Needful Things

Author	Stephen King
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Horror novel
Publisher	Signet Books
Publication date	1991
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	792 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0-451-17281-7

Needful Things is a horror novel by Stephen King and published in 1991. Image File history File links NeedfulThingsBookCover. ... For other persons named Stephen King, see Stephen King (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... “Horror story” redirects here. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... New American Library (aka NAL) began publishing paperbacks in the 1940s. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... “ISBN” redirects here. ... “Horror story” redirects here. ... This article is about the literary concept. ... For other persons named Stephen King, see Stephen King (disambiguation). ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ...

Plot summary

The story is set in the small fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine, where a new shop named "Needful Things" opens, to the curiosity of the townspeople. The story starts out in first person with the narrator greeting the reader and revealing the back stories on the book's main characters. One by one, they start to come into the shop, drawn there by something they want more than anything else. In young Brian Rusk's case, it's a Sandy Koufax baseball card with Brian's name signed by the ball player. In Danforth "Buster" Keeton's case, it's a machine that simulates a horse race, and will, if each tin horse is named for the participants in actual, future races, correctly predict the winner. They are all greeted by the seemingly kind old man, Leland Gaunt, and they all ignore the sign Leland has in his store, "Caveat emptor". When they realize that they can't buy the object of their desire, Leland offers them a trade — perform a small "favor" for him, in the form of a prank on someone else (almost all of the time the prank is on somebody they know of, but have no real relationship or quarrel with) in the town, and the object is theirs. These betrayals and pranks (some of which deceptively seem to be harmless) cause Castle Rock's citizens to turn on each other, gradually leading the entire town into complete chaos. Castle Rock, Maine is part of Stephen King’s fictional Maine topography, and as such serves as the setting for a number of his novels, novellas, and short stories. ... An example of a 1915 Cracker Jack Charles Comiskey card. ... Horse-racing is an equestrian sporting activity which has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times were an early example, as was the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. ... Caveat emptor is Latin for Let the buyer beware. Generally Caveat Emptor was the property law doctrine that controlled the sale of real property after the date of closing. Under the doctrine of Caveat Emptor, the buyer could not recover from the seller for defects on the property that rendered...

The only person not caught up in what Leland has to offer is Castle Rock Sheriff Alan Pangborn. At the beginning of the story, he's simply interested in figuring out who did certain acts of vandalism. As the story progresses, however, he suspects that they all have something to do with Leland. Things begin to come to a head when Leland manages to seduce Alan's girlfriend Polly with a necklace, or azka, that somehow relieves her of the pain in her arthritic hands. It is explained that Leland has, for centuries, been wandering through different countries and selling people useless junk. These objects appear to the buyer to be whatever they want most. Alan eventually manages to face Leland down, forcing Leland to leave town — but not without having provoked the destruction of most of the town and the deaths of many of the townspeople, including the aforementioned Danforth Keeton and Brian Rusk. As he leaves, his vehicle turns into an old-fashioned traveling salesman's wagon, with CAVEAT EMPTOR ("Let the buyer beware") written on the side. It is alluded that Leland Gaunt is actually noneother than the Devil himself. Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation; plural: arthritides) is a group of conditions where there is damage caused to the joints of the body. ...

The novel ends as it had begun, in the first-person introduction of welcome to the reader as a new person in town. In the beginning of the book, the reader was welcomed to Castle Rock, noting the new sign for the store NEEDFUL THINGS. In the end, it welcomed the reader to Junction City, Iowa, noting the new sign for the store ANSWERED PRAYERS - suggesting that Leland Gaunt has set up shop someplace else.

Leland Gaunt

Leland Gaunt is described as an older man, appearing physically to be in his late 50s or early 60s, with graying hair. He is extremely charming, gentlemanly, and urbane -- the very ideal of the perfect small town shop proprietor. He is also capable of feats of great physical strength, as shown when he carries a heavy chair that is "almost like a throne" by himself with no apparent effort. Mr. Gaunt's eyes change color depending on the observer, always appearing as the exact shade that the observer would find most attractive.

Mr. Gaunt's palms are unlined, his first two fingers are the same length (with the pointer finger being elongated rather than the middle finger being shrunken), and other characters display a deep aversion to touching his skin. These traits are shared by Randall Flagg, George Stark, and Linoge, and appear to be identifying traits that King gives to all his demonic characters. Further, Gaunt shares the powers of knowing the history and secrets of any person he encounters and the ability to appear in dreams to command obedience with Flagg and Linoge. Randall Flagg. ... --58. ... Storm of the Century is a 1999 horror TV miniseries written by Stephen King and directed by Craig R. Baxley. ... The demon Satan In folklore, mythology, and religion, a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as an evil spirit, but is also depicted to be good in some instances. ...

