The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Max Ehrlich (novel)
Max Ehrlich (writer)

Release Date:

29 October 1975 (Sweden)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

NOW AN ELECTRIFYING MOTION PICTURE

Plot:

When college professor Peter Proud begins to experience flashbacks from a previous incarnation, he is...

Plot Keywords:

Professor | College | Rape | Occult | Search

Cast

Michael Sarrazin	...	Peter Proud
Jennifer O'Neill	...	Ann Curtis
Margot Kidder	...	Marcia Curtis
Cornelia Sharpe	...	Nora Hayes
Paul Hecht	...	Dr. Samuel Goodman
Tony Stephano	...	Jeff Curtis
Norman Burton	...	Dr. Frederick Spear
Anne Ives	...	Ellen Curtis
Debralee Scott	...	Suzy
Jon Richards	...	Newspaper Custodian
Steve Franken	...	Dr. Charles Crennis
Fred Stuthman	...	Pop Johnson
Lester Fletcher	...	Car Salesman
Paul Nevens	...	Room Clerk
Breanna Benjamin	...	Miss Hagerson

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Belgium:16 (video rating) | West Germany:16 (f) | UK:X (original rating) | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Bing Crosby Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Peter describes his first dream, he tells his girlfriend that "she (Marsha) was hitting me in the (private parts) with a paddle. Initially, the director may have wanted to show the murder as involving an injury of this sort, because when the man in the dream falls back into the water, he is holding his private area. But, it is very clear that when he is in the boat, he is on his back. There is no way she could have hit the front of his body.

Quotes:

Marcia Curtis: Who are you? You're not Peter Proud, you're some kind of monster! You're trying to get at me through Ann, well just leave her alone you bastard! Just leave us alone. Just leave ME alone. How? How could you know what we said that night?
Marcia Curtis: You filthy, rotten, stinking bastard!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The First Nudie Musical (1976)

Not great, but truly spooky

Peculiar film which mixes murder-mystery with the supernatural concept of reincarnation, along with a large dose of early-70's movie sexuality. I saw this several times years ago on TV, and was quite impressed with it, somewhat against my will; now I wish that I could see it again. It is deeply and disturbingly creepy at points, and contains chilling scenes which I will never forget; it has the quality of a bad dream that you can't quite get out of your mind. At the same time, it is not in any way a typical "horror" or fantasy film; in an odd way it is somewhat subtle and intellectual without being at all high-brow (the lead character is an inquisitive college professor).

The main protagonists are played by Michael Sarrazin and Margot Kidder (both Canadians). Sarrazin was becoming quite popular at the time, and something of an unlikely heart-throb, but his career later fizzled out. His rather sleepy and laid-back acting style works well here. Kidder at first seems bizarrely and very severely mis-cast playing a far older alchoholic widow, but her performance begins to get under your skin once you get past the terrible age-makeup that was used on her (she plays her own age in flashbacks). She was actually much younger than Sarrazin at the time, and the same age as the radiant Jennifer O'Neill who plays her adult daughter. It would be interesting to know the behind-the-scenes info on the casting decisions.

The production is rather slow-moving, although it eventually gathers speed and certainly ends with a bang! Unfortunately, as a whole the thing never quite works. It probably could be a much more interesting and intense film, and I have read that Paramount has acquired the rights for a remake.

Originally available on both VHS tape and LaserDisc.