Lady in White
Encyclopedia
Lady in White is a 1988
American
horror film
of the ghost/mystery genre. Much of the film was made in Wayne County, New York
, taking advantage of appropriate local color. The movie is based on the story of The Lady in White
who supposedly searches for her daughter in Durand-Eastman Park in Rochester, NY.
The film was directed, produced, and written by Frank LaLoggia, a native of Rochester. Starring Lukas Haas
, Len Cariou
, Alex Rocco
, and Katherine Helmond
.
) is tricked by school jokesters Donald (Jared Rushton
) and Louie (Gregory Levinson) and ends up locked in the school's cloakroom. Trapped well after dark, he witnesses a girl's ghost being murdered and then himself is attacked by a dark figure. Losing consciousness he speaks to the ghost who asks for his help to find her mother. Frankie is revived by his father and rushed to the hospital. The police arrest a black janitor that was found drunk in the basement, believing him to be the attacker.
Recovering at home, Frankie's brother Geno (Jason Presson) brings him a newspaper article about the attack and he learns it was linked to the deaths of eleven other children at the hands of a serial killer. He also learns the name of the ghost - Melissa Ann Montgomery (Joelle Jacobi). She continues to haunt Frankie and the two become and odd sort of friends. Striving to help her, he returns to the cloakroom and discovers several objects including her hairclip and an old high school class ring. Later, Frankie overhears the chief of police talking to his father Angelo (Alex Rocco
) about the innocence of the janitor and the cloakroom being the scene of Melissa's murder. Frankie confides in family friend Phil (Len Cariou
) that the class ring probably belongs to the killer and that he thinks the killer returned to the cloakroom to search for it. Unbeknownst to Frankie, Geno has discovered and taken the class ring.
The school jokesters lure Frankie out to the nearby cliffs they encounter a lady in white clothing living inside an abandoned cottage. The children take off running and Frankie runs into his brother Geno on the way home. Frankie tries to explain everything to Geno, but Geno doesn't believe him. One evening though, Melissa appears to both of them and they follow her through her nightly death re-creation. They trail behind her lifeless body as it is carried by an invisible figure out to the cliffs. At the last minute, she awakes and begins screaming as she is thrown over the cliffs. A ghostly lady in white (Melissa's mother) then comes out of the cottage and throws herself over the edge after she sees Melissa's lifeless body.
Harold Williams (Henry Harris), the school janitor is finally brought to court, but a grand jury
decides against going to trial due to insufficient evidence. He is subsequently murdered by the mother of one of the serial killer's victims. The real killer is still at large though and Geno uses the class ring to track him down after realizing that their father and the killer wear the same exact class rings. A yearbook reveals that the initials on the ring are the same as their family friend Phil and he rushes to tell his father. Frankie happens to be with Phil at that same time and as well realizes that he is the killer after Phil starts whistling "Did You Ever See a Dream Walking" (Melissa's song). Phil catches on that Frankie has deduced his secret and attacks him, but Frankie escapes and runs to the cliffs. Phil catches him and confesses to the murders just before he starts to strangle Frankie. Phil is struck from behind and both Phil and Frankie collapse to the ground lifeless.
Regaining consciousness, Frankie finds himself in Melissa's old cottage with his savior Amanda Harper (Katherine Helmond
). She reveals that she is Melissa's aunt and has been living in the cottage since her sister and nieces' deaths. She was the first lady in white Frankie had seen. Phil reemerges in the cottage and kills Harper, setting the building ablaze in the process. Pulling Frankie from the burning cottage, Phil then tries to throw Frankie from the cliff, but the ghostly lady in white appears and scares Phil over the edge. Melissa as well appears and the two ghosts ascend into the sky finally reunited. As Frankie is crawling away from the cliff edge Phil grabs his ankle. Angelo, Geno, and the police arrive saving Frankie. As Angelo tries to save Phil though he lets go and falls to his death
. With Phil dead, the movie ends as the group watches the cottage burn as the snow begins to fall.
, Roger Ebert
stated: "'Lady in White,' like most good films, depends more on style and tone than it does on story, and after awhile it's the whole insidious atmosphere of the film that begins to envelop us." New York Times critic Caryn James mostly praised the film, but pointed out that: "the heavy-handed subplot about 60's racism loads the film with more social weight than it can carry. And most damaging, we guess who the murderer is very near the film's beginning." Lady in White maintains a 73% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
and Katherine Helmond
were both nominated for a Saturn Award
in 1990, Haas was also nominated for and won a Young Artist Award
. The film itself received nominations for a Young Arist Award and a Fantasporto
.
by Virgin Visi and later by Anchor Bay
on October 15th, 1993. Elite Entertainment released a Director's Cut
with an extended 4 minutes on March 25th, 1998. It was reissued on DVD by MGM on September 20th, 2005 and featured 36 minutes worth of deleted footage and commentary from director Frank LaLoggia.
