Black Christmas
Black Christmas movie poster
Directed by	Bob Clark
Written by	Roy Moore
Starring	Olivia Hussey Margot Kidder Andrea Martin John Saxon Keir Dullea
Music by	Carl Zittrer
Distributed by	Ambassador Film Distributors (Canada) Warner Brothers (USA)
Release date(s)	11 October 1974 (Canada) 20 December 1974 (USA)
Running time	98 min.
Country	Canada
Language	English
Budget	$620,000
IMDb profile

This article is about the 1974 film. For the 2006 remake, see Black Christmas (2006 film).

Black Christmas (1974) is a Canadian horror film, directed by Bob Clark. Black Christmas stars Olivia Hussey as a young college student who must deal with a deranged killer lurking in her sorority house. It also features Margot Kidder and Andrea Martin, before either had gained fame in the United States, John Saxon and Keir Dullea round out the cast. The film makes use of dark corners, off-kilter camera angles, and uses its score by Carl Zittrer sparingly to create a claustrophobic and frightening experience. Image File history File links Black_christmas_movie_poster. ... Bob Clark (full name: Benjamin Clark) is the director of the 1982 hit film Porkys and its sequel. ... Olivia Hussey as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, 1968 Olivia Hussey (born Olivia Osuna on April 17, 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentinian-British actress perhaps best known for her role as Juliet in Franco Zeffirellis 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet. ... An autographed photo of Margot Kidder from the 1970s. ... Andrea Martin (born January 15, 1947 in Portland, Maine) is an American actress and comediennne of Armenian descent. ... John Saxon John Saxon (born August 5, 1935) is an Italian-American actor. ... Keir Dullea (born May 30, 1936) is an actor best remembered for his role as astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and in 1984s 2010: The Year We Make Contact. ... Warner Bros. ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Black Christmas is a 2006 remake of the 1974 film of the same name. ... See also: 1973 in film 1974 1975 in film 1970s in film years in film film // Events February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in USA May 1 - George Lucas creates the first draft of what would eventually become Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Bob Clark (full name: Benjamin Clark) is the director of the 1982 hit film Porkys and its sequel. ... Olivia Hussey as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, 1968 Olivia Hussey (born Olivia Osuna on April 17, 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentinian-British actress perhaps best known for her role as Juliet in Franco Zeffirellis 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet. ... The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house at Lafayette College. ... An autographed photo of Margot Kidder from the 1970s. ... Andrea Martin (born January 15, 1947 in Portland, Maine) is an American actress and comediennne of Armenian descent. ... John Saxon John Saxon (born August 5, 1935) is an Italian-American actor. ... Keir Dullea (born May 30, 1936) is an actor best remembered for his role as astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and in 1984s 2010: The Year We Make Contact. ...

Plot

Olivia Hussey as Jess listens to an obscene phone call from "The Moaner".

The film opens at night with a small party occurring in a sorority house for a private school. We are introduced to all of the girls in the sorority house, the main ones being Jess, the hero of the film, Barb, a drunken loud mouth, and Phyllis, Jess' friend and the peace keeper of the group. The girls have been receiving mysterious phonecalls from someone they call "The Moaner". The calls start out sexual in nature, but they gradually grow more macabre, with the man on the other end saying strange things in different voices. The shyest sorority girl, Claire, goes upstairs to pack, and when she goes into the closet, the killer dives out and wraps a plastic bag around her head. He then drags her into the attic, where he's making the calls from. The next day, Claire's father comes to pick her up, but nobody knows where she is. It becomes a mystery as the police search for the missing Claire. Meanwhile, Mrs. Mac, the house mother, stumbles upon the killer and gets a crane hook in the face. Meanwhile, Jess admits to her boyfriend Peter that she is pregnant, but she's having an abortion. He begins to act strange, and shows off some anger problems. As Barb and Phyl are murdered by the killer, Jess gets another call. The police trace the call and realize that the calls are coming from in the house. Instead of going out, Jess goes upstairs and is attacked by the killer. She manages to escape and heads to the basement. There she runs into Peter, who she now falsely believes is the killer. He approaches her to talk, but Jess hits him over the head and kills him. The police feel the case is closed, and leave the house, leaving Jess alone to sleep off the excitement. As the credits begin to roll, we hear the phone ring once again. Image File history File links Vlcsnap-680047. ... Image File history File links Vlcsnap-680047. ... Olivia Hussey as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, 1968 Olivia Hussey (born Olivia Osuna on April 17, 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentinian-British actress perhaps best known for her role as Juliet in Franco Zeffirellis 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...

Production and history

Working from a budget of $620,000 and an eight week shooting schedule, the film was shot in 35mm format utilizing Panavision cameras and lenses in and around Toronto during the winter of 1974. When originally released in the United States, Warner Bros, fearing that audiences might confuse it for a blaxploitation movie, changed the title to Silent Night, Evil Night. It performed poorly until its title was changed back to Black Christmas. (It was later retitled Stranger in the House for television broadcast). The WB Shield, used from 2001 to late 2003. ... Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (Melvin Van Peebles 1971) Blaxploitation is a film genre that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s when many exploitation films were made that targeted the urban African American audience; the word itself is a combination of the words black and exploitation. Blaxploitation...

