Friday, October 9, 2015

Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)

Director: John Hough

Writers: Robert M. Young, Alexander Key

Composer: Johnny Mandel

Starring: Kim Richards, Ike Eisenmann, Eddie Albert, Ray Milland, Donald Pleasence, Walter Barnes, Reta Shaw, Denver Pyle, ALfred Ryder, Lawrence Montaigne

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Escape To The Unknown!

Plot: Two mysterious orphan children have extraordinary powers and are chased by a scheming millionaire. But where do these kids really call home?



My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Sure.

This is a blast from my past.  I was just a kid but I remember seeing this one and the sequel in the theater and I had a crush on Kim Richards.  She had that sultry smoker's voice like Lauren Bacall and Kathleen Turner but I wasn't aware of them at that age.  Anyway, it's a fun picture with a great cast and a well-paced story.  I know what you're thinking.  What the hell am I doing watching (and liking) a family picture?  Nostalgia goes a long way.  The two kids do a fantastic job and it's all kinds of fun watching a tender Donald Pleasence and a gentle Eddie Albert.  Just the other day I watched (again) THE LONGEST YARD (1974) where he played one brutal mother fucker.  He's always fun to watch.  Maybe it's just me and my fondness for seeing this as a kid 40 years ago but this is a Disney picture and it's more adult than you'd expect.  There are some kiddie elements but it's not nearly as bad as family films have been since.  But then again, it was the 70s and things were a lot different.  The 80s changed everything and it hasn't gotten better.  Hollywood's modern treatment of family films is to pander to the kids and the lowest common denominator of funny.  I'm looking forward to seeing the sequel with Bette David and Christopher Lee.  Like this one it'll have been nearly 40 years since I saw it.

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