," sung by Bing Crosby
, played a large part in the plot of this story.
The name Willow Point comes from the old abandoned Willow Point Amusement Park on Bay Road in Webster, NY and was also the subject of a short film Frank made.
1988 in film
-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
American
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
of the ghost/mystery genre. Much of the film was made in Wayne County, New York
Wayne County, New York
Wayne County is a county located in the US state of New York. It is part of the Rochester, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area and lies on the south shore of Lake Ontario, forming part of the northern border of the United States with Canada. The name honors General Anthony Wayne, an American...
, taking advantage of appropriate local color. The movie is based on the story of The Lady in White
White Lady (ghost)
A White Lady is a type of female ghost reportedly seen in rural areas and associated with some local legend of tragedy. White Lady legends are found around the world. Common to many of them is the theme of losing or being betrayed by a husband or fiancé...
who supposedly searches for her daughter in Durand-Eastman Park in Rochester, NY.
The film was directed, produced, and written by Frank LaLoggia, a native of Rochester. Starring Lukas Haas
Lukas Haas
Lukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...
, Len Cariou
Len Cariou
Leonard Joseph “Len” Cariou is a Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street...
, Alex Rocco
Alex Rocco
Alex Rocco is an American actor. His roles have ranged from comedy to playing gangsters in Mafia movies.-Early life:...
, and Katherine Helmond
Katherine Helmond
Katherine Marie Helmond is an American film, theater and television actress, who played Emily Dickinson on Meeting of Minds, as well as such fictional characters as Jessica Tate on Soap, Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss?, Doris Sherman on Coach, and Lois Whelan on Everybody Loves...
.
Plot
The film is told in flashback from the point of view of a horror author on his way to his hometown Willowpoint Falls. On Halloween 1962, 9-year-old Franklin "Frankie" Scarlatti (Lukas HaasLukas Haas
Lukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...
) is tricked by school jokesters Donald (Jared Rushton
Jared Rushton
Jared Michael Rushton is an American musician and former actor. He is best known for his roles in numerous late eighties films including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Big, and Overboard. He has been nominated for a total of two Saturn Awards and two Young Artist Awards...
) and Louie (Gregory Levinson) and ends up locked in the school's cloakroom. Trapped well after dark, he witnesses a girl's ghost being murdered and then himself is attacked by a dark figure. Losing consciousness he speaks to the ghost who asks for his help to find her mother. Frankie is revived by his father and rushed to the hospital. The police arrest a black janitor that was found drunk in the basement, believing him to be the attacker.
Recovering at home, Frankie's brother Geno (Jason Presson) brings him a newspaper article about the attack and he learns it was linked to the deaths of eleven other children at the hands of a serial killer. He also learns the name of the ghost - Melissa Ann Montgomery (Joelle Jacobi). She continues to haunt Frankie and the two become and odd sort of friends. Striving to help her, he returns to the cloakroom and discovers several objects including her hairclip and an old high school class ring. Later, Frankie overhears the chief of police talking to his father Angelo (Alex Rocco
Alex Rocco
Alex Rocco is an American actor. His roles have ranged from comedy to playing gangsters in Mafia movies.-Early life:...
) about the innocence of the janitor and the cloakroom being the scene of Melissa's murder. Frankie confides in family friend Phil (Len Cariou
Len Cariou
Leonard Joseph “Len” Cariou is a Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street...
) that the class ring probably belongs to the killer and that he thinks the killer returned to the cloakroom to search for it. Unbeknownst to Frankie, Geno has discovered and taken the class ring.
The school jokesters lure Frankie out to the nearby cliffs they encounter a lady in white clothing living inside an abandoned cottage. The children take off running and Frankie runs into his brother Geno on the way home. Frankie tries to explain everything to Geno, but Geno doesn't believe him. One evening though, Melissa appears to both of them and they follow her through her nightly death re-creation. They trail behind her lifeless body as it is carried by an invisible figure out to the cliffs. At the last minute, she awakes and begins screaming as she is thrown over the cliffs. A ghostly lady in white (Melissa's mother) then comes out of the cottage and throws herself over the edge after she sees Melissa's lifeless body.
Harold Williams (Henry Harris), the school janitor is finally brought to court, but a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
decides against going to trial due to insufficient evidence. He is subsequently murdered by the mother of one of the serial killer's victims. The real killer is still at large though and Geno uses the class ring to track him down after realizing that their father and the killer wear the same exact class rings. A yearbook reveals that the initials on the ring are the same as their family friend Phil and he rushes to tell his father. Frankie happens to be with Phil at that same time and as well realizes that he is the killer after Phil starts whistling "Did You Ever See a Dream Walking" (Melissa's song). Phil catches on that Frankie has deduced his secret and attacks him, but Frankie escapes and runs to the cliffs. Phil catches him and confesses to the murders just before he starts to strangle Frankie. Phil is struck from behind and both Phil and Frankie collapse to the ground lifeless.
