The Changeling (1980)
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, Trish VanDevere, (more)
- Director(s):
- Peter Medak
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
- Format(s):
- DVD
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Synopsis of The Changeling
Peter Medak's The Changeling is among a handful of films, including The Haunting (1963), Ghost Story (1981), and Lady in White (1988), that have successfully recreated the intimate, drawing-room atmosphere of supernatural horror fiction. After his wife and daughter are killed in a snowbound car accident, classical composer John Russell (George C. Scott) relocates from New York to Seattle to teach at his alma mater. Looking for a quiet place to rest and continue writing music, he is referred Claire Norman (Trish Van Devere) at the Seattle Historical Preservation Society. Claire shows John a large, sparsely furnished estate in the outlying countryside. He takes the house, appreciating its remoteness and the solitude it might afford, and diverts himself by renovating and settling in. He even starts to compose, putting aside his older work in favor of a new, sentimental piece for the piano. It is not long, however, before he begins having nightmares about the accident that killed his wife and daughter. Possibly because of this trauma, he is open to communications from the house's ghostly occupants. Pursuing a loud, repetitive pounding noise in an upper room, he stumbles on the apparition of a young boy drowning in a tub. Working together with Claire, John discovers frightening parallels between this vision and buried events from the house's past. Horror writer M.R. James once said that his goal as a writer was to make the reader feel "pleasantly uncomfortable." Those looking for a similar experience in movies will appreciate The Changeling as a gem in the horror genre. ~ Anthony Reed, Rovi
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 115 mins
Complete Cast of The Changeling
- George C. Scott - John Russell
- Melvyn Douglas - Sen. Joe Carmichael
- Jean Marsh - Joanna Russell
- James Douglas - Eugene Carmichael
- Roberta Maxwell - Eva Lingstrom
- Frances Hyland - Elizabeth Grey
- Helen Burns - Leah Harmon
- J. Kenneth Campbell - Security Guard
- John Russell
- Sammy Smith - Doorman
- Chris Gampel - Tuttle
- Janne Mortil - Linda Grey
- Trish VanDevere - Claire Norman
- John Colicos - DeWitt
- Barry Morse - Dr. Pemberton
- Madeleine Thornton-Sherwood - Mrs. Norman
- Bernard Behrens - Prof. Robert Lingstrom
- Ruth Springford - Minnie Huxley
- Eric Christmas - Albert Harmon
- Hagan Beggs - Coroner
- Paul Rothery - Terry Grey
- Antonia Rey - Estancia
- Anna Hagan - Secretary
- Terence Kelly - Sergeant Durton
- Director(s):
- Peter Medak
- Writer(s):
- William Gray, Diana Maddox
- Producer(s):
- Joel B. Michaels, Garth H. Drabinsky
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Violence, Adult Situations)
- Categories:
- Mystery & Suspense
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Picture
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Sound
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Actress - Foreign
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Sound
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Sound
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Sound
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Sound Editing
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Sound Editing
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Sound Editing
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Art Direction
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Actor - Foreign
- 1981 - Genie Awards - Golden Reel Award
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Adapted Screenplay
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Adapted Screenplay
- 1981 - Genie Awards - Golden Reel Award
- 1980 - Genie Awards - Best Cinematography
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