Halloween (1978)
Trivia
From a budget of $300,000 over a 20 day shoot, the film went on to gross $47 million at the US box office. In 2008, takings that would be the equivalent of $150 million, making 'Halloween' one of the most successful independent films of all time.
John Carpenter considered the hiring of Jamie Lee Curtis as the ultimate tribute to Sir Alfred Hitchcock who had given her mother, Janet Leigh, legendary status in Psycho (1960) (for the same reason, Dr. Sam Loomis was named after Sam Loomis from Psycho). During the same period, Universal studio producers and director Richard Franklin were trying to enroll Jamie Lee in the new production of Psycho II (1983).
Because of the film's tight budget, the production designer Tommy Lee Wallace had to use whatever he had at his disposal, or had to buy materials cheaply. When he created the Michael Myers mask, he made two versions. The first was a Don Post Emmett Kelly smiling clown mask that they put frizzy red hair on. They tested it out and it appeared very demented and creepy. The other mask was a 1975 Captain James T. Kirk mask that was purchased in a costume shop on Hollywood Boulevard for $1.98. It had the eyebrows and sideburns ripped off, the face was painted bluish white, the hair was spray painted brown, and the eyes were opened up more. After testing out the mask, the crew decided that it was much more creepy because it was emotionless.
The original script, titled "The Babysitter Murders," had the events take place over the space of several days. It was a budgetary decision to change the script to have everything happen on the same day (doing this reduced the number of costume changes and locations required) and it was decided that Halloween, the scariest night of the year, was the perfect night for this to happen.
John Carpenter's intent with the character of Michael Myers was that the audience should never be able to relate to him.
John Carpenter showed Halloween to an executive before it was finished, without the music. The executive didn't find it to be scary at all. However, after the film was released, she watched it again and changed her mind, an indication of how much Carpenter's score adds to the film's atmosphere. Producer Irwin Yablans confirmed this, stating that while watching the movie in theater, audience members would regularly block their ears with their hands because the sound and music were so scary.
Of the female leads (all the girls are supposed to be in high school), only Jamie Lee Curtis was actually a teenager at the time of shooting.
Half of the $300,000 budget was spent on the Panavision cameras so the film would have a 2.35:1 scope. Donald Pleasence was paid $20,000 for five days work.
The story is based on an experience John Carpenter had in college touring a psychiatric hospital. Carpenter met a child who stared at him "with a look of evil, and it terrified me."
As the film was shot out of sequence, John Carpenter created a fear meter so that Jamie Lee Curtis would know what level of terror she should be exhibiting.
Robert Englund of the A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) film series revealed in an interview that John Carpenter had him throw bags of dead leaves on set for one day.
John Carpenter approached Peter Cushing and Sir Christopher Lee to play the role of Dr. Sam Loomis (that was eventually played by Donald Pleasence), but both turned him down due to the low pay. Lee later said it was the biggest mistake he had ever made in his career.
The Halloween theme is written in the rare 5/4 time signature. John Carpenter learned this rhythm from his father.
Debra Hill wrote most of the dialog for the female characters, while John Carpenter concentrated on Dr. Loomis' speeches.
John Carpenter wrote the role of Lynda for P.J. Soles after seeing her performance in Brian De Palma's Carrie (1976).
All of the actors wore their own clothes, since there was no money for a costume department. Jamie Lee Curtis went to J.C. Penney for Laurie Strode's wardrobe. She spent less than $100 for the entire set. She shot the film while on hiatus from the sitcom Petticoat Affair (1977).
Actress and Playboy model Sandy Johnson, who played Judith Myers, said in a rare 2018 interview that the only thing she didn't like about making the movie is that the fake blood would stain her skin. Since she was topless during the scene where Michael kills her, the blood was applied all over her bare chest and stomach, and all of it had to be scrubbed off in between takes. She remembered that whoever was doing it was rough, so Jamie Lee Curtis offered to do it and she was much gentler.
A young Jamie Lee Curtis was so disappointed with her performance that she became convinced she would be fired after only the first day of filming. When her phone rang that night and it was John Carpenter on the phone, Curtis was certain it was the end of her movie career. Instead, Carpenter called to congratulate her and tell her he was very happy with the way things had gone. The fact that she was Janet Leigh's daughter probably didn't hurt. According to Hill, Curtis wasn't Carpenter's first choice. She says he wanted the daughter of the person on Lassie.
Although John Carpenter had originally hoped to get either Peter Cushing and Sir Christopher Lee to play Dr. Sam Loomis, he was thrilled when Donald Pleasence accepted, of whom he was a huge fan. Pleasence would easily be the oldest and most experienced person on the production, so understandably, Carpenter was quite intimidated when they met for the first time. Pleasence actually started by stating that he didn't understand or like the script, saying "I don't know why I'm in this movie, and I don't know who my character is. The only reason I'm doing this movie is because I have alimony to pay, and my daughter in England is in a rock 'n' roll group and she said the music that you did for Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) is cool." Although Pleasence asked Carpenter difficult questions about his character, he turned out to be a good-humored, big-hearted individual; Carpenter later found out that Pleasence simply wanted to test him, to find out if he had any real passion for his project. Pleasence became great friends with Carpenter, and went on to appear in two of his other films.
As the movie was actually shot in early spring in southern California (as opposed to Illinois in late October), the crew had to buy paper leaves from a decorator and paint them in the desired autumn colors, then scatter them in the filming locations. To save money, after a scene was filmed, the leaves were collected and reused. However, as Jamie Lee Curtis and John Carpenter note on the DVD audio commentary, the trees are quite full and green and even some palm trees can be seen, despite that in Illinois in October, the leaves would probably be mostly gone and there would be no palm trees due to Illinois' cold climate - the state is mostly full of deciduous trees.