Regaining consciousness, Frankie finds himself in Melissa's old cottage with his savior Amanda Harper (Katherine Helmond
Katherine Helmond
Katherine Marie Helmond is an American film, theater and television actress, who played Emily Dickinson on Meeting of Minds, as well as such fictional characters as Jessica Tate on Soap, Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss?, Doris Sherman on Coach, and Lois Whelan on Everybody Loves...
). She reveals that she is Melissa's aunt and has been living in the cottage since her sister and nieces' deaths. She was the first lady in white Frankie had seen. Phil reemerges in the cottage and kills Harper, setting the building ablaze in the process. Pulling Frankie from the burning cottage, Phil then tries to throw Frankie from the cliff, but the ghostly lady in white appears and scares Phil over the edge. Melissa as well appears and the two ghosts ascend into the sky finally reunited. As Frankie is crawling away from the cliff edge Phil grabs his ankle. Angelo, Geno, and the police arrive saving Frankie. As Angelo tries to save Phil though he lets go and falls to his death
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. With Phil dead, the movie ends as the group watches the cottage burn as the snow begins to fall.
Cast
- Lukas HaasLukas HaasLukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...
as Franklin J. "Frankie" Scarlatti - Len CariouLen CariouLeonard Joseph “Len” Cariou is a Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street...
as Michael Phillip "Phil" Terragarossa - Alex RoccoAlex RoccoAlex Rocco is an American actor. His roles have ranged from comedy to playing gangsters in Mafia movies.-Early life:...
as Angelo J. Scarlatti - Katherine HelmondKatherine HelmondKatherine Marie Helmond is an American film, theater and television actress, who played Emily Dickinson on Meeting of Minds, as well as such fictional characters as Jessica Tate on Soap, Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss?, Doris Sherman on Coach, and Lois Whelan on Everybody Loves...
as Amanda Harper - Jason Presson as Geno Scarlatti
- Renata Vanni as Mama Assaunta
- Angelo Bertolini as Papa Charlie
- Joelle Jacobi as Melissa Anne Montgomery
- Jared RushtonJared RushtonJared Michael Rushton is an American musician and former actor. He is best known for his roles in numerous late eighties films including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Big, and Overboard. He has been nominated for a total of two Saturn Awards and two Young Artist Awards...
as Donald - Gregory Levinson as Louie
- Karen Powell as Anne Montgomery (Melissa's mother/"Lady in White")
Critical Reception
The film has had a mostly positive critical response focusing on the stylish small town vibe and suspense without gore. Writing in the Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
stated: "'Lady in White,' like most good films, depends more on style and tone than it does on story, and after awhile it's the whole insidious atmosphere of the film that begins to envelop us." New York Times critic Caryn James mostly praised the film, but pointed out that: "the heavy-handed subplot about 60's racism loads the film with more social weight than it can carry. And most damaging, we guess who the murderer is very near the film's beginning." Lady in White maintains a 73% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Awards and Nominations
Lukas HaasLukas Haas
Lukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...
and Katherine Helmond
Katherine Helmond
Katherine Marie Helmond is an American film, theater and television actress, who played Emily Dickinson on Meeting of Minds, as well as such fictional characters as Jessica Tate on Soap, Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss?, Doris Sherman on Coach, and Lois Whelan on Everybody Loves...
were both nominated for a Saturn Award
Saturn Award
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
in 1990, Haas was also nominated for and won a Young Artist Award
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
. The film itself received nominations for a Young Arist Award and a Fantasporto
Fantasporto
Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental projects from all over the world, Fantasporto has created enthusiastic audiences, ranging from...
.
Home Media
The film was first introduced to the home video market on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
by Virgin Visi and later by Anchor Bay
Anchor Bay
Anchor Bay may refer to:* Anchor Bay, California, a small coastal community in northern California* Anchor Bay, is a bay in Malta, also known as Prajjiet or Popeye Village Bay* Anchor Bay Entertainment, a home video company...
on October 15th, 1993. Elite Entertainment released a Director's Cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
with an extended 4 minutes on March 25th, 1998. It was reissued on DVD by MGM on September 20th, 2005 and featured 36 minutes worth of deleted footage and commentary from director Frank LaLoggia.
Miscellany
The song "Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?
"Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?" is a popular song, introduced by Art Jarrett in the movie Sitting Pretty .The music was written by Harry Revel, the lyrics by Mack Gordon...
," sung by Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, played a large part in the plot of this story.
The name Willow Point comes from the old abandoned Willow Point Amusement Park on Bay Road in Webster, NY and was also the subject of a short film Frank made.