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 & 4 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 | death of family | heart attack | weeping | 

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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

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 meaning of the movie's "Changeling" title is defined as being, "a creature found in European folklore and folk religion. It is typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other legendary creature that has been secretly left in the place of a human child. Sometimes the term is also used to refer to the child who was taken". It is the "swapped child" meaning of the term that is of relevance to this film's story.

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Goofs

(at around 1 min) In the beginning of the movie when John Russell is shown walking across the road to the phone booth, the road is packed solid with snow. When it shows him reaching the phone booth, in the background you can see that cars have cleared a path with their tires.

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Quotes

John Russell: It's my understanding... that there are, uh... twenty-three students registered... for this series of lectures on advanced musical form. Now, we all know it's not raining outside, and unless there's a fire in some other part of the building that we don't know about, there's an awful lot of people here with nothing better to do.

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Connections

Referenced in A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King (2011)

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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

More Chilling Than I Had Remembered

I found this to be a pretty solid haunted-house thriller...and better than I remembered so I have changed a few things in this review. The cinematography was admirable, mainly in the first half of the film and the special-effects near the end were excellent. That was capped off by a wheelchair chasing Trish Van Devere and a railing catching fire. In all, kind of bizarre and interesting scene.

George C. Scott stars and Van Devere and an aged Melvyn Douglas provide noted supporting roles. There are very few dry spots and overall, its a decent horror film and not an expensive DVD purchase - so grab it, if you can. The suspense build beautifully. Nice direction by Peter Medak.