Jamie Lee Curtis' first feature film. She was paid a reported $8,000 for her efforts.
John Carpenter told production designer Tommy Lee Wallace to go out and find a "government-looking" car to be used by Dr. Loomis and Marion in the opening scenes, which Michael Myers ultimately steals and uses throughout the film. Wallace went to the nearest car-rental agency and a 1976 Ford LTD station wagon was the only car there that looked the part. Wallace hired it for two weeks, installing a wire-mesh divider between the front and rear seats, and slapping Illinois state decals on the front doors. Carpenter loved it, and the car-rental agency had no idea of the LTD's use in the film.
The Myers house was a locale found in South Pasadena that was largely the decrepit, abandoned place seen in the majority of the film. All scenes that took place in the present day were therefore shot first. Because the house had to look ordinary (and furnished) for the early scenes with the young Michael Myers, those were shot last. Almost the whole cast and crew worked together to clean the place, move in furniture, put up wallpaper, paint walls and set up running water and electricity wherever they filmed, and then take it all out when they were through. Shooting the scene in a single take reportedly took an entire night of filming, and only stopped because the sunlight started to come in.
Inside Laurie Strode's bedroom there is a poster of a painting by James Ensor (1860-1949). Ensor was a Belgian expressionist painter who used to portray human figures wearing grotesque masks.
The character Michael Myers was named after the European distributor of Carpenter's previous film, Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), who had entered that film into a British movie contest, where it won first price and became a bigger success than in the USA. The naming was a kind of weird "thank you" for the film's overseas success, although Mr. Myers reportedly joked that the makers technically owed him royalties for the use of his name.
Jamie Lee Curtis admits she made up the "Just the two of us" song she sang to herself at the movie's beginning when she was walking home from school.
John Carpenter composed the score in four days.
Prior to the movie, a book was written by Curtis Richards, and reveals more of the story behind Michael Myers' rage, thoughts and motives. However, the book is very rare.
The scene where The Shape seems to appear out of the darkness behind Laurie was accomplished by using a simple dimmer switch on the light that slowly illuminated the mask. Director of photography Dean Cundey likened it to eyes getting adjusted to the dark.
For its first airing on television, extra scenes had to be added to make it fit the desired time slot. John Carpenter filmed additional scenes at the mental institute inside Michael's cell during the production of Halloween II (1981), which provided retrospective hints as to why Michael is targeting Laurie, against his better judgment. This version was only available on DVD very briefly, and most home media versions since then have been the theatrical version.
P.J. Soles went to a screening of the movie after it was released, sitting in the fourth row of a regular audience. She was very amused when during her nude scene and line of "see anything you like?," a male audience member in front shouted out "Hell yes I do!," unaware she was right behind him. Dennis Quaid, who Soles was dating at the time, asked her if she wanted him to confront the man, but she declined, too amused from the experience.
Donald Pleasence did all of his scenes in only five days of shooting. The total duration of his scenes is just over 18 minutes. According to the crew, Pleasence had consumed two bottles of wine before doing the scene where he and a nurse are talking about Michael in a car. Director John Carpenter was worried that he would be incomprehensible and had a talk with the actor beforehand, but to the crew's amazement, Pleasence pulled it off.
Originally, Nick Castle was on set just to watch the movie be filmed. It was at the suggestion of John Carpenter that he took up the role of Michael Myers.
Jamie Lee Curtis didn't see herself as the repressed virgin, and was surprised when she found out which of the three girls she would be playing. She notes she would have probably been better suited as the smart aleck of the group.
In an interview, Moustapha Akkad said that John Carpenter had envisioned making the movie for around $300,000. Coincidentally, Akkad said he was producing and filming a major motion picture at the same time starring Laurence Olivier which was costing his company roughly around $300,000 a day. When Carpenter told him the fixed price of his movie, he immediately funded it.
The movie that Tommy and Laurie are watching is The Thing from Another World (1951). John Carpenter went on to direct the remake, The Thing (1982).
When they were shooting the scenes for the start of the film (all the ones seen from Michael's point of view) they couldn't get the six-year old child actor until the last day, so the movie's producer, Debra Hill, volunteered to be Michael for any scenes where his hands come into view. This is why the nails on young Michael's hands look so well manicured and varnished.
John Carpenter's direction for Nick Castle in his role as Myers was minimal. For example, when Castle asked what Myers' motivation was for a particular scene, Carpenter replied that his motivation was to walk from one set marker to another. Carpenter also instructed Castle to tilt his head a couple of times as if he was observing the corpse, particularly in the scene when Myers impaled one of his victims against a wall.
To ensure Michael Myers would break the window of the station wagon as Dr. Loomis approaches the insane asylum, a wrench was adhered to his forearm and hand. It was then painted flesh colored to hide from the camera, but is still clearly visible in the shot.
In a 2010 documentary, it was revealed that five different people dressed as The Shape: Nick Castle (throughout the movie), Tony Moran (during the unmasking by Laurie Strode), stuntman James Winburn, production designer Tommy Lee Wallace (due to his knowledge of how much force would be needed to break props during action shots in a single take), and co-writer/co-producer Debra Hill (in the external wide shot when Tommy sees The Shape for the first time). Tony stated that no one told him until he arrived on set that he would be wearing a mask. Debra explained that she happened to bring the costume with her that day and no one else was available for the shot.
Originally, Dr. Loomis was supposed to have a phone conversation with his wife. Donald Pleasence didn't do it, saying he thought the character shouldn't have a family or a past.
Debra Hill and John Carpenter were a couple (not just business partners) when they were working on this movie. Jamie Lee Curtis has said in interviews: "they were my horror movie parents. They were the parents, I was the child. When they broke up (in 1979) I cried."
