The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975)

When college professor, Peter Proud begins experiencing flashbacks of an earlier life, he's mysteriously drawn to a place he's never been to, but which seems familiar and where he soon finds his previous incarnation's wife.

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Max Ehrlich (screenplay by), Max Ehrlich (from his novel)

Stars:

Michael Sarrazin, Jennifer O'Neill, Margot Kidder

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Sarrazin	...	Peter Proud
Jennifer O'Neill	...	Ann Curtis
Margot Kidder	...	Marcia Curtis
Cornelia Sharpe	...	Nora Hayes
Paul Hecht	...	Dr. Samuel Goodman
Stuart Thomas	...	Jeff Curtis (as Tony Stephano)
Norman Burton	...	Dr. Frederick Spear (as Normann Burton)
Anne Ives	...	Ellen Curtis
Debralee Scott	...	Suzy
Jon Richards	...	Newspaper Custodian
Steve Franken	...	Dr. Charles Crennis
Fred Stuthman	...	Pop Johnson
Lester Fletcher	...	Car Salesman
Paul Nevens	...	Room Clerk
Breanna Benjamin	...	Miss Hagerson

Storyline

When college professor, Peter Proud begins experiencing flashbacks of an earlier life, he's mysteriously drawn to a place he's never been to, but which seems familiar. He soon finds his previous incarnation's wife. This woman, Marcia Curtis, sees in Peter startling characteristics which he shares with her dead husband, Jeff. Even the sound of his voice seems at times to be that of the dead man.

---

Plot Keywords:

female masturbation | reincarnation | university professor | flashback | psychologist | 

---

Taglines:

You Only Have One Life to Live...Or Do You?

---

Genres:

Horror | Mystery

---

Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Margot Kidder is about six months younger than Jennifer O'Neill in real life, yet she played Miss O'Neill's character's mother in this film.

---

Goofs

When Peter leaves the showroom where he sees the 1937 Cord, the motorcycle police escort for the driving scene is clearly visible in the mirrored widows of the buildings across the street.

---

Quotes

Marcia Curtis: Who are you? You're not Peter Proud, you're some kind of monster! You're trying to get at me through Ann, well just leave her alone you bastard! Just leave us alone. Just leave ME alone. How? How could you know what we said that night?
Marcia Curtis: You filthy, rotten, stinking bastard!

---

Connections

Referenced in The First Nudie Musical (1976)

User Reviews

Not great, but truly spooky

Peculiar film which mixes murder-mystery with the supernatural concept of reincarnation, along with a large dose of early-70's movie sexuality. I saw this several times years ago on TV, and was quite impressed with it, somewhat against my will; now I wish that I could see it again. It is deeply and disturbingly creepy at points, and contains chilling scenes which I will never forget; it has the quality of a bad dream that you can't quite get out of your mind. At the same time, it is not in any way a typical "horror" or fantasy film; in an odd way it is somewhat subtle and intellectual without being at all high-brow (the lead character is an inquisitive college professor).

The main protagonists are played by Michael Sarrazin and Margot Kidder (both Canadians). Sarrazin was becoming quite popular at the time, and something of an unlikely heart-throb, but his career later fizzled out. His rather sleepy and laid-back acting style works well here. Kidder at first seems bizarrely and very severely mis-cast playing a far older alchoholic widow, but her performance begins to get under your skin once you get past the terrible age-makeup that was used on her (she plays her own age in flashbacks). She was actually much younger than Sarrazin at the time, and the same age as the radiant Jennifer O'Neill who plays her adult daughter. It would be interesting to know the behind-the-scenes info on the casting decisions.

The production is rather slow-moving, although it eventually gathers speed and certainly ends with a bang! Unfortunately, as a whole the thing never quite works. It probably could be a much more interesting and intense film, and I have read that Paramount has acquired the rights for a remake.

Originally available on both VHS tape and LaserDisc.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 1975 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Reincarnation of Peter Proud

Filming Locations:

Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bing Crosby Productions, Cinerama Productions, Fuqua Industries

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1