The Dark Secret of Harvest Home
- Mini-série télévisée
- 1978
- 5h
Nicholas , employé malheureux d'une société de publicité, sa femme Beth et leur fille Kate s'installent dans le paisible village de Cornwall , en Nouvelle-Angleterre, et ne tardent pas à s'i... Tout lireNicholas , employé malheureux d'une société de publicité, sa femme Beth et leur fille Kate s'installent dans le paisible village de Cornwall , en Nouvelle-Angleterre, et ne tardent pas à s'impliquer dans les mystérieux rituels de la ville.Nicholas , employé malheureux d'une société de publicité, sa femme Beth et leur fille Kate s'installent dans le paisible village de Cornwall , en Nouvelle-Angleterre, et ne tardent pas à s'impliquer dans les mystérieux rituels de la ville.
- Nommé pour 2 Primetime Emmys
- 2 nominations au total
Avis à la une
Playing the Widow Fortune (a prophetic name if ever there was one), she is the matriarch of Cornwall Coombe, a small Connecticut village just on the other side of the Lost Whistle covered bridge where "the ways" hold sway over the villagers. What they do and how they do it is bound by tradition, one hundred percent, so when a city family comes to stay, culture clash is inevitable.
Of course we all know this is a gothic chiller standard--sophisticated city couple/family comes to small quiet village only to find it mired in evil and horror, et cetera. Too true. But Davis' character is spellbinding enough that the viewer can overlook this tried and true plot point and enjoy the proceedings. Additionally, aside from some minor outdated bits of dialogue here and there, the script is actually pretty intelligent; a low stupidity quotient in the dialogue helps tremendously.
Unfortunately the VHS release of this film was chopped considerably; the original five hour length was shown on TV but unless the viewer taped it (as I did), it's completely unavailable. High time for a DVD release.
This is a great way to spend an evening with a roaring snowstorm outside. And the ending really is a shocker.
Harvest Home Festival itself. And once it starts...HOLD ONTO YOUR SEATS!!! One word of advice...this was originally a four hour mini series for NBC. The videocassette version is a severly edited version that leaves out HUGE chunks of the original story. If you can catch it on the Sci-Fi channel they always show the entire mini series. It's worth the wait!
This was an edge of your seat, can't wait to see what happens next movie. Anyone who missed it one its first run should try to get a copy--it's a truly excellent creepshow.
The brilliance of this tale lies in its mystery, which isn't fully revealed until the end. Until then, we're given hints and symbols to decipher. David Ackroyd is artist, Nick Constantine, who, along with his wife and daughter (Joanna Miles and Rosanna Arquette), purchase a house in the lovely town of Cornwall Coombe. At first, all is well, perfect in fact. Of course, if it stayed that way, this wouldn't be much of a horror story.
Enter Bette Davis as Widow Fortune, the town matriarch, healer, and spiritual center. Her dominion is evident from her first appearance. Ms. Davis gives this character a dignity that few others could instill, proving once again that her legendary status is well earned. Hers is a quiet, calm malevolence, a steel claw in a silken glove. Underplayed to perfection.
Special mention for young Tracey Gold as the enigmatic Missy Penrose. She's one creepy kid!
If you enjoy those shivery, dark, 1970s made-for-TV horror movies, then you should love this...
A young married couple with a daughter go out in their car one day to get away from the city. The wife's father has recently been buried, and she needs to escape. They blow a tire just beside the Lost Whistle Bridge, which thus leads into the small village of Cornwall Coombe. After putting on a spare tire, they venture into it, and are instantly charmed by the inhabitants, and a grand old house. The neighbours to this house, the Dodds, say that its owner will never sell it. However, once they get back to the city, they receive a phone call from the Dodds, telling them that the house IS up for sale, and that they will have to talk to the Widow Fortune (Bette Davis). The house is surprisingly cheap, and they take it, and move. It seems absolutely great at first, but then the husband starts getting suspicious about the folk of Cornwall Coombe, especially when he learns of a recently deceased woman, who apparently fell in love in the village, but somehow 'fell from grace', and committed suicide by jumping off the Lost Whistle Bridge. As he starts to unravel the mystery, however, horrors that seek beyond the imagination start rising, and suddenly, the nice calm little village begins to show its true colours...
Bette Davis gives what must be one of her best performances EVER in this chilling mini series. It's a shame that it isn't available on DVD. The out of print VHS version was drastically cut, and its never been released uncut. Try and catch this on TV some time. The Sci-Fi Channel always shows the full series, so if you ever get the chance, make sure to watch this. You won't be disappointed!
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesIn a 1977 Associated Press article, Bette Davis stated that Widow Fortune was "a part I've wanted ever since Tom Tryon wrote the book."
- Citations
Worthy Pettinger: May God Damn the corn! And May God Damn the Mother!
- ConnexionsFeatured in Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021)
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Détails
- Durée5 heures
- Mixage
- Rapport de forme
- 1.33 : 1