Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

James Signorelli

Writers (WGA):

Sam Egan (written by) &
John Paragon (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

30 September 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

Here comes the best DOUBLE FEATURE ever made!!!

Plot:

Elvira, who is the host of a cheap horror movie program finds that she is the heir to an aunt's mansion in New England...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Fire | Large Breasts | Inheritance | Mob Scene

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Cassandra Peterson	...	Elvira / (Aunt) Morgana Talbot
William Morgan Sheppard	...	Vincent Talbot (as W. Morgan Sheppard)
Daniel Greene	...	Bob Redding
Susan Kellermann	...	Patty
Jeff Conaway	...	Travis
Edie McClurg	...	Chastity Pariah
William Duell	...	Lesley Meeker
Phil Rubenstein	...	Director
Larry Flash Jenkins	...	Technical director
Damita Jo Freeman	...	Associate producer
Tress MacNeille	...	Anchorwoman
Edwina Moore	...	Hairdresser
Mario Celario	...	Rudy
Lee McLaughlin	...	Earl Hooter
Bill Swearingen	...	Cameraman
Charles Woolf	...	Manny
William Dance	...	Messenger
William Cort	...	Lawyer / Game show host
Sharon Hays	...	Game show girl
Bill Cable	...	Cop
John Paragon	...	Gas station attendant
Joseph Arias	...	Hitchhiker
Kris Kamm	...	Randy
Scott Morris	...	Sean
Ira Heiden	...	Bo
Bill Morey	...	Mr. Rivers
Pat Crawford Brown	...	Mrs. Meeker
Ellen Dunning	...	Robin Meeker
Frank Collison	...	Billy
Lynne Marie Stewart	...	Bartender
Deryl Carroll	...	Charlie
Marie Sullivan	...	Mrs. Morissey
Jack Fletcher	...	Mr. Bigelow
Robert Benedetti	...	Calvin Cobb
Kurt Fuller	...	Mr. Glotter
Kate Brown	...	Anita
Hugh Gillin	...	Sheriff
Eve Smith	...	Little old lady
Raleigh Bond	...	Minister
Tony Burrier	...	Las Vegas dancer
Alex Magno	...	Las Vegas dancer (as Alexandre Magno)
Alan Dewames	...	Las Vegas dancer
Sebastian Russell	...	Las Vegas dancer
Tim Hill	...	Las Vegas dancer
Read Scot	...	Las Vegas dancer
James Hogan	...	Las Vegas dancer (as James P. Hogan)
James Zyzack Sterling	...	Las Vegas dancer
Peter Blanco Jr.	...	Las Vegas rapper
Gabriel Colbert	...	Las Vegas rapper
Michael A. Jackson	...	Las Vegas rapper
Derek Givens	...	Las Vegas muscleman
Deron McBee	...	Las Vegas muscleman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mark David Fritsche	...	Young man at game show (uncredited)
Dick Miller	...	Sgt. Neil (archive footage) (uncredited)
Terry Ray	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
James Signorelli

Writing credits (WGA)
Sam Egan		(written by) &
John Paragon		(written by) &
Cassandra Peterson		(written by)

Produced by
Eric Gardner	....	producer
Mark Pierson	....	producer
Michael I. Rachmil	....	executive producer (as Michael Rachmil)
Joel Thurm	....	supervising producer

Original Music by
James B. Campbell		(as James Campbell)

Cinematography by
Hanania Baer

Film Editing by
Battle Davis

Casting by
Dennis Erdman

Production Design by
John DeCuir Jr.

Costume Design by
Betsy Heimann

Makeup Department
Steve LaPorte	....	special makeup effects artist
Lisa Meyers	....	hair stylist
Pamela S. Westmore	....	makeup department head

Production Management
Dorothy J. Bailey	....	post-production supervisor
Robert Latham Brown	....	production manager: additional scenes
Cleve Landsberg	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur Anderson	....	first assistant director: Las Vegas
Steve Danton	....	second assistant director: Las Vegas
Patricia Ann Dyer	....	second second assistant director (as Patricia Dyer)
Michael Lange	....	second unit director
Paul Moen	....	first assistant director
Julio Oterio	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Beverli Eagan	....	set designer
Art Lipschultz	....	props
David Russell	....	storyboard artist
Jim Zemansky	....	property master: second unit

Sound Department
Mick Alpern	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dwayne Avery	....	sound editor
Duncan Burns	....	sound editor (as Duncan James Burns)
Jim Cook	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michael P. Cook	....	sound editor
Ed Fassl	....	sound editor (as Ed F. Fassl)
Robert L. Harman	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Robert Harmon)
Jerry Jacobson	....	adr supervisor
Adam Johnston	....	sound editor
James Koford	....	sound editor
Bill Nelson	....	sound mixer (as William Nelson)
Joseph G. Sorokin	....	sound editor
Jules Strasser	....	boom operator
Clancy T. Troutman	....	sound designer
Kyle Wright	....	sound editor
David Lewis Yewdall	....	sound designer

Special Effects by
Dennis Dion	....	special effects
Larry Odien	....	mechanical effects
Kathleen Quaife-Hodge	....	special effects animator
Yancy Calzada	....	monster sculptor (uncredited)
Joerg Fiederer	....	puppeteer (uncredited)
Larry Nikolai	....	special effects illustrator (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Clint Colver	....	animation supervisor
Peter Donen	....	visual effects supervisor
Joseph Yanuzzi	....	visual effects editor
Michael Douglas Middleton	....	visual effects still photographer (uncredited)

