The Changeling (1980)

A man staying at a secluded historical mansion finds himself being haunted by the presence of a spectre.

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 | death of family | heart attack | 

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Taglines:

"How did you die, Joseph...? Did you die in this house...? Why do you remain...?"

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The real life haunted house where the real life events apparently took place was the Henry Treat Rogers Mansion which was located at 1739 East 13th Avenue, Cheesman Park in Denver, Colorado. The house has since been demolished.

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Goofs

When John and Claire are in the library looking for information on one of the previous owners of the house, a librarian assists them by taking a microfilm of old newspapers from 1909 out of a drawer. He tells them he'll set it up on the viewer for them, but as they walk over to the viewer (still in the same shot) it is miraculously already loaded and on the viewscreen.

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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

Referenced in The Skeptic (2009)

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Soundtracks

Rondo in A minor for Piano, K. 511
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (as Mozart)
Played by Jan Latham-Koenig

User Reviews

Nice and Spooky

This is one of my all time favorite ghost stories, right up there with "The Innocents," "The Haunting" and "Ringu."

George C. Scott plays John, a famous pianist and composer who has lost his wife and young daughter in a freak car accident. Grief stricken and heartbroken, he moves to Washington state and rents a wonderful old Gothic mansion. Surprise surprise! It's haunted.

This movie has everything. Dark, spooky stairways draped with dusty cobwebs, a boarded up room with a terrible secret, a shadowy seance scene, ghostly voices and frightening noises that echo through the huge house, political intrigue and a very solid looking ghost who scares the absolute hell out of anyone he shows himself to. It boasts a well thought out plot with several great twists and a very angry murder victim, who doesn't want to be at peace - he just wants revenge, and boy does he get it.

Fans of "Ringu" will enjoy this tale of murder, ghostly revenge and bodies thrown down wells. Just watch it, preferably on a dark and stormy night with all the lights turned off. I dare you.