Black Christmas (1974 movie)
Black Christmas (also released as Silent Night, Evil Night, and Stranger in the House) is a 1974 Canadian independent horror movie. It was directed and produced by Bob Clark. Black Christmas was released on October 11, 1974 in Canada, December 20, 1974 in the United States, and on October 12, 1975 in the United Kingdom. The movie is inspired by the urban legend "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs" and is also based on murders that took place in Quebec around Christmas. The movie is considered to be one of the first slasher movies.[1] There was a remake that was made and released on Christmas of 2006.
| Black Christmas | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Bob Clark |
| Written by | A. Roy Moore |
| Produced by | Bob Clark |
| Starring | Olivia Hussey Keir Dullea Margot Kidder John Saxon Marian Waldman Andrea Martin James Edmond |
| Cinematography | Reginald H. Morris |
| Edited by | Stan Cole |
| Music by | Carl Zittrer |
Production company | Film Funding Limited of Canada |
| Distributed by | Ambassador Film Distributors (Canada) Warner Bros. (U. S.) |
Release dates | October 11, 1974 (Canada) December 20, 1974 (U.S.) October 12, 1975 (UK) |
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $620,000 |
| Box office | $4,053,000 |
The movie gained positive reviews from critics and holds a 63% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[2]
A remake of the same name was released in 2006.
Cast
- Olivia Hussey as Jess
- Keir Dullea as Peter
- Margot Kidder as Barb
- John Saxon as Lt. Fuller
- Marian Waldman as Mrs. Mac
- Andrea Martin as Phyllis "Phyl"
- James Edmond as Mr. Harrison
- Douglas "Doug" McGrath as Sergeant Nash
- Arthur "Art" Hindle as Chris
- Lynne Griffin as Clare
- Michael Rapport as Patrick
- Leslie "Les" Carlson as Graham
- Martha Gibson as Mrs. Quaife
- John Rutter as Laughing Detective
- Robert Warner as Doctor
- Syd Brown as Farmer
- Jack Van Evera as Search Party
- Les Rubie as Search Party
- Marcia Diamond as Woman
- Pam Barney as Jean
- Robert Hawkins as Wes
- David Clement as Cogan (as Dave Clement)
- Julian Reed as Jennings
- Dave Mann as Cop
- John Stoneham Sr. as Cop (as John Stoneham)
- Danny Gain as Cop
- Tom Foreman as Cop
- John 'Frenchie' Berger as Man on snowmobile (uncredited)
- Bob Clark as Prowler Shadow / Phone Voice (uncredited)
- Nick Mancuso as The Prowler / Phone Voice (uncredited)
- Debi Weldon as Sorority Girl (uncredited)
References
- Bartłomiej Paszylk (March 8, 2009). The Pleasure and Pain of Cult Horror Films: An Historical Survey. McFarland. pp. 135–136. ISBN 9780786436958.
- "Black Christmas". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