Items sold by Mr. Gaunt

None of the items sold by Leland Gaunt are geniune. That is, the treasure is actually broken or useless junk. All of them, however, can be considered cursed. Look up Curse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

• Brian Rusk: an autographed 1956 Topps Sandy Koufax baseball card. (actually a card of a fictional, unremarkable player named Sammy Koberg). Changed to a Mickey Mantle card for the film version.
• Nettie Cobb: a carnival glass lampshade.
• Hugh Priest: a foxtail (actually moth-eaten and half-rotten), meant to be displayed on a car's radio antenna.
• Myra Evans: a framed picture of Elvis Presley. (actually a picture frame with no picture inside).
• Cora Rusk: aviator sunglasses that once belonged to Elvis (actually a battered and taped-up pair of glasses).
• Danforth "Buster" Keeton: a mechanical and prophetic horserace game called "Winning Ticket". (The game appears to have always been broken)
• Sally Ratcliffe: a petrified splinter from Noah's Ark (actually "black with age and spongy with rot," and infected with woodlice).
• Sonny Jackett: double-measure adjustable socket wrenches. (actually a box containing rusty iron pieces)
• Polly Chalmers: an azka, an Egyptian amulet with the ability to ward off pain (in this case, chronic arthritis) (actually contains a spider-like monster inside the azka).
• "Slopey" Dodd: a pewter teapot.
• Lucille Dunham: black pearls.
• Myrtle Keeton: a doll.
• Everett Frankel: an ornate pipe carved by a master craftsman (once owned by Hermann Goring).
• Ricky Bissonette: pornographic photos of a young Hollywood actress/model.
• Babs Miller: a (locked) music box without a key.
• Ace Merrill: cocaine and a book, "Lost and Buried Treasures of New England" by Reginald Merrill (actually a copy of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson).
• Deputy Norris Ridgewick: a Bazun fishing rod (actually a "dirty, splintery bamboo pole, really no more than a stick with a kid’s Zebco reel attached to it by one rusty screw").
• Sheriff Alan Pangborn: a videotape revealing the circumstances surrounding the death of his wife and younger son -- although he never "pays" for the item.

The Topps Company, Inc. ... Sanford Koufax (IPA pronunciation: /kofæks/) (born Sanford Braun, on December 30, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American left-handed former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, from 1955 to 1966. ... Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995) was an American baseball player who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. ... An example of a (reproduction) Tiffany lamp A Tiffany lamp is a type of lamp with a stained glass shade. ... A foxtail (or fox tail) can be: A decorative ornament commonly flown from the tip of automobile radio aerials, popular in the 1950s and 1960s. ... “Elvis” redirects here. ... This article is about the vessel described in the Hebrew scriptures. ... Infraorders and Families Not necessarily a complete list Infraorders: Ligiamorpha Tylomorpha Families: Dubioniscidae Irmaosidae Pseudarmadillidae Scleropactidae Armadillidium vulgare A woodlouse, also known as a pill bug (genus Armadillidium only), armadillo bug, sow bug, slater, ball bug, or roley-poley, is a terrestrial crustacean with a rigid, segmented, calcareous exoskeleton and... A socket wrench is a type of wrench, or tightening tool, that uses separate, removable sockets to fit many different sizes of nuts. ... Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation; plural: arthritides) is a group of conditions where there is damage caused to the joints of the body. ... For other things called pearl, see pearl (disambiguation). ... Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (also spelled Hermann Goering in English) (January 12, 1893–October 15, 1946) was a prominent and early member of the Nazi party, founder of the Gestapo, and one of the main architects of Nazi Germany. ... A musical box (or music box) is a 19th century automatic musical instrument that produces sounds by the use of a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder so as to strike the tuned teeth of a steel comb. ... Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ... For other uses, see Treasure Island (disambiguation). ... Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson (November 13, 1850 – December 3, 1894), was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of Neo-romanticism in English literature. ... A fiberglass spinning rod and reel circa 1997. ...