The opening shot appears to be a single, tracking, point of view shot, but there are actually three cuts, because the Panavision cameras used could only hold about 5 minutes of footage. The first cut is when the mask goes on, and the second and third after the murder has taken place and the shape is exiting the room. This was done to make the point of view appear to move faster.
In spite of her Scream Queen status, Jamie Lee Curtis admitted, "I loathe horror movies. I don't like to be surprised."
According to screenwriter/producer Debra Hill, the character Laurie Strode was named after John Carpenter's first girlfriend.
The wealthy film producer Moustapha Akkad had admittedly little interest in this film and helped make it primarily due to the enthusiasm of John Carpenter and Irwin Yablans. However, when the film turned out to be a huge box-office smash, Akkad saw an opportunity and facilitated every 'Halloween' sequel, until his death in 2005.
As the film was made in spring, the crew had huge difficulty in procuring pumpkins. Only three were obtained, so the scene where one is broken on the ground had to be done in one take. The crew later got another type of green pumpkin which was simply painted orange.
That Michael Myers could drive a car despite having been committed to an asylum at the age of six inspired many guffaws. The first movie novelization came up with a simple but effective explanation: when Doctor Loomis drove Michael to sanity hearings over the years, Michael simply watched very closely and carefully as Doctor Loomis operated the car. Remember, even if Michael sat in the back seat and there was a screen of bulletproof glass partition, Michael could still look over the Doctor's shoulder without Loomis realizing the significance. Alternatively Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) provides a retroactive explanation to this question.
Will Sandin (Young Michael Myers) became a police officer in Los Angeles. He had no interest in pursuing a full time acting career.
As has been noted, the killer is referred to as The Shape in the script and credits for this film. The word "shape" was used by the Salem Witch Trials judges to describe specters (or spirits) of the accused doing mischief or harming another person.
Was selected in 2006 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
John Carpenter was a huge fan of the original Canadian slasher film Black Christmas (1974) and asked Bob Clark if he could write a sequel to the film and received his permission. The script eventually evolved into a separate project inspired by the film.
John Carpenter purposely took a more restrained, suggestive approach with the gore in this movie. He learned his lesson with his last movie Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) when he killed off Kim Richards' character and the audience wound up hating him. Producer Irwin Yablans also insisted that very little blood be used, because he was a fan of radio plays where all the horror happens in the audience's minds. Because of this, Carpenter purposely took a more discreet approach to the bloodshed, ala Psycho (1960), as opposed to an over-the-top gorefest ala A Bay of Blood (1971).
Lynda's line "Cute, Bob, real cute," is a reference to the Donny and Marie Osmond television series which was popular at this time (1976-1979). It was a catch-phrase repeated throughout that television variety show in the introductory conversations between Donny and Marie (obviously with "Donny" or "Marie" instead of "Bob"). The contemporary catchphrase has been largely forgotten and the line makes sense on its own and so the reference is generally unacknowledged.
The Myers house is actually an abandoned building the filmmakers found in South Pasadena, California. It became a chiropractor's office, and later a monumental building housing a museum dedicated to the film.
According to Don Post Jr., President of Don Post Studios, the famous California mask making company, the filmmakers originally approached his firm about custom making an original mask for use in the film. The filmmakers explained that they could not afford the numerous costs involved in creating a mask from scratch, but would offer Post points in the movie as payment for his services. Post declined their offer, as he received many such proposals from numerous unknown filmmakers all the time.
None of the comic books ("Laser Man," "Neutron Man," "Tarantula Man") in Tommy's collection are real. Copies of Howard the Duck comics stood-in for the fictional titles.
To achieve the shot of Michael Myers strangling the dog, the trainer on set held the dog in his arms and dropped him naturally. This was shot in slow motion to make it look as if the dog had been killed.
Debra Hill worked for no salary, but a percentage of the profits. As the film grossed in excess of $70 million, this proved to be highly lucrative.
Jamie Lee Curtis has played Laurie Strode in films released in Six different decades from the 1970s to the 2020s: This film, Halloween II (1981), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), Halloween: Resurrection (2002), Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills (2021)
Jamie Lee Curtis said in interviews that William Shatner was initially not happy his likeness was used to be the mask of this demonic, and hideous serial killer. She has also said Mike Myers, the Canadian comedian from Saturday Night Live (1975) who is behind Saturday Night Live (1975), as well as the Austin Powers franchise, is not happy there is a serial killer who has the same name as he does.
John Carpenter demanded $10,000 to write, produce, direct and score the film, which was a considerable fee for a director who had only done two small movies. He also wanted to be billed above the title (calling it 'John Carpenter's Halloween'). Producer Irwin Yablans agreed as long as the budget didn't exceed $300,000.
Dr Sam Loomis is Michael Myers' psychiatrist. Sam Loomis is also the name of Marion Crane's secret lover in Psycho (1960). Marion Crane was played by Jamie Lee Curtis's mother, Janet Leigh, and Annie is played by actress Nancy Kyes, who was credited as Nancy Loomis. The name Loomis was also used in Scream (1996). In addition to Psycho being a major influence, the name "Marion" also makes an appearance in the movie as that of the nurse played by Nancy Stephens. Like Marion Crane and Sam Loomis, Marion Chambers is closely connected to Dr Sam Loomis.
When Terry Gross interviewed Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel live in front of an audience for a fundraiser for radio station WBEZ in Chicago in 1996, Terry asked them about the scariest movie they have seen. Roger mentioned how the first "Halloween" movie was extremely scary and then recounted how when Gene saw it at a local movie theater, he was so scared, he took a cab home, even though he only lived two blocks from the movie theater. Gene then recounted how when he got home, he went to the shower and pulled the curtain back to see if anyone was in there.
