The film was shot from 25 March to 11 May 1974, at a cost of $686,000 (equivalent to $3,707,542 in 2021), with $200,000 coming from the Canadian Film Development Corporation.[20] The house featured in the film had been discovered by Clark while scouting for locations, and its owners agreed to lease the home for the production.[11] Additional photography was completed on the University of Toronto campus.[11] According to John Saxon, Clark had meticulously drawn out storyboards with key shots, which he brought to the film set each day: "I could understand exactly what I thought he needed, and the scene needed".[11] Scenes in the film involving POV shot of Billy scaling the house was accomplished through the use of a rig designed by camera operator Bert Dunk, which was attached to Dunk's head as he climbed up the side of the house.[10] Griffin's death scene, which was shot with a handheld camera in a real closet, was accomplished in only a couple of takes. According to Griffin, her character's surprise as the killer lunges from the closet was genuine as the actress later recalled: "It was a total shock because I didn't really know when to expect him to jump out!" Shots of Clare's corpse in the rocking chair required the actress to wear an actual plastic bag over her head for extended periods of time. Griffin would also state that these scenes came relatively easy for her: "I was actually, and still am, a fairly good swimmer so I could hold my breath for a long time. And I could also keep my eyes open for a long time without blinking".[18]
Black Christmas was distributed in Canada by Ambassador Film Distributors and released in Toronto on 11 October 1974.[22][20] The film grossed $143,000 from nine theatres in Toronto in its first two weeks and earned $1.3 million during its theatrical run in Canada. Warner Bros. believed that the film would earn at least $7 million in the United States. The film was released on 20 December, but only earned $284,345 during its theatrical run due to competition from The Godfather Part II and The Man with the Golden Gun.[23] For its American release the film was retitled to Silent Night, Evil Night due to fears that the original title would mislead audiences into believing the film was a blaxploitation movie. They retracted the title after the initial release, restoring it to Black Christmas for subsequent screenings.[11]
His Mother's House 1974 Movie Fr
During its initial release, the film had garnered mixed reviews. A. H. Weiler of The New York Times called it "a whodunit that raises the question as to why was it made".[28] Variety called the film "a bloody, senseless kill-for-kicks feature, [that] exploits unnecessary violence in a university sorority house operated by an implausibly alcoholic ex-hoofer. Its slow-paced, murky tale involves an obscene telephone caller who apparently delights in killing the girls off one by one, even the hapless house-mother".[29] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4 and called it a "routine shocker" that "is notable only for indicating the kind of junk roles that talented actresses are forced to play in the movies".[30] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Before it maddeningly overreaches in a gratuitously evasive ending, Black Christmas (opening today at selected theaters) is a smart, stylish Canadian-made little horror picture that is completely diverting ... It may well be that its makers simply couldn't figure out how to end it".[31]
The movie starts with the Ingalls family leaving their little house in the Big Woods and starting west. After a long and adventurous journey, they stop in Indian Country. Charles builds a house and starts farming, Indians visit them, and they meet Mr. Edwards. After a year, soldiers come and tell the family they have to leave. After packing everything they own, they set off on a new journey.
In the film, Claudine receives financial aid from state welfare. She receives barely enough money to provide basic necessities for herself and her six children, living in a slum-like neighborhood in Harlem. Claudine works as a housekeeper for an upper-middle class white woman but conceals this so that her benefits will not be reduced. The constant struggle of a family living in poverty is a major theme throughout the movie.
The famous Hill Valley Courthouse, a central location in the movie, is actually located at Courthouse Square in the backlot at Universal Studios Hollywood. At the climax of Back to the Future, Doc Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd) heroically sends Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) back to the future by hanging off the courthouse clock to receive the bolt of lighting that will power the DeLorean time machine. The square is also where Biff Tannen chases Marty, who in the process "invents" the skateboard. Courthouse Square was destroyed by a fire in 2008, but has since been rebuilt.
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