Deaths due to Mr Gaunt

• Nettie Cobb: stabbed to death by Wilma Jerzyck.
• Wilma Jerzyck: stabbed to death by Nettie Cobb.
• Lester Pratt: clubbed to death with a gun's butt by Sheila Brigham in defence of John LaPointe.
• William Tupper: innocently killed by Hugh Priest.
• Hugh Priest: shot by Henry Beaufort.
• Henry Beaufort: critically injured by Hugh Priest and later died on the way to the hospital.
• Brian Rusk: committed suicide.
• Myrtle Keeton: murdered with a hammer by her husband and Castle Rock's Head Selectman, Danforth 'Buster' Keeton.
• Cora Rusk: shot in the throat by Myra Evans.
• Myra Evans: shot in the femoral artery by Cora Rusk.
• Sally Ratcliffe: committed suicide.
• Ricky Bissonette: innocently shot by Eddie Warburton.
• Eddie Warburton: shot by Sonny Jackett.
• Melissa Clutterbuck: mistakenly shot by Lenore Potter who thought she was Stephanie Bonsaint.
• Danforth Keeton: was already injured critically and finished off by Ace Merrill for a merciful death.
• Ace Merrill: shot by Norris Ridgewick.

For mercy killings not performed on humans, see animal euthanasia. ...

About the book

Needful Things also marks a watershed in King's career, as he bids farewell to the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine, a city he visited in The Dead Zone, Cujo, The Body, and The Dark Half. The Dead Zone is a novel by Stephen King published in 1979. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... The Body can refer to multiple topics: The Body is a short story written by Stephen King. ... --58. ...

This book is also considered by King to be the final part of an unofficial, loosely-linked trilogy of stories - the first of which was The Dark Half, and the second of which was "The Sun Dog", a short story that was part of his Four Past Midnight collection. As a result, the Sheriff often thinks about Thad Beaumont from The Dark Half. --58. ... Four Past Midnight is a collection of four novellas by Stephen King. ... --58. ...

Needful Things takes most of its plot from Something Wicked This Way Comes,^[1] transposing Mr. Dark and his carnival into Leland Gaunt and his antique store. Something Wicked This Way Comes is a 1962 novel by Ray Bradbury. ...

Stephen King has said his inspiration for the story was the decadence of the Eighties: "It occurred to me that in the eighties, everything had come with a price tag, that the decade quite literally was the sale of the century. The final items up on the block had been honor, integrity, self-respect, and innocence... I decided to turn the eighties into a small-town curio shop called Needful Things and see what happened."

Connections

References to other King works in Needful Things

(In chronological order by publication date)

The Dead Zone, 1979 The Dead Zone is a novel by Stephen King published in 1979. ...

• In the foreword of the novel, an unnamed narrator explains to us that 'not all [our] troubles in Castle Rock are ordinary' and lists several occurrences in Castle Rock that King had written of previously, starting with 'No one has forgotten Frank Dodd, the crossing guard who went crazy here twelve years ago and killed those women.' Johnny Smith ends up breaking this case in The Dead Zone. A minor character in Needful Things, an ostracized stutterer "Slopey" Dodd, may be related to the murderer.

• During the final portion of the novel, lightning strikes the Town Common: ". . . blowing the bandstand, where a tormented young man named Johnny Smith had once discovered the name of a killer, to flaming matchwood."

• Polly remembers seeing an ad for a healing "pinwheel gadget" in a copy of "Inside View", a fictional tabloid magazine that tried to recruit Johnny Smith after his psychic powers are publicized.

Cujo, 1981 It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ...

• There are several references to Cujo in Needful Things, mostly in passing. They also begin in the forward of the novel, where the unnamed narrator goes on: 'the dog. . . the one that came down with rabies and killed Joe Camber and the old rummy down the road from him. The dog killed good old Sheriff George Bannerman, too.'

• Cujo himself is referenced once by name, as is 'the old Camber place'.

• Polly goes to the Camber place and thinks about a small boy and Sheriff Bannerman who died in the dooryard, which is reputed to be haunted. Later, she hears a growl issuing from the barn, and thinks she sees 'two sunken red circles of light perring out', which prompts her to get into her car. The car, for a fraction of a second, will not start. She thinks, wildly, that no one knows where she is. During this period we get a lot of consideration about the characters--from the Cambers to Donna Trenton.

• During the final showdown, Alan makes a shadow shape of a dog, and we're given an aside of how it might just be a Saint Bernard.

"Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption", from Different Seasons, 1982 Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (1982) is a novella by Stephen King, originally published in Different Seasons. ... Different Seasons (1982) is a novella collection by Stephen King containing the following stories: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (subtitled: Hope Springs Eternal) Apt Pupil (subtitled: Summer of Corruption) The Body (subtitled: Fall From Innocence) The Breathing Method (subtitled: A Winters Tale) Three movies, The Shawshank Redemption (based on...