The film takes place primarily in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois. Haddonfield, New Jersey is the hometown of screenwriter Debra Hill.
In July 2018 at the San Diego Comic Con, during a panel discussion with Jamie Lee Curtis, a fan named Joseph Scott told her that he was a victim of a similar home invasion himself. He said "I was scared out of my mind and out of nowhere this thought came inside of me, 'What would Jamie Lee Curtis do?'" and later added "I'm a victor today instead of a victim, just like those people that you were talking about." Yvette Nicole Brown, who hosted the panel, asked him to approach the stage. Curtis, who was moved to tears by Scott's story, stood up and went down the stage where she greeted him with a hug.
William Shatner did not find out until years later that a mask bearing his likeness was used to make Michael Myers mask. He sued for past royalties. They settled out of court. Shatner donated the settlement to charity. Ironically, the case could have been easily dismissed. The mask was actually a likeness of Captain Kirk to which Shatner does not own the rights.
On the 25th anniversary disc, John Carpenter states that the original title sequence was to show a long shot of a sidewalk ending with a Halloween mask on the floor. The idea was dropped and the more iconic title sequence of the Jack O'Lantern was used.
Both director John Carpenter and producer Debra Hill felt that Dr. Loomis should be played by a "classy" British actor with star power. Peter Cushing was the first choice to play the part, but his agent declined on his behalf. According to Carpenter, in a phone conversation with Hill, Cushing's agent told her that since the success of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), any film that included Peter Cushing should bill him as the star, even though Cushing's film career was failing for years and he was only a featured character in Star Wars. Christopher Lee declined due to the low salary of $25,000 (and regretted this decision later). Several other high profile actors, both British and American, rejected the offer as well. Donald Pleasence also turned down the offer initially, but was talked into accepting the role by his daughter, who was a fan of Carpenter's work since seeing Assault on Precinct 13 (1976).
Tommy Lee Wallace cut out the pumpkin for the opening credits.
When Dr. Loomis is fuming at Dr. Wynn about Michael Myers' escape from the sanitarium the night before, there is a glimpse of the real-life place that stood in for Smith's Grove: La Viña Hospital and Sanitarium in Altadena, California. The institution name is prominently displayed on the welcome mat as they exit the facility.
John Carpenter told broadcaster Fox 5 DC during promotion for Halloween (2018) that the opening shot of the original film had only five takes. The eye holes of the mask were added in post-production by MGM's optical department.
Laurie Strode remarks that she would rather go out with unseen character Ben Tramer. The name came from Bennett Tramer, an old college friend of director John Carpenter.
When Laurie Strode and Annie Brackett are driving in the car, they are listening to "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult. This is on while Michael Myers is driving behind them.
Morgan Strode's black Fleetwood (seen in the driveway when he is talking to Laurie early in the movie) belonged to John Carpenter, while the Phelps Garage truck was owned by the company that catered for the film.
Before shooting the film, John Carpenter cinematographer Dean Cundey viewed Chinatown (1974). They were so impressed by the movie's cinematography that they decided to duplicate the color palette (burnt orange for the day shots coupled with blue back-lighting for the night shots) and use of lighting for the fictitious town of Haddonfield and the over-all look of the film.
John Carpenter, Tommy Lee Wallace and Nick Castle were all in a rock band together called The Coupe de Villes. Band continued to record songs and occasionally performing live on-and-off until at least 1986, including a theme song for Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and an appearance in The Boy Who Could Fly (1986).
In an interview, Tony Moran claimed that the reason Michael Myers was played by more than one actor was because they could only use those who were available on each day of filming. He also added that Michael Myers was actually played by six actors in total (including himself, Nick Castle and John Carpenter).
Nick Castle admitted that the only reason he accepted the opportunity was for a chance to witness what goes into directing a film. "My only reason for being on the set was to kind of demystify the directing experience for me, because [director] John [Carpenter] was a pal, they were shooting the majority of this near my house, really, and he said, 'Well, why don't you just be the guy walking around in the mask and you'll be here the whole time?'"
This was called "Witch's Night" in Italy as Halloween was not a common-place celebration there in 1978.
P.J. Soles was married to Dennis Quaid at the time of filming, so John Carpenter and Debra Hill wanted to cast him in the role of Bob Simms. Unfortunately, Quaid was busy working on another project and John Michael Graham was cast in the role instead.
As stated by Jamie Lee Curtis on the film's commentary, when Laurie says "It was the Boogeyman." to Dr. Loomis at the end of the film, on her right cheek (viewer left), there are noticeable lines. Jamie Lee explained that those lines are there because the scene was shot immediately following lunch, during which time Jamie Lee had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room downstairs, which was a corduroy couch, which left an impression on her face.
Sandy Johnson (Judith Myers) posed fully nude for Playboy before getting into acting. She said in a rare interview in 2018 that she did it to earn money to help her dad who had cancer. Her willingness to go nude is how she got cast in the five films she made in her career (three in 1978 and two in 1979). Except for the horror film Halloween, all were teen sex comedies. She appeared nude in every film and then left the business.
Tommy Lee Wallace had worked second unit for John Carpenter on this film and was originally chosen by Carpenter and the producers to direct Halloween II (1981). His approach was more of a Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) approach, where it's five years later and Laurie is in graduate school when Michael resurfaces. But Carpenter insisted this had to be a very next day kind of sequel, and the studio and producers were insisting on a lot more blood due to the success of Friday the 13th (1980). Because of all this, Wallace decided he wasn't comfortable with the sequel, and he declined. However, he did direct Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982).