Stunts
Pete Antico	....	stunts
Rick Avery	....	stunts
Gregory J. Barnett	....	stunts
Geoff Brewer	....	stunts (as Geof Brewer)
Anthony Cecere	....	stunts
Tony Cecere	....	stunts
Monty Cox	....	stunt coordinator
Eurlyne Epper	....	stunts
Richard Epper	....	stunts
Jack Gill	....	stunts
Sandra Lee Gimpel	....	stunts (as Sandy Gimpel)
Ted Gincig	....	stunts
John Hock	....	stunts
Tommy J. Huff	....	stunts (as Thomas J. Huff)
Steve Hulin	....	stunts
Rosemary Johnston	....	stunts
Matt McColm	....	stunts
Kathleen O'Haco	....	stunts
William R. Perry	....	stunts
Jim J. Poslof	....	stunt double
Anna Rapagna	....	stunts (as Anna Maria Rapagna)
Debby Lynn Ross	....	stunts
Victoria Lee Thoma-Bowes	....	stunt double (as Victoria Lee Thoma)
Edward J. Ulrich	....	stunts
Jack West	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Dan Elsasser	....	assistant camera
Paul Ferrara	....	key grip
John R. Leonetti	....	camera operator
Matthew F. Leonetti	....	additional photographer (as Matthew Leonetti)
Craig More	....	assistant camera
Randy Shanofsky	....	assistant camera
Dennis Smith	....	camera operator
Michael St. Hilaire	....	camera operator
Stephen J. Ullman	....	assistant camera (as Stephen Ullman)
Michael D. Weldon	....	assistant camera (as Michael Weldon)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Andrea E. Weaver	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
J. Benjamin Chulay	....	assistant editor (as Benjamin Chulay)
Jere Huggins	....	additional editor
Neil Kirk	....	first assistant film editor
Michael S. Murphy	....	additional editor
Steven Rosenblum	....	additional editor

Music Department
Jim Harrison	....	supervising music editor

Other crew
Patricia Birch	....	choreographer
A.J. Block	....	stand-in
Laura Hoffman	....	production coordinator
Brad Stephens	....	publicist
Marilyn Tasso	....	production accountant
Frank Tudisco	....	script supervisor
William Wallace Ward III	....	stand-in
Roger Corman	....	director: archive footage (uncredited)

Production Companies

• NBC Productions
• New World Pictures
• Queen B Productions

Distributors

• New World Pictures (1988) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1991) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Esplanade Filmverleih (1988) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Altomedia. Co. Ltd. (Korea) (DVD)
• Altomedia. Co. Ltd. (Korea) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Highlight Video (1988) (West Germany) (VHS)
• NBC Enterprises (2001-) (USA) (broadcast tv)
• New World Entertainment Films (1995-1997) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Bros. Television (1997-) (USA) (cable TV)
• Warner Bros. Television (1997-2001) (USA) (broadcast TV)

Also Known As:

Elvira (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

NBC Productions

Trivia:

Cassandra Peterson's personal hand and body double for the film was Susan McNabb who was later assumed to be Cassandra's sister at hundreds of Elvira's public appearances. Susan retired as Cassandra's personal assistant in 2005 after nearly 20 years.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Elvira's car is first shown the license plate says KICKASS later it says 2MACABRE.

Quotes:

Vincent Talbot: The charge, my fellow council members, is witchcraft.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Faces of Schlock (2009) (V)

Soundtrack:

Once Bitten Twice Shy

Q: Can Elvira carry a feature film? A: YES!

"Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark" is a sort of "Harper Valley P.T.A." with touches of the supernatural. Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) walks off her job as television horror movie hostess after the new station's owner gets fresh with her. She's now relying on a Las Vegas show to carry her through, but learns she needs to come up with more money to get the show started. Things look hopeless to raise that money until she receives notice of her aunt's death, which then takes Elvira to Massachusetts for the reading of the will. A house in need of repairs, a dog, and a cookbook are all that is left to her by her aunt, and again it seems Elvira is having trouble coming up with the money for the Las Vegas show. The adults of the small and narrow minded town make things worse by making things more difficult for Elvira. Only the local hunk (Daniel Greene), and a group of teenagers will befriend her. Elvira's Uncle "Vinnie" (W. Morgan Sheppard), presses to make a deal with Elvira for the cookbook, but Elvira soon learns of her powerful heritage that includes spellcasting, and a couple very effective casseroles. Elvira no longer wants to sell the cookbook to her uncle, but he is determined to get his hands on it knowing of its power. Elvira then faces being burned at the stake on the town's old charge of witchcraft, and the showdown between her and her uncle. The plot is pretty simple, but the humor and well developed characters keep it moving at a nice pace. "Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark" is full of cute, gross, bawdy, and clever humor carried through by the many sight gags, puns, props, songs, and parodies. The film's touches of the occult make this one of the best horror parodies ever made. It is a well made film with terrific acting by all performers; including Edie McClurg, and Jeff Conaway (of "Grease.") There are also nice special effects. Many people (including myself) wondered if the Elvira character could carry a feature film, and the answer is delightfully, YES!