• In a flashback, Ace Merrill is warned by his uncle, 'Pop', that 'careless people end up in the Shank'. Later, he's proven correct, as Ace later spends a brief turn in Shawshank Prison.

"The Body", from Different Seasons, 1982 The Body: Fall from Innocence is a novella by Stephen King, originally published in the 1982 collection Different Seasons. ... Different Seasons (1982) is a novella collection by Stephen King containing the following stories: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (subtitled: Hope Springs Eternal) Apt Pupil (subtitled: Summer of Corruption) The Body (subtitled: Fall From Innocence) The Breathing Method (subtitled: A Winters Tale) Three movies, The Shawshank Redemption (based on...

• Ace Merrill, who appears in the novel as Mr. Gaunt's 'employee', is the same Ace Merrill who led the group of bullies that tormented Gordon Lachance, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio, finally confronting them after they find the body; upon Ace's entrance to the story, we're told that "The boys Ace Merrill had once terrorized--boys like Teddy Duchamp, Chris Chambers, and Vern Tessio--would have recognized him at once in spite of his graying hair."

• Ace remembers the happenings of "The Body": "He thought back all the way to a time, many years ago, when four snotnosed kids had cheated him and his friends (Ace had had friends back in those days, or at least a reasonable approximation thereof) out of something Ace had wanted. They had caught one of the snotnoses - Gordie LaChance - later on and had beaten the living shit out of him, but it hadn't mattered. These days LaChance was a bigshot writer living in another part of the state, and he probably wiped his ass with ten-dollar bills. Somehow the snotnoses had won, and things had never been the same for Ace after that. That was when his luck had turned bad. Doors that had been open to him had begun to close, one by one. Little by little he had begun to realize that he was not a king and Castle Rock was not his kingdom. If that had ever been true, those days had begun to pass that Labor Day weekend when he was sixteen, when the snots had cheated him and his friends out of what was rightfully theirs. By the time Ace was old enough to drink legally in The Mellow Tiger, he had gone from being a king to being a soldier without a uniform, skulking through enemy territory."

Christine, 1983 This article is about the novel by Stephen King. ...

• When Ace Merrill gets into Leland Gaunt's Tucker Talisman, the car is described as still having "that incomparable new-car smell, nothing like it in the world (except maybe for pussy)..." This is a reference to what Roland Lebay, from whom Arnie purchases Christine, says about new-car smell.

It, 1986 1948 Tuckers on display at the Gilmore Car Museum. ... It is a horror novel by Stephen King, published in 1986. ...

• Nettie Cobb had recently been released from Juniper Hill (on a work-release program with the aid of Polly Chalmers). Juniper Hill is a mental institution/prison for the criminally dangerous. It's where Henry Bowers was put after he murdered his father, and from which he broke free to hunt down the Losers years later.

The Dark Half, 1989 --58. ...

• The character George Stark, Thad Beaumont's alter ego from The Dark Half, makes a cameo appearance in several of Sherriff Pangborn's dreams, driving his trademark black Toronado.

• During the final showdown, Alan creates various shadow animals. The first are birds, and he has a brief thought of how "The sparrows are flying again".

"The Sun Dog" from Four Past Midnight, 1990 --58. ... Four Past Midnight is a collection of four novellas by Stephen King. ... Four Past Midnight is a collection of four novellas by Stephen King. ...

• The fire that destroyed The Emporium Galorium (and killed Reginald 'Pop' Merrill) is referenced in the forward, as well, citing that Pop's nephew Ace 'says somethin' spooky happened to his uncle before that fire'. The Sun Dog chronicles that story, from the 'spooky' occurrence to the fire itself.

• One of the first items that Gaunt stocks is an old Polaroid camera. This may be a nod to The Sun Dog, even though the camera in the Sun Dog was seemingly destroyed. Further, the camera is one of the several of items that are never purchased from Needful Things, which means we never come to know what it does.

"The Library Policeman" from Four Past Midnight, 1990 Four Past Midnight is a collection of four novellas by Stephen King. ... Four Past Midnight is a collection of four novellas by Stephen King. ...

• Sam Peebles and Naomi Higgins, the main characters of this novella, are mentioned briefly in the epilogue of Needful Things. Mr. Gaunt sets up his new shop, Answered Prayers, in Sam's former office. In the time since the events of the story, Sam and Naomi have married and moved away.

References to Needful Things in Other King Works

The Dark Tower Book IV: Wizard and Glass, 1997 Wizard and Glass is the fourth book in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. ...