John Carpenter himself dismisses the notion that Halloween is a morality play, regarding it as merely a horror movie. According to Carpenter, critics "completely missed the point there." He explains, "The one girl who is the most sexually uptight just keeps stabbing this guy with a long knife. She's the most sexually frustrated. She's the one that's killed him. Not because she's a virgin but because all that sexually repressed energy starts coming out. She uses all those phallic symbols on the guy."
The initial budget of $300,000 was increased to $325,000. The added $25,000 was Donald Pleasence's salary for only five days of shooting.
Laurie's father is played by Peter Griffith. He is also the father of a famous actress, Melanie Griffith, and the ex-husband of another Hitchcock veteran, Tippi Hedren. For some reason, this character never shows up again after the original opening scenes of Halloween. He doesn't even come visit his daughter in the hospital after she's been attacked.
Producer Irwin Yablans became involved in the movie because he had distributed John Carpenter's previous film Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) via his own company (Compass International). Because his wife had told him that he should go into making movies and he felt that Carpenter had great talent, he decided to produce his next movie. None of the big studios at the time were interested in distributing Halloween, so Yablans decided to do it himself again. Although interest was initially modest, positive word of mouth caused the number of screens and ticket sales to double almost each day in the first week after the release. MCA/Universal later produced and distributed the next two sequels in the early 1980s.
Features groundbreaking use of Panavision's recent Panaglide camera system as operated by Raymond Stella. This allowed for moving shots that mimicked a person's point of view.
Throughout the film, the 1951 film The Thing from Another World (1951) plays on the TV. "Halloween" director John Carpenter would go on to direct an adaptation of this film in 1982 called The Thing (1982). Coincidentally, Carpenter was approached to direct "The Thing" after the studio was unhappy with the concept provided by Tobe Hooper, director of 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), which also launched a series of Horror/Slasher films with an iconic villain (Leatherface).
The average age of the film cast and crew was just 26. Some of the crew members noted that they "were looking at high school in the rear-view mirror."
[00:03:54] The lights go off upstairs where Michael's sister and her boyfriend are. The boyfriend is heard saying goodnight to her from the stairs at the five minute mark, leaving only one minute and six seconds for them to have slept together.
During the walking through Haddonfield scene, cover images from the teen romance novels Tender Longings by Barbara Lynn and One Love Forever by Christine King can be seen in Lynda's bag.
Though the film credits The Bowling Green Philharmonic Orchestra for performing the soundtrack, in reality most of the score was simply performed by director John Carpenter using a piano he had at his home, with Dan Wyman later making some additions to Carpenter's music with a primitive synthesizer.
The voice of Judith Myers' boyfriend (David Kyle) was dubbed by Tommy Lee Wallace.
The first showing of the film during its theatrical run was on October 25, 1978 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Producer Irwin Yablans suggested the title "Halloween." John Carpenter admits that's when the story started taking shape for him.
The name of the character Sheriff Leigh Brackett, played by Charles Cyphers, is a direct reference to Leigh Brackett, screenwriter of Rio Bravo (1959), one of John Carpenter's favorite movies. He previously used the name in Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) and Someone's Watching Me! (1978).
John Carpenter composed the score in just three days.
Before Captain Kirk was chosen for the mask, other masks considered include Richard Nixon, Spock and Emmett Kelly.
The audio of the bullies telling Tommy, "He's gonna get you! The Boogieman is coming!" is sampled in the beginning of White Zombie's cover of "I'm Your Boogie Man" sung by Rob Zombie who would later go on to direct Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009).
Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," edited by Steven Schneider.
'Halloween' wasn't the first script that John Carpenter wrote which had a mysterious killer stalking and killing specific group of people. Around 1977, Carpenter wrote the script called Meltdown which was about a group of scientists exploring a nuclear plant when one night all of the workers in it disappear. Later in the script, it's revealed that they were killed by some psychopath who sneaked into the plant long time ago and who believes that he is sent by God to destroy the plant. Most of the script was just this killer stalking and killing all the scientists in various ways, using traps and weapons such as a flamethrower and a circular saw. The ending of this script was very dark, with only two people surviving and escaping from the plant before it explodes and creates a huge disaster which leaves most of the California infected with so much radiation that nothing will live there for half a million years. And just like Halloween had the song "Don't Fear the Reaper" as sort of a foreboding sign that something bad will happen, Carpenter's Meltdown script had the song "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum playing at one part when the bodies of the plant workers are found by the main characters and they realize the killer's plans, and also at the ending after the plant explodes.
Meltdown was later rewritten in the mid-1990s and turned into a "Die Hard (1988) in a nuclear plant" type of thriller which was going to star Dolph Lundgren in a very dark role, but eventually production of that film was cancelled.
Meltdown was later rewritten in the mid-1990s and turned into a "Die Hard (1988) in a nuclear plant" type of thriller which was going to star Dolph Lundgren in a very dark role, but eventually production of that film was cancelled.
Jamie Lee Curtis stated on the film's commentary that her favorite part of the movie is when Laurie is walking across the street to the Wallace house to kick off the confrontation between her and Michael. She praises John Carpenter for taking his time to make that scene as slow as possible, and frequently cutting between Laurie and the dark house, making the audience dread what Laurie will find.
Nancy Stephens, who played the nurse accompanying Dr Loomis at the start of the film, later went on to marry Rick Rosenthal, the director of Halloween II (1981).
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) was released on the film's tenth anniversary, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) on the twentieth anniversary, and Halloween (2018) on the fortieth anniversary. The thirtieth anniversary is the only ten-year interval that didn't have a sequel released, though it nearly did with Halloween (2007) coming out on the twenty-ninth and Halloween II (2009) on the thirty-first.
Though the film is famous for popularizing the trope of filming from the killer's point of view, this actually only occurs in the iconic opening scene. For the rest of the film, all of the point of view shots are from the perspective of Laurie.
