High Spirits (1988)

When Peter Plunkett's Irish castle turned hotel is about to be repossesed, he decides to spice up the attraction a bit for the 'Yanks' by having his staff pretend to haunt the castle. The ... See full summary »

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writer:

Neil Jordan

Stars:

Peter O'Toole, Donal McCann, Steve Guttenberg

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter O'Toole	...	Peter Plunkett
Donal McCann	...	Eamon
Mary Coughlan	...	Katie
Liz Smith	...	Mrs. Plunkett
Tom Hickey	...	Sampson
Tony Rohr	...	Christy
Hilary Reynolds	...	Patricia
Isolde Cazelet	...	Julia
Little John Nee	...	Gateman (as Little John)
Steve Guttenberg	...	Jack Crawford
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Sharon Brogan Crawford
Jennifer Tilly	...	Miranda
Peter Gallagher	...	Brother Tony
Martin Ferrero	...	Malcolm
Connie Booth	...	Marge

Storyline

When Peter Plunkett's Irish castle turned hotel is about to be repossesed, he decides to spice up the attraction a bit for the 'Yanks' by having his staff pretend to haunt the castle. The trouble begins when a busload of American tourists arrive - along with some real ghosts. Among the tourists are married couple Jack and Sharon. Sharon's father holds the mortgage on Castle Plunkett, so she's hoping to debunk the ghosts. Jack, on the other hand, after meeting pretty ghost Mary, is very eager to believe. Can there be love between a human and ghost? Jack and Mary are going to try and find out.

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Plot Keywords:

ghost | castle | tourist | hotel | haunted mansion | 

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Taglines:

A Hauntingly Funny Comedy!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 November 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hotel de los fantasmas

Filming Locations:

County Limerick, Ireland

Box Office

Gross:

$8,578,231 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Palace Pictures, Vision PDG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Liz Smith was cast at short notice after the original choice was too ill to work.

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Goofs

In three different shots wires used to "fly" people or objects are visible. First, when Jack Crawford (Steve Guttenberg) gets blown out the front door of Plunkett castle (at around 34 mins). Second, a few seconds later when the roof of the car gets blown off (at around 38 mins) wires attached to it can be seen in the upper left corner of the screen. Third, when Malcolm (Martin Ferrero) gets hit by lightning (at around 13 mins).

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Quotes

Peter Plunkett: [speaking to the ghost of his father in the office] What did you have to give me this place for? You knew I was an incompetent! All I wanted to be was happily useless. You made me miserably useless. What did you give me this place for?
[starts throwing papers up into the air]
Peter Plunkett: baths to run, bills to be paid, and then dying on me, just like that! Most people give some warning, you know. Premature senility, angina, gout, bed-ridden for years... but not you. Oh, no, no, no. Healthy as an old goat, ...
[...]

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Connections

References A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Sinister Street Section"
(uncredited)
Music by Peter Francklyn (i.e. Robert Gill)
De Wolfe Music Ltd

User Reviews

It is genuinely funny, the script is witty and the actors superb.

Maybe I have a warped sense of humour (or just a very British one) but I laugh every time I see this film, and I've seen it well over a 100 times over the years. It is genuinely funny, the script is witty and the actors superb. This is one of my all time favourite rainy day films. No matter how times I watch it there are still little things I'd not noticed or things I'd forgotten happen. I strongly suggest getting this film out next time it's raining and you're stuck indoors, and if anyone from the BBC is reading, please put it on next bank holiday!!