Ghost Story (1981)

Director:

John Irvin

Writers:

Lawrence D. Cohen (writer)
Peter Straub (novel)

Release Date:

18 December 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Tagline:

The time has come to tell the tale.

Plot:

Four successful elderly gentlemen, members of the Chowder Society, share a gruesome, 50-year old secret...

Plot Keywords:

Secret | Accident | Curse | Female Frontal Nudity | Fall From Height

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Fred Astaire	...	Ricky Hawthorne
Melvyn Douglas	...	Dr. John Jaffrey
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	...	Edward Charles Wanderley
John Houseman	...	Sears James
Craig Wasson	...	Don Wanderley / David Wanderley
Patricia Neal	...	Stella Hawthorne
Alice Krige	...	Eva Galli / Alma Mobley
Jacqueline Brookes	...	Milly
Miguel Fernandes	...	Gregory Bate
Lance Holcomb	...	Fenny Bate
Mark Chamberlin	...	Young Jaffrey
Tim Choate	...	Young Hawthorne
Kurt Johnson	...	Young Wanderley
Ken Olin	...	Young James
Brad Sullivan	...	Sheriff Hardesty

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 | Spain:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Albany, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Fred Astaire (Ricky Hawthorne) is actually mentioned in the novel on which the movie is based.

Goofs:

Continuity: When David plunges through the window, he has a large brown towel wrapped around him, but in the subsequent shots of him falling immediately after he is naked, and the towel is nowhere to be seen - if it had somehow come off it should be seen drifting down through the air.

Quotes:

Don: You're dead!
Eva: And you will be, too. Dead and wet and cold.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Ring (2002/I)

Soundtrack:

Sweetheart of Sigma Chi

Good ghost movie.

I was actually surprised at how good this movie was. It is based on the book by Peter Straub (which I have never read) about a society of four old friends who all share a dark secret concerning their past. They begin experiencing haunting dreams and visions that soon lead to them dying one at a time. The four old farts who star in this do a very good job (including Fred Astaire - this being his last film) and the effects are fairly nasty and well-done. Not much gore, but it has it's share of creepiness and dark atmosphere that make up for it. I would say this movie definitely worthy of checking out - it is an entertaining "Ghost Story".