• The phases of the moon in Roland's world feature shapes that the inhabitants name (like our man in the moon). One such phase is The Peddler, ". . . he who came out of Nones with his sackful of squealing souls." Leland Gaunt is a peddler who likewise carries a bag of souls.

For the J. R. R. Tolkien folklore, see Man in the Moon (Middle-earth). ...

References to other works in Needful Things

Cthulhu Mythos Cthulhu and Rlyeh The Cthulhu Mythos encompasses the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes in the works of H. P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction writers. ...

An interesting subtext in the book is frequent, subtle references to H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, which lends to the possibility that Leland Gaunt may be an avatar of the sadistic shapeshifting deity Nyarlathotep, sometimes associated with Satan by other authors (see also Randall Flagg). Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction, noted for combining these three genres within single narratives. ... Cthulhu and Rlyeh The Cthulhu Mythos encompasses the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes in the works of H. P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction writers. ... The ten avatars of Vishnu, copyright BBT In Hindu philosophy, an avatar (also spelt as avatara) (Sanskrit: , ), most commonly refers to the incarnation (bodily manifestation) of a higher being (deva), or the Supreme Being (God) onto planet Earth. ... Nyarlathotep (the Crawling Chaos) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... Randall Flagg. ...

• After giving Ace some very powerful cocaine, Mr. Gaunt tells him that he obtained it from 'The Plains of Leng'. This, perhaps, gives us a clue as to Mr. Gaunt's origins.

• During his trip to Boston under the behest of Mr. Gaunt, Ace Merrill reads the following graffiti: 'Yog-Sothoth Rules'. This is a reference to "The Freshman," a humorous Cthulhu mythos short story in which "Yog-Sothoth sucks!" is found graffitied across the Miskatonic University campus.

• When asked where he got the Tucker Talisman (by a Mobil Gas jockey), Ace says "The Plains of Leng. Yog-Sothoth Vintage Motors".

Young Guns Leng (or Plateau of Leng) is a fictional cold arid plateau in the Cthulhu Mythos, whose location seems to vary entirely from story to story. ... Yog-Sothoth (The Lurker at the Threshold, The Key and the Gate, The Beyond One, Opener of the Way The All-in-One and the One-in-All) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. ... Young Guns is a 1988 action/western film directed by Christopher Cain and written by John Fusco. ...

• In the hospital, Sean Rusk asks Alan if he's a sheriff like from Young Guns, a movie which starred Kiefer Sutherland, who played Ace Merrill in the film adaption of "The Body", Stand By Me. He also complains that now that his brother is dead, he can't go and see Young Guns II in theatres.

Dawn of the Dead Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland (born December 21, 1966) is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning Canadian television and film actor, well known for his role of Jack Bauer on the television series 24. ... The Body: Fall from Innocence is a novella by Stephen King, originally published in the 1982 collection Different Seasons. ... Stand by Me is a 1986 drama film directed by Rob Reiner. ... Young Guns II is a 1990 film, and is the sequel to Young Guns. ... For the remake, see Dawn of the Dead (2004 film) For the song by Schoolyard Heroes, see The Funeral Sciences Dawn of the Dead (also known as George A. Romeros Dawn of the Dead & Zombi internationally) is a 1978 American independent zombie horror film. ...

• Crime scene onlookers remind Sheriff Alan Pangborn of the "mall zombies from Dawn of the Dead," a movie directed by George Romero. Romero directed Creepshow (from a screenplay written by King) and The Dark Half, a 1993 movie adaptation of King's novel.

Dracula George A. Romero (born 4 February 1940) is an American director, writer, editor, actor and composer. ... Creepshow is a classic 1982 anthology horror movie directed by George A. Romero (of Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead fame), and written by Stephen King (The Shining, Misery, The Stand). ... The Dark Half is a 1993 horror film adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. ... This article is about the novel. ...

• When greeting some of the visitors to his shop, Gaunt askes them to "leave some of the happiness you bring!" Count Dracula invites Jonathan Harker to do the same in chapter two of Dracula.

