Ghost Story
It Was A Dark And Stormy Night
Listen my children and you shall hear the escapades of profound and eerie
fear! It is a cold, snowy winter and the wind is howling and the spirits of
the dead are restless. One, in particular, will appear to wreck havoc on a
group of four elderly gentleman and the twin sons of one of them in a vain
attempt to extract vengeance that has harbored in a watery grave for the
better part of 50 years.
Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., John Houseman, and Melvyn Douglas;
all heavyweights and then there is Alice Krige, the iron hand in a velvet
glove. Four of Hollywood's greats sharing time and space with a more recent
and incredibly worthy addition to its hallowed halls. It is a shame,
though, that in translating Peter Straub's horror novel to the screen, more
couldn't have been done to artfully render the proceedings into a true
screamfest, instead of the regular millieu that frequently fails to pass
muster in films of this sort.
In a small New England town, four elderly and successful members of The
Chowder Society, Ricky Hawthorne (Fred Astaire), Sear James (John
Houseman), John Jaffrey (Melvyn Douglas) and Edward Wanderly (Douglas
Fairbanks, Jr.) meet regularly to tell ghost stories, enjoying snifters of
brandy and elegantly attired in tuxedos. Each story is more fantastic than
the last, but there is one in particular that never crosses their lips or
breathes a day of life, and is as old as time itself -- the death of a
woman so many years before. Suddenly and without warning, all of the men
begin to experience a series of terrifying nightmares ,somehow intertwined
and tormenting in their relating. These episodes begin after the death of
Edward Wanderly's son, David (Craig Wasson), in New York City, the victim
of a most horrendous death after crashing through a plate glass window from
a high rise building. His twin brother, Don (Craig Wasson), is called back
to Millbourne by his father, Edward, for the funeral. What follows for the
next hour and 50 minutes is the crux of a horrendous situation and an
exercise in uncanny and unimagined calamities that will prevail.
Ghost Story presents some interesting scenarios, but, on the whole, is an
uneven concoction that boils in the kettle, but burns and scalds without
letting us enjoy a fulfilling storyline. The four male leads in this film
are the studios draw to bring in audiences. What self-respecting movie buff
wouldn't want to see them in a full-fledged Hollywood production? Sadly,
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. makes a very early exit and, in the fashion of
Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, we are left to wonder just who or
what will be next.
Fred Astaire fares the best of the quartet, with the always marvelous
Melvyn Douglas bringing up a very close second. Astaire's Ricky is sublime
and Douglas's Dr. Jaffrey is consummate in its execution. Craig Wasson did
nothing to make this reviewer want to see him survive and it is the one
piece of miscasting that flaws the film. Patricia Neal, as Astaire's wife,
Stella, gives a performance that could have been telegraphed to the set.
She is always enjoyable to see in anything she does, but in this instance,
she is rather forgettable in a role that seemed somehow beneath her vast
talents.
The best is been saved for last -- Alice Krige. Where has this actress been
all our lives? She is superb and exquisite in her dual role of Eva Galli
and Alma Mobley. The face, the regal voice, the carriage she exhibits --
all lend marvelous credibility to the proceedings and echo harbingers of a
great talent. Why this role didn't lead to bigger and better parts for her
is a mystery, for she is truly believable and a joy to behold as she floats
through years and dimensions.
The screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen is to be forgiven, to a certain extent,
for he had only Straub's work to play with. This is slightly disturbing in
light of the fact that he has had previous screenplay action with the works
of Stephen King, so he is no stranger to the horror genre. Uneven features
are presented throughout the film in many ways. How and why, after so many
years, does Eva want to suddenly appear? If she is a ghost, why don't two
men realize this as they are having sex with her? Why does gratutious sex
make its way into this film to begin with? What part did two escapees from
the asylum, Gregory Bates (Miguel Fernandez) and Lenny Bates (Lance
Holcomb), play with Eva? Young Bates disappears entirely after one part and
his supposed disappearance is not rightfully explained. Ricky leaving to
get help for immobilized Don at the Victorian mansion, instead organizes a
crew to bring up a wrecked car from Dedham Pond, made little or no sense
especially since Ricky acknowledges that he, too, feels Eva in that house.
A great influx of unanswered questions left to gather dust because the belt
of writing is not tightened.
The cinematography by the great British cameraman, Jack Cardiff, is superb
and evokes a sense of subtle frightfulness and suspense and his melding of
shades of color; dark for evil secrets and the bright light of white snow
to counter an offensive, are masterfully conveyed. The musical score by
prolific Philippe Sarde is amply representational and evocative and was
slightly reminiscent in ways of the work of Bernard Herrman's Farenheit
451.
On a scale of 1-10, Ghost Story would have to rate a 6.5 simply for effort,
but for acting, Ms. Krige would go off the scales! She singlehandedly made
this movie watchable and for that we can be very grateful indeed. The next
time you begin to recite a ghost story, be it around the campfire or in
front of a raging fireplace, be careful what you say. You never know just
when it may come back to 'haunt' you...BOO!!
Written by: Mary F. Sibley
Reviewers Rating: 6.5
Reader's Rating: 7.00
Reader's Votes: 5
Added: 21-May-2003
Talk to other readers about this story.
|
