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Actors: Craig Wasson, Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Patricia Neal, Alice Krige, Ken Olin
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Ghost Story |
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Four old buddies from the Chowder Society get together to tell ghost stories during cold winter evenings in the snowy New England town of Milburn. Suddenly Edward Charles Wanderly (Fairbanks) dies and the others are haunted by a ghost from their past. His son Don Wanderly (Wasson), a young schoolteacher from Florida who has come back home, asks to be a part of the group with a story of his own to tell. Don relates his nightmarish story to the remaining gentlemen. He is in a relationship when a beautiful new teacher named Alma Mobley (Krige) arrives on campus. He is smitten and she encourages his lust. As he grows to believe that they will be married strange things begin to happen. She is sleepwalking naked, ice cold and soaking wet in the middle of the night, and saying really spooky things to him. He breaks off the relationship only to find she has found his brother David (also Wasson) who works on Wall Street and they are now engaged. Don warns his brother that she is dangerous but he is believed to be jealous. From his locked office, David leaps out of his office window to his death many floors below.
Eventually another one of the old friends, Dr Jaffrey (Douglas), dies of a heart attack. So now it is Ricky Hawthorne's (Astaire) turn to tell the story they have kept secret for many decades. The four young men fell for a beautiful young woman, Eva Galli (also Krige), new to the town. She chose one to be her beau but he is unable to stand up to the task. He leaves but tells his friends of his heroic sexual exploits with her, so they all return drunk to dance or maybe do more. She calls them all pathetic and weak. A struggle ensues and she is shoved to the ground, bumping her head hard and feared for dead. They must dump her body where it won't be found. They roll the car with her in back into the lake. As the car is sinking into the black water she emerges fully alive and now drowning in the back of the auto. They can do nothing to save her and take the secret with them as they go on with their lives.
Two sinister juveniles haunt the town as minions of Alma/Eva. Next Sears (Houseman) dies when the delinquents show up in his car and he crashes. Wanderly goes to the old house where the ghost seems to be residing. Alma/Eva comes down the stairs in her wedding veil ready to give Don one last kiss. At that moment Ricky has the police drag the lake for the old vehicle with Alma/Eva's rotting corpse in it.
--David Fletcher, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Ghost Story |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzle - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
**Fantasy or Science Fiction?**
- fantasy story on present day Earth
Horror film?
Yes
Kind of Horror Story
- ghosts!
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- teacher/professor
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- blonde
Hair type
- (man) short/medium wavy
Body type
- average (man)
Unclothed?
- Chest
Events of movie makes character more...
- introspective
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- teacher/professor
Has special powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist:
- can change shapes
- mind control
- teleportation
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 90%-100%
Hair color
- blonde
Hair style
- (woman) long straight
Body type
- ample chest and buttocks (female)
unclothed?
- chest and buttocks
Ethnicity
- White
Sense of humor?
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physical condition
- average physique
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Setting
Earth setting:
- 20th century (1970's to Present)
- 20th Century (1900-1950)
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Small town?
Yes
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Tone of movie
- fearful
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- seeing breasts
- seeing nude female butt
- sex under blankets
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
Is this movie based on a
- book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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