Though John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) is generally credited with popularizing the main motifs of the contemporary slasher film genre, many genre aficionados will contend that Black Christmas invented many of them four years earlier. For example, the film features shots from the perspective of the killer, replete with muffled breathing noises. Also, it is a slasher film centered around a holiday, much in the manner Halloween was. John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, film score composer and occasional actor. ... Michael Myers, unstoppable psycho-killer The Halloween films are a series of horror movies, of which the first film is considered one of the most important and influential of the genre. ... // Events February 1 - Bob Dylans film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the Rolling Thunder Revue tour premieres in Los Angeles, California March 1 - Charlie Chaplins coffin is stolen from a Swiss cemetery 3 months after burial March - Leigh Brackett completes the first draft for Star Wars Episode... The slasher film is a sub-genre of horror film typically involving a masked, psychopathic killer who stalks and graphically murders a series of victims in a random, unprovoked fashion, usually teenagers or young adults who are away from adult supervision and involved in illicit activities (e. ...

Cast

• Olivia Hussey as Jessica Bradford
• Margot Kidder as Barbie Coard
• Keir Dullea as Peter Smythe
• Andrea Martin as Phyllis Carlson
• John Saxon as Lt. Kenneth Fuller
• Marian Waldman as Ms. MacHenry
• James Edmond as Mr. Harrison
• Lynne Griffin as Clare Harrison
• Doug McGrath as Sergeant Nash
• Art Hindle as Chris Hayden

Olivia Hussey as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, 1968 Olivia Hussey (born Olivia Osuna on April 17, 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentinian-British actress perhaps best known for her role as Juliet in Franco Zeffirellis 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet. ... An autographed photo of Margot Kidder from the 1970s. ... Keir Dullea (born May 30, 1936) is an actor best remembered for his role as astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and in 1984s 2010: The Year We Make Contact. ... Andrea Martin (born January 15, 1947 in Portland, Maine) is an American actress and comediennne of Armenian descent. ... There have been at least two prominent Americans in the 20th century named John Saxon: John Saxon (actor) (b. ... James Edmond (April 21, 1859 - March 21, 1933) was a Scottish-Australian journalist, notable as an editor of The Bulletin. ... Lynne Griffin is a Canadian actress. ... Art Hindle (Born July 21, 1948 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) is a Canadian actor and director. ...

Plot Holes

• Police arrive at the home but make no effort to search it, despite two bodies having been undiscovered. (Also noteworthy is that an officer notes "The [local] morgue cannot handle this many bodies.")
• The deranged killer is able to repeat lines of dialogue from other characters on the phone, though it seems almost impossible he could have heard them despite being in the house.
• Despite the parent of one victim being around for the entire movie, no one suggests searching for his daughter when the mystery appears to be solved and she has not been found.
• Police leave the final victim alone in the house sleeping.

Remake

Main article: Black Christmas (2006 film)

A remake is coming out December 2006. It will star Katie Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kristen Cloke, Crystal Lowe, and Lacey Chabert. Andrea Martin will be playing Ms. Mac. Black Christmas is a 2006 remake of the 1974 film of the same name. ... Katherine Cassidy (born November 25, 1986 in Los Angeles, California) is the daughter of David Cassidy from the Partridge Family. ... Michelle Christine Trachtenberg (born October 11, 1985) is an American television and film actress who is perhaps best known for her role as Dawn Summers from the television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Nona F. Mecklenberg in The Adventures of Pete & Pete. ... Winstead in the 2006 film, Final Destination 3 Mary Elizabeth Winstead (born November 28, 1984) is an American actress. ... Kristen Cloke (born September 2, 1969) Biography She attended California State University, Northridge. ... Crystal Lowe is a Canadian film actress. ... Lacey Nicole Chabert (born September 30, 1982 in Purvis, Mississippi) is an American film and television actress. ... Andrea Martin (born January 15, 1947 in Portland, Maine) is an American actress and comediennne of Armenian descent. ...

DVD Releases

Eclectic DVD has released two editions of Black Christmas. The first was a bare-bones release that hit shelves on November 6, 2001. This was then followed by a collector's edition released on December 3, 2002, that featured a making-of documentary and two commentary tracks (some of the commentary material was obviously taken from interviews for the documentary), among other features. On December 5, 2006, Somerville House will be releasing a new "special edition" disc that will offer a new featurette and two deleted scenes, in addition to interviews with Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder; no commentary tracks have been announced for this particular release.

Trivia

• First horror film to use the "the calls are coming from inside the house" plotline. Later used in When a Stranger Calls.
• John Saxon's scenes were filmed separately from the leads, yet they appear to be in the same room.
• Edmund O'Brien was originally supposed to play the character that Saxon played. According to the documentary feature On Screen (produced for the Canadian cable network Space), O'Brien was removed from the picture when he began showing signs of Alzheimer's disease; Saxon filmed his first scenes only two hours after arriving in Toronto.
• Originally scripted as The Babysitter, the title was changed to Stop Me, and eventually produced as Black Christmas.
• The original script was written by Canadian Roy Moore (with writing partner Timothey Bond) who had read about a similar story happening in major cities around the world in a 12 month period. This was never proved. Apparently the Westmount section of Montreal was the closest story to home.
• Director Bob Clark, in the On Screen documentary, claims that he came up with the basic idea of Halloween (including its title) as a hypothetical sequel to Black Christmas; he later gave the idea to John Carpenter.
• An episode of Men in Black: The Series was named after the film.

For the remake starring Camilla Belle, see When a Stranger Calls (2006 film) When a Stranger Calls is a 1979 horror/thriller film starring Carol Kane and Charles Durning. ... John Saxon John Saxon (born August 5, 1935) is an Italian-American actor. ... OBrien in D.O.A. Edmond OBrien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American film actor who is perhaps best remembered for his role in D.O.A.. Born in New York, New York, OBrien made his film debut in 1938, and gradually built...

External Links

Unoffical Black Christmas Fansite
Black Christmas at IMDb.com