Salem | Spoof | Witchcraft | Courtroom | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Patrick Cassidy	...	Miles Campbell
Kelly Preston	...	Sara Lee
Georgia Brown	...	Widow Chastity
Barbara Carrera	...	Faith Stewart
Bud Cort	...	Parson Babcock
Annie Golden	...	Abigail
David Graf	...	Nathaniel
Audrie J. Neenan	...	Mrs. Babcock
Stuart Pankin	...	Judge Samuel John
Dave Thomas	...	Mayor Upton
Anne Ramsey	...	Old Witch
Mary Hawkins	...	Priscilla Upton
Jackie Mahon	...	Belinda Upton
Norma MacMillan	...	Aunt Deliverance Jones
Joyce Brothers	...	Herself (as Dr. Joyce Brothers)

Also Known As:

Burnin' Love

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Hemdale Film

Movie Connections:

Featured in Demented Top 20 Video Countdown (1988) (TV)

You can't go wrong with witch hunting.

Its 1692, the judge and mayor of Salem team up to take over the town's land by starting up witch hunts which leaves vacant properties. The plan is going real well, when suddenly a real witch, Faith, for witchcraft, accuses the innocent Sara Lee. She uses this as a chance to get to her boyfriend Miles, but he stands by Sara and tries his best to convince the town she's no witch.

"Love at Stake" is a reasonably obscure and small-scale b-grade spoof that amusingly sends up the infamous Salem witch trails with quick fire gags and lowbrow tone. There's a certain Zucker and Abraham style (think of Airplane & Top Secret!) about this comedy. It even has a touch of Monty Python about it. The martial has a cheeky hit and miss self-mockery about itself, but it's always on the move and there are some inspired lines of dialogue. The corny premise is quite an original take with plenty of zing and a playfully raunchy touch. There's plenty of room for minor jokes to feed off the major one. It can get infantile and crass, but the superb cast upped the material to another level with their blinding chemistry and well-timed performances. Stuart Pankin and Dave Thomas were sensational as the two weasels, Judge John and Mayor Upton. They clicked when they came together. Kelly Preston was delightfully sweet and very effective in her role as Sara and Patrick Cassidy fitted perfectly as her concerned boyfriend Miles. A fickle turn by Bud Cort had me snickering quite a bit as the blind Parson Babcock and an alluring Barbara Carrera turns heads as the voluptuous witch Faith. It's directed with a lot of ticker by Saturday Night Live's John Moffitt. Which it's a shame that it goes by unnoticed.

A fun flick with energetic performances, but in the long run it's still a forgettable spoof. Well worth a look though.