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Actors: George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Changeling |
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John Russel (George C. Scott) is a well known music teacher and composer who has just lost his wife and young daughter in a car accident. Trying to cope with the grief, he moves to Washington and rents an old, secluded mansion from the Historical Society, unoccupied for twelve years, where he hopes to heal from the loss and return to composing his music.
It doesn't take long before strange occurrences start taking place. Every morning at 6 o'clock John hears banging noises that seem to be coming from upstairs; doors open on their own, things move, faucets turn on and off. John doesn't believe in ghosts, but when this stuff continues he begins to think that there may be something to it. He goes upstairs to investigate and founds a hidden room, boarded up, with a child's wheelchair in it and a music box. The music box starts playing a melody – an identical one that John has been playing on his piano.
John becomes more convinced that he is sharing the house with a ghostly presence and that the presence is trying to tell him something. He decides to check out the history of the mansion and of the family that had once lived there.
He starts with a visit to the county records office and continues with holding a séance in the house, during which he finds out that the ghost is that of a young boy, named Joseph, who claims to have been murdered in this house 70 years ago. The alleged murderer would be the father of Senator Joseph Carmichael (Melvyn Douglas). John continues his investigation with the help of Claire (Trish Van Devere), a beautiful lady from the Historical Society, helps him in his research. Together, they make a shocking discovery: the senator's father had killed his crippled son and secretly replaced him with a healthy boy, presently known as Senator Joseph Carmichael. Needless to say, the senator doesn't appreciate some newcomer digging into his family history, and he's got means to take care of that.
--Laura Southcombe, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of The Changeling |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
elements, all of which are searchable (click here). |
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 puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/Era of Movie:
- 1980's-1999
Murder Mystery?
Yes
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 80%
Special suspect?
- relative
Kind of mystery?
- amateur citizen investigator
Horror film?
Yes
Horror Plotlets:
- haunted house or boat
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- musician
Age:
- 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 60's-90's
Profession/status:
- politician/elected ruler
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Setting
United States
Yes
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately messy visuals of dead
Kind of violence:
- mental battles
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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