The opening sequence of the film was inspired by Orson Welles' Touch of Evil (1958). Contrary to popular belief, it was not the single-shot opening scene from that movie that director John Carpenter liked best, but the later scene midway in the movie that pans around a Mexican motel. Carpenter also mentions the style of the film was inspired by Sir Alfred Hitchcock. Carpenter notes the style was "driven by simplicity."
When Dr. Loomis spots the station wagon, he is in front of the Myers house on Meridian Street in South Pasadena. When the camera cuts to him running down supposedly the same street, he is now actually on Genesee Street in West Hollywood 16 miles away. Also just down the street from where the car is on 1356 Genesee, is Nancy's house from A Nightmare On Elm Street at 1428 Genesee.
In the scene where Laurie and Annie smoke a joint on the way to their destination, "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult can be heard on Annie's car radio. A cover version of the song plays in Scream (1996), a horror film that features teens watching and referencing this film as well as other horror classics.
The famous US poster for the movie (the knife blade blending in with the ridges of the Jack O'Lantern behind it and the tagline "The night HE came home") actually contains several subliminal images. The blurred image of a screaming woman can be seen reflected in the knife blade and a second screaming face can be seen in the shape of the hand gripping the hilt. Perhaps most remarkable of all is that the veins on the back of Myers' hand resemble the symbol of the Cult of Thorn which will feature in later sequels to the film.
Although Don Post Studios turned down an offer by the filmmakers to receive points in the movie in exchange for an original mask, it was the company's own 1975 Star Trek (1966) Captain Kirk mask of actor William Shatner, after alteration, that epitomized the face of Michael Myers. However, they would agree four years later to provide the Silver Shamrock masks for Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982).
Included among the American Film Institute's 2001 list of the top 100 Most Heart-Pounding American Movies.
Nancy Kyes (née Loomis) would go on to play Linda Challis in Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982). At the time she was married to that film's director, Tommy Lee Wallace, whom she met when he served as the production designer on this film.
Nancy Kyes dated, married, and divorced the film's editor, Tommy Lee Wallace.
The scene where Laurie and Annie are discussing who should Laurie take to the homecoming. Annie suggests that Laurie should go with Dick Baxter. Dick Baxter is the name of one of the first three victims killed by the ghosts in The Fog (1980) Nancy Kyes who plays Annie is also in that film. Both movies are directed by John Carpenter.
Anne Lockhart was John Carpenter's first choice for the role of Laurie Strode.
John Carpenter has mentioned in the past that he based Michael Myers on Yul Brynner's robotic assassin character from Westworld (1973), written and directed by best-selling author Michael Crichton. Interestingly, Carpenter would work with the late author's now-fourth ex-wife, actress Anne Marie Martin, in Halloween II (1981). She is uncredited as Nurse Karen's friend, Darcy Essmont.
Peter O'Toole, Mel Brooks, Steven Hill, Walter Matthau, Jerry Van Dyke, Lawrence Tierney, Kirk Douglas, John Belushi, Lloyd Bridges, Abe Vigoda, Kris Kristofferson, Sterling Hayden, David Carradine, Dennis Hopper, Charles Napier, Yul Brynner and Edward Bunker were considered for the role of Dr. Sam Loomis.
When questioned in an interview with Comicbookmovie.com about of his height being listed as 5'10, masked Myers/The Shape actor Nick Castle states that he stood 5'11 3/4 in his younger years. His current height is 5'10 1/2 due to age-related shrinking.
In the movie, Michael Myers is wearing Vietnam jungle boots. When Michael gets in the car after watching Tommy at school, you can see the green fabric on the uppers of his boots, classic military jungle boots. Also in a behind the scenes picture of Nick Castle napping on set, the boots are clearly seen.
Another tip-off that the film was not shot in Illinois where the story takes place is that Tommy's school has outdoor porticoes instead of indoor hallways, a design feature only practical in warm states.
P.J. Soles admitted in a recent interview that she was more of a reclusive homebody, and Jamie Lee Curtis is more of a bubbly cheerleader. "She's Lynda and I'm Laurie," she said, referring to their iconic (and mismatched) Halloween characters.
For Halloween 2017 Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails covered the main themes of the movie. At the time of release on the 13th of October Reznor wrote the following statement on his Facebook: "I clearly remember my friends and I at 13 years old conning our parents into letting us see Halloween when it came out in 1978. We left the theater forever changed. We were damaged and scarred, with the shit genuinely scared out of us and that theme stuck firmly in our heads. John Carpenter, it's your fault that I turned out the way I did."
Kyle Richards, who plays Lindsey Wallace, is the sister of Kim Richards, who appeared in John Carpenter's previous film, Assault on Precinct 13 (1976). Both of these women would go on to star in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (2010).
John Michael Graham who played Bob in Halloween also appeared in Grease that same year. He can be seen briefly as a dancer at the end. He's not wearing glasses like Bob does in Halloween though.
As a spooky atmosphere builder, in Laurie and her friend's neighborhood there is an almost complete absence of traffic and pedestrians.
Donald Pleasence was so taken with the cast and crew being mainly comprised of young people in their early 20's and was so enamored with the spirit on the set of the film that when a scene involving him finished shooting, he would help everyone pack away the set to move to the next location. Even though he wasn't always positive about the movie in interviews, he was always a gentleman on the set. Producer Debra Hill later said that Pleasence "was like the elder statesman on the set."
The science fiction movies watched on TV by the characters are first, "The Thing From Another World" (1951), and later, "Forbidden Planet" (1956). Both films were frequently aired on network television as Halloween specials in the 1970s. Appropriate to "Halloween's" characteristics of Michael Myers, whom the credits also name "The Shape," the first movie involves a tall, malicious, emotionless being who stalks for blood and is nearly indestructible; the later movie involves a powerful, nebulously-shaped, indestructible manifestation of the "Id," the primal, instinctive, amoral component of humans, who suddenly appears and murders.
