High Spirits (1988)

When a hotelier attempts to fill the chronic vacancies at his castle by launching an advertising campaign that falsely portrays the property as haunted, two actual ghosts show up and end up falling for two guests.

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writer:

Neil Jordan

Stars:

Peter O'Toole, Daryl Hannah, Steve Guttenberg

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter O'Toole	...	Peter Plunkett
Donal McCann	...	Eamon
Mary Coughlan	...	Katie
Liz Smith	...	Mrs Plunkett
Tom Hickey	...	Sampson
Tony Rohr	...	Christy
Hilary Reynolds	...	Patricia
Isolde Cazelet	...	Julia
Little John Nee	...	Gateman (as Little John)
Steve Guttenberg	...	Jack
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Sharon
Jennifer Tilly	...	Miranda
Peter Gallagher	...	Brother Tony
Martin Ferrero	...	Malcolm
Connie Booth	...	Marge

Storyline

When Peter Plunkett's Irish castle turned hotel is about to be repossesed, he decides to spice up the attraction a bit for the 'Yanks' by having his staff pretend to haunt the castle. The trouble begins when a busload of American tourists arrive - along with some real ghosts. Among the tourists are married couple Jack and Sharon. Sharon's father holds the mortgage on Castle Plunkett, so she's hoping to debunk the ghosts. Jack, on the other hand, after meeting pretty ghost Mary, is very eager to believe. Can there be love between a human and ghost? Jack and Mary are going to try and find out.

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Plot Keywords:

haunting | passing through a wall | banshee | ghost | tourist | 

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Taglines:

He's an American. She's a ghost. Vacation romances are always a hassle.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter O'Toole, Steve Guttenberg, and Daryl Hannah appeared in Eldorado (2012).

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Goofs

In three different shots wires used to "fly" people or objects are visible. First, when Jack Crawford (Steve Guttenberg) gets blown out the front door of Plunkett castle (at around 34 mins). Second, a few seconds later when the roof of the car gets blown off (at around 38 mins) wires attached to it can be seen in the upper left corner of the screen. Third, when Malcolm (Martin Ferrero) gets hit by lightning (at around 13 mins).

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Quotes

Jack: Hi, Marty!
[surprised after Martin has come flying through the window to pin Jack to the wall]
Martin Brogan: Where's the wife?
[Jack points towards the stairs; Martin looks at Mary and turns back]
Martin Brogan: Not mine, you dolt. Yours!

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Crazy Credits

The end credits show the cast under three headings, first 'The Irish', then 'The Americans', and finally 'The Ghosts'

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Alternate Versions

There exists a print of this film that was Neil Jordan's original vision of this movie. It contains a much more serious tone than the theatrical release, and is much more of a fun mystery. There is a lot more footage of Liam Neeson's character, and the ghosts are allowed to have much more of a plot, than in the theatrical release. Rumor has it, that when the studio saw this cut, they had no idea how to market it, so they had it re-cut against Neil Jordan's wishes (he was allegedly locked out of the editing room at this point). There was a shortened version of this cut available on video in Japan.

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Connections

Featured in Century of Cinema: Ourselves Alone? (1995)

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Soundtracks

Chantilly Lace
Words and Music by The Big Bopper (as J.P. Richardson)
Performed by The Big Bopper
Fort Knox Music Inc./Trio Music Co., Inc.
Administrated by Hudson Bay Music Inc./Glad Music Company
Courtesy of Polygram Records

User Reviews

Good movie, could've been A LOT better.

I liked this movie. It had its funny moments, it had its semi-serious moments. I liked the ghosts the best. Especially Liam Neeson's character Martin. Him and Peter O'Toole were the best things about this movie. They definitively could've cast Steve Guttenburg and Daryll Hannah's characters better. The best part is Liam Neeson and Beverly D'Angelo in the shower...I love that part.

Details

Country:

Ireland UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 November 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

High Spirits

Filming Locations:

County Limerick, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,308,250, 20 November 1988

Gross USA:

$8,578,231

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,578,231

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vision PDG, Palace Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1