It is surprising that you can include Fred Astaire and horror in a sentence about a movie. Astaire was one of the great musical icons of the 1930s and 1940s. However, late in his life he made a little horror movie that is worth reviewing. Any horror movie is worth revisiting during the month of October. What is Halloween without a scary movie. Although the movie Ghost Story is not a movie that will keep you up after you watch it, it is pretty good and has some twists and turns. Ghost Story is a 1981 American horror film directed by John Irvin and based on the book of the same name by Peter Straub. It stars Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., John Houseman and Craig Wasson (in a dual role). It was the last film to feature Astaire, Fairbanks, and Douglas, and the first film to feature Michael O'Neill. The film was shot in Woodstock, VT, Saratoga Springs, NY and at Stetson University in Deland, FL.
In a small New England town, four elderly friends form what they call the Chowder Society, an informal club where they regale each other with scary stories. Membership in the club, in fact, requires that one present such a story. The four friends are Ricky Hawthorne, a business owner, Sears James, a Lawyer, along with Dr. John Jaffrey and Edward Charles Wanderley, the Mayor. When Edward's son, David, living in New York, falls from a window after the girl he's sleeping with turns suddenly into a demon, Edward grieves. His other son, Don, a college professor who's fallen on hard times, shows up in town, not getting a great reception from Edward, who always preferred the other, more ambitious son. But now the four elderly gentlemen are unsettled and have nightmares. Clearly, something is bothering them.
Edward becomes so distraught that he wanders across a bridge in the snow. When he sees the same female apparition that caused his son to fall to his death, Edward, too, falls to his death from the bridge. Although his death is ruled a suicide, his son Don and Edward's three remaining elderly friends doubt it. Don approaches the remaining three friends, requests membership in their group and offers up a bizarre "ghost" story of his own.
It is great to see movie icons like Fred Astaire, Melvin Douglas, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr at least one more time on the screen. The movie for me sort of drags in the end and loses steam, but the ending is gratifying enough. Throughout the year I like to watch Astaire movies like Follow The Fleet, The Bandwagon, and Silk Stockings, but I reserve the month of October to watch him in Ghost Story. It's a movie that won't really disappoint...
In a small New England town, four elderly friends form what they call the Chowder Society, an informal club where they regale each other with scary stories. Membership in the club, in fact, requires that one present such a story. The four friends are Ricky Hawthorne, a business owner, Sears James, a Lawyer, along with Dr. John Jaffrey and Edward Charles Wanderley, the Mayor. When Edward's son, David, living in New York, falls from a window after the girl he's sleeping with turns suddenly into a demon, Edward grieves. His other son, Don, a college professor who's fallen on hard times, shows up in town, not getting a great reception from Edward, who always preferred the other, more ambitious son. But now the four elderly gentlemen are unsettled and have nightmares. Clearly, something is bothering them.
Edward becomes so distraught that he wanders across a bridge in the snow. When he sees the same female apparition that caused his son to fall to his death, Edward, too, falls to his death from the bridge. Although his death is ruled a suicide, his son Don and Edward's three remaining elderly friends doubt it. Don approaches the remaining three friends, requests membership in their group and offers up a bizarre "ghost" story of his own.
It is great to see movie icons like Fred Astaire, Melvin Douglas, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr at least one more time on the screen. The movie for me sort of drags in the end and loses steam, but the ending is gratifying enough. Throughout the year I like to watch Astaire movies like Follow The Fleet, The Bandwagon, and Silk Stockings, but I reserve the month of October to watch him in Ghost Story. It's a movie that won't really disappoint...