The Changeling (1980)

After the death of his wife and daughter in a car crash, a music professor staying at an old mansion is dragged into a decades old murder of a child by an inexplicable presence in the mansion's attic.

Director:

Peter Medak

Writers:

Russell Hunter (story), William Gray (screenplay)

Stars:

George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas

11 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George C. Scott	...	John Russell
Trish Van Devere	...	Claire Norman
Melvyn Douglas	...	Senator Carmichael
Jean Marsh	...	Joanna Russell
John Colicos	...	Captain DeWitt
Barry Morse	...	Parapsychologist
Madeleine Sherwood	...	Mrs. Norman (as Madeleine Thornton-Sherwood)
Helen Burns	...	Leah Harmon
Frances Hyland	...	Mrs. Grey
Ruth Springford	...	Minnie Huxley
Eric Christmas	...	Albert Harmon
Roberta Maxwell	...	Eva Lingstrom
Bernard Behrens	...	Robert Lingstrom
James B. Douglas	...	Eugene Carmichael
J. Kenneth Campbell	...	Security Guard

Storyline

It was the perfect family vacation for composer John Russell and his family when a freak automobile accident claims the lives of his wife and daughter. Consumed by grief, John, at the request of friends, rents an old turn of the century house. Mammoth in size, the house seems all the room that John needs to write music and reflect. He does not realize that he is not alone in the house. He shares it with the spirit of a child who has homed in on John's despair and uses him to uncover decades of silence and deceit. With the help of Claire Norman, the one who aided John in procuring the house, they race to find the answers and soon learn that a devious and very powerful man guards them.

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Plot Keywords:

mansion | ghost | haunted house | composer | professor | 

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Taglines:

Whatever you do...DON'T GO INTO THE ATTIC.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

A finger thumb was used as the sound effect of the ball rolling down the stairs.

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Goofs

(at around 36 mins) The next scene after John discovers the small child's room and the music box, Claire is listening to music on the reel to reel tape player. There is a large mirror and several small mirrors built into the mantle above the fireplace behind her. As the camera dollies right towards John, you see the arm of a grip pushing the camera in the small right mirror below the single large mirror.

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Quotes

Claire Norman: [On the phone with John] I was driving by and I recognized the car. I don't know how it happened... I don't know how it could have happened there were no other cars, there's nothing. And it's upside down in the middle of the road! It's that man who was just at your house! It's Dewitt! He's dead!

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Connections

Featured in The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs: The Changeling (2019)

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Soundtracks

Music Box Theme
Composed by Howard Blake

User Reviews

First-Rate Haunted Horror

George C. Scott loses his wife and daughter in a car accident, moves to Seattle, and rents a gigantic old mansion with a haunted secret past. This film is skillfully directed by Peter Medak who gets more that even he probably bargained from a solid cast of actors, a wonderful script, and one great-looking eerie old house. Medak creates tons of suspense with the barest sight of blood. This film reeks atmosphere. The house reeks atmosphere. Scott's performance and that of veteran Melvyn Douglass reek atmosphere. Doors creak, balls mysteriously bounce, water runs, windows break in the old house trying to tell Scott about the secret of a young child that once lived there. The script is fanciful yet well-written and very creative. Scott gives an atypically subdued performance that suggests passion, heartbreak, and tenacity. The rest of the performers are very good too. I cannot remember the last time Mr. Douglass gave a poor performance. Some of the scenes that really stand out in my mind are flashback sequences showing the terrible secret that has been hidden in the house for over 70 years. Medak doesn't have a huge budget to work with here, but this movie beats out newer haunted house films like the remake of The Haunting by leaps and bounds. This is one classy scare film!

Details

Official Sites:

-The official trailer -The original movie

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

House on Chessman Park

Filming Locations:

1268-1270 West 57Th Street, Oakridge, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD7,600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chessman Park Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1