Aside from the trick-or-treaters and pumpkins the only other indication of Fall in the movie are the painted and recycled leaves created for use in the film. They are featured in many scenes - the Myers house intro at night 1963, Haddonfield/Halloween 1978 intro, Laurie leaves for school, "speed kills" street, Michael behind the hedge, Laurie arrives home from school, Laurie sits on corner with pumpkin, Tommy sees Michael standing in Lindsey's yard, Annie walks to laundry building, Annie walks to garage "no keys, but please," Michael carries Annie into house as leaves blow down the street, leaves blow over stolen car roof when Loomis locates it, leaves blow down street as Laurie crosses to Lindsey's house, Laurie falls as she tries to get help from neighbor's house "can't you hear me?," leaves blow by as Michael crosses street after Laurie, Loomis walks up street looking for Michael and Brackett pulls up behind him, etc.
Was released theatrically with the short Mark Macready and the Archangel Murders (2009) in some theaters during Halloween 2009.
The automobile which Michael Myers stole at the beginning which he drives through the movie is a 1978 Ford LTD wagon.
There are seven characters with names starting with the letter "L": Laurie, Loomis, Lynda, Lindsey, Leigh, Lonnie and Lester.
In 2021, a remastered restored version of the 1978 film was now released as part of the Lionsgate film catalogue. (Additionally, the sequels from the Universal Pictures period are seemingly still part of the Universal catalogue, and the Miramax period sequels are seemingly now owned by Paramount). The 2018-2021 period sequel trilogy are a direct set of sequels to this 1978 original, but seemingly without any clear Lionsgate connection.
In Sweden the title was changed to the evocative "Alla Helgons Blodiga Natt" - "All Saints' Bloody Night." Since the holiday of Halloween was more or less unknown in Sweden at the time of release, the title was changed to refer to All Saint's Day, which in Europe is a holiday akin more to day of the dead.
When Laurie walks home after school, and hears scary screams of trick or treaters, she walks near the house next door, the car out front is using the same license plate as the stolen station wagon Michael is driving, 59H-390.
In an interview with Vulture, John Carpenter was asked about his thoughts on the "Halloween" franchise. As it turns out, he doesn't have many of them. 1 don't care," Carpenter said when asked about the franchise's legacy. "I really don't care." The filmmaker explained that, despite creating Michael Myers, he doesn't feel much ownership over the other films featuring the iconic slasher villain. "The 'Halloween' movie I love the most is the one I made back in 1978, the one I directed," he said. "Others are other people's visions. That's the way it goes. That's what happens when you give up. I didn't want to direct sequels. I didn't think there was story left. Boy, was I wrong, huh?" While Carpenter appreciates the money he receives when people remake his films, he doesn't spend much time thinking about the quality of those remakes. "There are two kinds of remakes for me," he said. "One is where I'm the originator of the material. I wrote the screenplay. Two: It was an assignment from the studio. 'We want you to do this.' If it's an assignment from the studio, they don't pay me when they do a remake. They own the material. If I've generated the screenplay, they have to pay me. That's the kind of sequel I like. My movie exists. Make your own. You want to pay me a bunch of bucks, fine. Have a great time." That lack of sentimentality extends to his existing films, as Carpenter also revealed that he has little interest in going back and rewatching his own work. "Never. I don't want to see it," he said. "When I watch my old movies, I see the mistakes and the things I didn't do and I start looking like, 'What am I doing? That's stupid. Why didn't I do this?' That's painful. I don't want to do that, so I don't watch."
The character of Dr. Wynn, played by Robert Phalen, is the same character who returns in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) played in that film by Mitchell Ryan.
The pro wrestler Eddie Gilbert competed for the Japanese hardcore wrestling promotion Wrestling International New Generation (W*ING) in 1993 under a mask using the name/gimmick Michael Myers. His brother Doug Gilbert was there as Freddy Krueger (from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)), a gimmick first used in Memphis by their father, Tommy Gilbert.
When Loomis is seen leaving Smith's Grove following Michael's escape, he parks in the handicapped spot, though there is no evidence that he has a need to.
The sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet (1956) can be seen on TV in one scene. Jamie Lee Curtis would co-star with Forbidden Planet (1956) actor Leslie Nielsen in Prom Night (1980), two years later.
The only movies in the Halloween franchise where Michael doesn't drive are Halloween II, Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends, as well in Rob Zombie's Halloween and Halloween II. And while not shown driving in Halloween Resurrection, it is implied that Michael drove the towed abandoned vehicle that was parked in front of his house. Michael drives in all other entries in the series (except Halloween III: Season of the Witch, where Michael does not appear as a featured character).
The Hollywood Knights (1980) was set on Halloween Night 1965. The then recent horror movie, Halloween, directed by John Carpenter, was set on Halloween Night 1963. As such, these two films were made and first released two years apart, whilst both their Halloween Nights in each picture were also separated two years apart, with the earlier movie having the earlier Halloween Night and the later movie having the later Halloween Night.
Considering the fact that Judith was bigger than Michael, she could've at least put up some kind of fight when he started stabbing her as opposed to sitting there "screaming" which sounded more like moaning.
When Michael's dad pulls the clown mask off of him, there is blood on the knife but none on his clown costume.
If Mike Myers used his real name as his stage name it would be Michael Myers like the killer in this movie.
Media site Complex chose P.J. Soles' scene as #3 of the 15 Best Topless Moments In Mainstream Horror Movies in 2020.