Film

A movie adaptation was released in 1993, starring Max von Sydow as Gaunt and Ed Harris as Sheriff Pangborn. Bonnie Bedelia played Polly, Pangborn's girlfriend. It was markedly different from the book, however. Notable differences include the absence of Ace Merril, many of the items bought from Gaunt altered, a number of subplots illustrating the townfolks' peccadilloes and dirty secrets dropped, and Danforth 'Buster' Keeton curiously becoming a sort of hero--if an inept one--who stands up to his tormentor. Also in the movie, Gaunt's influence is attributed to major world crises, such as World War II. At the end Gaunt promises to return to plague Pangborn's descendant, even giving a specific time and place, before his car vanishes at the end of the road. Image File history File links NeedfulThingsDVDCover. ... Fraser Clarke Heston (born February 12, 1955) is an is an American film writer, producer, and director. ... For other persons named Stephen King, see Stephen King (disambiguation). ... W. D. Richter (born in New Britain, Connecticut, December 7, 1945) is a screenwriter and has occasionally directed and produced. ...  , (born April 10, 1929) is an Academy-Award nominated Swedish actor, known in particular for his collaboration with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. ... Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, known for his performances in The Rock, The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, Pollock, and The Truman Show, among many others. ... Bonnie Bedelia Culkin (born March 25, 1948 in New York, New York, USA) is an American actress. ... Patrick Doyle (born April 6, 1953, Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, Scotland) is an Academy Award nominated Scottish musician and film score composer. ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...  , (born April 10, 1929) is an Academy-Award nominated Swedish actor, known in particular for his collaboration with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. ... Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, known for his performances in The Rock, The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, Pollock, and The Truman Show, among many others. ... Bonnie Bedelia Culkin (born March 25, 1948 in New York, New York, USA) is an American actress. ...

Cast:

• Max von Sydow .... Leland Gaunt
• Ed Harris .... Sheriff Alan J. Pangborn
• Bonnie Bedelia .... Polly Chalmers
• Amanda Plummer .... Netitia 'Nettie' Cobb
• J.T. Walsh .... Danforth 'Buster' Keeton III
• Ray McKinnon .... Deputy Norris Ridgewick
• Duncan Fraser .... Hugh Albert Priest
• Valri Bromfield .... Wilma Wadlowski Jerzyck
• Shane Meier .... Brian Rusk

 , (born April 10, 1929) is an Academy-Award nominated Swedish actor, known in particular for his collaboration with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. ... Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, known for his performances in The Rock, The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, Pollock, and The Truman Show, among many others. ... Bonnie Bedelia Culkin (born March 25, 1948 in New York, New York, USA) is an American actress. ... Amanda Michael Plummer (born March 23, 1957 in New York, New York) is an Emmy and Tony Award-winning American actress. ... J.T. Walsh (September 28, 1943–February 27, 1998) was an American actor best known for his roles as quietly sinister white-collar sleazeballs (quote from Leonard Maltin) in numerous feature films. ... Ray McKinnon, (born November 15, 1957 in Adel, Georgia) is an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. ... Shane Meier (born June 11, 1977 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian actor who is probably most notable for playing the title role in The Matthew Shepard Story, a TV movie about the life and murder of Matthew Shepard. ...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Mr. Gaunt's "employee" Ace Merrill drives a souped-up, lime-green, Dodge Challenger at first, but is later given a mysterious car called a Tucker Talisman (the only car ever produced by Tucker was the Torpedo).
• A teddy bear (belonging to a minor character) is named Owen, presumably after Stephen King's youngest son Owen King.
• Needful Things and Stephen King's novella The Body both mention the song "Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)" by the Impalas and Del Shannon (respectively). Both works are set in the fictional Castle Rock, Maine.
• Ace compares Danforth Keeton to a character in the Zippy the Pinhead comic strip. However, he misidentifies Zippy's creator as being Robert Crumb. "Zippy" was created by Bill Griffith, not Crumb. This mistake may or may not be intentional on King's part. That is, the unintelligent Ace might be familiar with comics but makes errors as to their authorship.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Dodge Challenger is the name of three different automobile models marketed by the Dodge division of the Chrysler Corporation since the 1970s. ... A 1948 Tucker Sedan at the Blackhawk Auto Museum. ... For other uses, see Teddy bear (disambiguation). ... This page may meet Wikipedia’s criteria for speedy deletion. ... The Body: Fall from Innocence is a novella by Stephen King, originally published in the 1982 collection Different Seasons. ... Zippy the Pinhead is the main character in the comic strip of the same name, created by Bill Griffith. ... Robert Dennis Crumb, often credited simply as R. Crumb (born August 30, 1943 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a U.S. artist and illustrator recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream. ... Bill Griffith (born William Henry Jackson Griffith in Brooklyn, NY 1944) is a popular cartoonist in the United States. ...

References

External links

• Needful Things at the Internet Movie Database
• Movie stills