Black Christmas (1974)

Regisseur:

Bob Clark

Drehbuchautor:

Roy Moore (writer)

Premierendatum:

20. Dezember 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Werbezeile:

If this movie doesn't make your skin crawl... It's On Too Tight!

Plot:

A sorority house is terrorized by a stranger who makes frightening phone calls and then murders the sorority sisters during Christmas break.

Plot Keywords:

Carolers | Missing Person | Christmas Carol | Phone Tracing | Weather

Auszeichnungen:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Nutzerkommentare:

Gothic suspense film noir at its best

Besetzung

Olivia Hussey	...	Jessica Bradford
Keir Dullea	...	Peter Smythe
Margot Kidder	...	Barbie Coard
John Saxon	...	Lieutenant Kenneth Fuller
Marian Waldman	...	Mrs. Mac
Andrea Martin	...	Phyllis Carlson
James Edmond	...	Mr. Harrison
Doug McGrath	...	Sergeant Nash (as Douglas McGrath)
Art Hindle	...	Chris Hayden
Lynne Griffin	...	Clare Harrison
Michael Rapport	...	Patrick
Leslie Carlson	...	Graham (as Les Carlson)
Martha Gibson	...	Mrs. Quaife
John Rutter	...	Detective Wynman
Robert Warner	...	Doctor

Alternativ:

Noël tragique (Canada: French title)
Silent Night, Evil Night
Stranger in the House (USA) (TV title)
Jessy - Die Treppe in den Tod (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) [de]

Länge:

98 Min

Produktionsland:

Canada

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe (Technicolor)

Seitenverhältnis:

1.85 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Mono

Altersfreigabe:

Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Finland:K-18 (DVD) (self applied) (2004) (2007) | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:TV-MA | Argentina:18 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Australia:R | Norway:16 (1976) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Ontario)

Drehorte:

Grenadier Lake, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Firma:

Film Funding Ltd. of Canada

Dies und das:

Keir Dullea worked only for a week on this film, never meeting Margot Kidder and barely meeting John Saxon, but the film is edited in such a way that he appears to be present throughout.

Pannen:

Abfolgefehler: The outside of the sorority house says pi kappa sigma. A picture hung inside the house says pi beta phi.

Dialogzitate:

Mr. Harrison: I didn't send my daughter in here to be drinking and picking up the boys.

Querbezüge:

Bezug enthalten in Filthy (2003)

Soundtrack:

Jingle Bells

Gothic suspense film noir at its best

"Black Christmas" is truly a forgotten gem. Even though the producers intended the film for cinema, "Black Christmas" has the look and feel of its precursors, the made-for-television gothic suspense thrillers between 1969 and early 1974. This four year period featured inexpensively-produced but having hi-quality production values that older viewers will remember. These include, "A Howling In the Woods", "When Michael Calls", "How Awful About Allen", "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", "Home for the Holidays", et al. "Black Christmas", produced at the tail-end of this short-lived genre, clearly displays the same suspenseful and moodily atmospheric elements involving human angst, fears, anxieties, and complicated, sometimes destructive relationships. In one small aspect, "Black Christmas" is a transitional film set between the television gothic supsense thrillers and the onset of the slasher genre epitomized by 1978's "Halloween" and 1979's "Friday the 13th". The violence was certainly more graphic than its television precursors, but not gratuitous. Foul language sprinkled throughout "Black Christmas" would never have made it past the television censors. And look again at "Halloween". It's reliance on atmosphere, moodiness, suspense, and the fright of awaiting something that is surely around the next dark bend of the house harkens back to the early 70s gothic thrillers. "Black Christmas" is from a unique genre long gone and will probably not return, but for those seeking quality shockers without the schlock will no doubt find repeat viewings of this suspense film noir satisfying.