Director Cameo
John Carpenter: the voice of Annie's boyfriend, Paul, whom we hear on the phone talking to Lindsey and, a minute later, to Annie.
Director Trademark
John Carpenter: [Bowling Green] There are numerous references to Carpenter's childhood hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky. The performance of the film's musical score is credited to "The Bowling Green Philharmonic." There is no Philharmonic in Bowling Green. The "orchestra" is actually Carpenter and assorted musical friends. In one scene the subtitle depicts the location as "Smiths Grove, Illinois." Smiths Grove is actually a small town of about 600 people located 15 miles north of Bowling Green on I-65. There are also numerous references in Halloween to street names that are major roads in the greater Bowling Green area.
Spoilers
John Carpenter and Debra Hill have stated many times over the years that they did not consciously set out to depict virginity as a way of defeating a rampaging killer. The reason why the horny teens all die is simply that they are so preoccupied with getting laid that they don't notice that there is a killer at large. On the other hand, Laurie Strode spends a lot of time on her own and is therefore more alert.
For years after 'Halloween' was released, people would tell writer/director John Carpenter how horrified they were by Michael Myers grotesquely disfigured face, glimpsed when Laurie pulls his mask off for a moment towards the end of the film. But actually all they saw was the ordinary face of the actor Tony Moran playing the role, perfectly normal except for the small knife wound inflicted by Laurie during their struggle in the closet which was created using Special Effects makeup. Carpenter cites this as evidence of the power of suggestion in cinema, that the audience saw a monster on-screen so assumed that he must look like a monster underneath the mask.
The adult Michael Myers was portrayed by Nick Castle in almost every scene, except for some pick-up shots and the unmasking scene, where he was replaced by Tony Moran. Castle was a school-buddy of John Carpenter, and was on set just to watch the movie be filmed. It was at the suggestion of John Carpenter that he took up the role of Michael Myers, as he was tall and had what Carpenter considered an interesting walk. Castle admitted he was disappointed to not be the face shown, but understood that Carpenter wanted a more "angelic" face to juxtapose with Myers' ghastly deeds. Castle has gone on to become a successful director.
Originally, the script had Dr. Loomis having a surprised reaction to the disappearance of Michael Myers' body from the lawn at the film's ending. Donald Pleasence suggested his character's reaction should instead be an "I knew this would happen" look on his face. They shot it both ways and ended up using Pleasance's idea.
To this day, one of the most frequent things people say to Jamie Lee Curtis about this film is "Why did you throw away the knife?"
Aside from dialogue, the script cites Michael Myers by name only twice. In the opening scene, he is called a POV until he is revealed at age six. From the rest of the script on out, he is referred to as a "shape" until Laurie rips his mask off in the final scene (which he never reapplies in the script). "The Shape," as credited in the film, refers to when his face is masked or obscured.
Body Count: 7 - Judith Myers, unnamed truck driver, two dogs, Lynda van der Klok, Bob Simms and Annie Brackett.
Michael Myers' full name is mentioned in the television version of the film. In the scene where Dr. Loomis asks to have him moved to a maximum security hospital, the doctors he is speaking to say his full name as Michael Audrey Myers.
Because P.J. Soles' shirt was open for the scene where she is strangled with the telephone cord, an alternate version was shot for the trailer and publicity shots where she is wearing a bathrobe.
According to John Carpenter, Donald Pleasence asked him how the director wanted him to react when he looked down and saw Myers' body had disappeared. The actor said there were two ways he could react, either shocked or as if he expected Myers to be gone. Carpenter had him play it both ways and used the one he felt worked better.
The only blood seen in the movie is when Judith Myers is killed, when Laurie discovers the dangling body of Bob Simms and laid out body of Annie Brackett whose slit throat with its blood is visible, and the body of the man Michael killed for his clothes after Loomis makes the phone call along the railroad tracks. It is also seen on Laurie's hand and arm after she escapes from Michael.
A rare slasher movie during which we see the killer driving. Another famous example is Pamela Voorhees picking up doomed hitchhiker Annie in her jeep and then killing her in Friday the 13th (1980).
In one of the scenes, one can see on the TV the original 'The Thing from Another World' movie (1951). Later, 'Halloween' director John Carpenter made a new adaptation of the same novella, which he simply entitled 'The Thing' (1982).
The first of two films in the series where anyone refers to Michael Myers as the boogeyman. The second is Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988).
Curiously, in the later Lionsgate remastered restoration version, it now becomes apparent that in the shot showing the now empty lawn immediately following the reaction shot after Michael has fallen and has now disappeared, on the grass there seems to be 2 red light "reflections" and another "reflection," that with the branches at the top of the frame, now appear as a subliminal "demonic" face.
The voice of young Michael Myers' father who removes Michael's clown mask and says "Michael?" after he has murdered his sister was dubbed by John Carpenter.
Although director John Carpenter and producer Debra Hill have denied it, Judith's killing is often seen as a metaphor of the morality and way of thinking in the 60s and 70s, when the movie is set: after catching Judith and her boyfriend Daniel Hodges having relations, Michael decides to kill them as punishment for their illicit activities, in a time where all sex outside the marriage (specially by teenagers who are taught that they should wait to be married) was harshly criticized and considered morally reprehensible. These killings caused a shock in Michael, who turns mute since then and becomes obsessive in punishing any teenager who commits acts against the old fashioned values and the socially accepted customs of those times. This created a trend in many subsequent horror movies, where teenagers would be 'punished' for having extramarital sex (as humorously pointed out in Scream (1996)). However, Carpenter and Hill have always maintained that they never intended the movie as a subconscious morality tale: Michael's motivations for selecting victims are never revealed, and teenagers engaging in sex are easy targets for him because they are distracted from danger.
