Black Christmas
The originalBlack Christmasis one of the greatest slasher motion picture , but there ’s a tragic reason why it almost did n’t happen . Directed by Bob Clark , Black Christmasreceived mixed reviews upon its 1974 liberation but eventually developed cult status . However , if it were n’t for one role player ’s power to join the project at the last minute , the beloved slasher would have been canceled during production .
Black Christmasopens with a shivery POV shot of an unseen man climbing into a sorority house and cover in the attic . The sorority girls are chivy by detestable telephone calls over the holiday season , and one of their housemate quickly goes missing . As the unknown killer prey on the little girl , includingSuperman ’s Margot Kidder , the constabulary attempt to delineate the source of the phone calls , lead to a terrifying discovery fire the urban caption " The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs . "
Related : Black Christmas Utterly Betrays The Original Movie
The 1974 revulsion has since been positively reappraised for its mounting tension and feminism . It condemns casual misogyny and render concluding girl Jess ' ( Olivia Hussey ) finding to have an miscarriage . unluckily , Black Christmasalmost did n’t happen after a major role player had to be allow go from the output due to health concerns . In the documentaryOn Screen : Black Christmas(viaYouTube ) , the picture show ’s cast and crew sombrely recalled their need to replace Oscar - success Edmond O’Brien as Lieutenant Fuller . fortunately , John Saxon ’s ( A Nightmare on Elm Street)swift arrival save the output .
In 1974’sBlack Christmas , Lt . Fuller is the only police officer to take the young woman ' torment claims seriously and is an important stage of contact for Jess . Bob Clark require O’Brien for the role , and the actor was flown to Toronto two days before he take to seem on television camera . In the documentary , Clark and co - producer Gerry Arbeid recall how O’Brien had signs of Alzheimer ’s , which became totally plain during a dinner party meeting . Arbeid stated that O’Brien stick out up midway through the repast and announce , " I ’m die up the stairs to my elbow room . " He slip the restaurant for his hotel , and theoriginalBlack Christmasfilmmakers had monumental concerns , specially considering O’Brien ’s first scenes to be filmed were the search party for a absent miss . This meant a dark shoot in the freezing Toronto winter . Clark claim , " If we had n’t been shooting outside , I opine I would have take a fortune on him . " Of course , the filmmakers could n’t risk endangering the actor , and Arbeid had the regrettable task of delivering the intelligence .
O’Brien dissent , claiming he was well enough to perform , but the producer remember telling him , " Eddie , you do n’t even know where you are . " Arbeid felt terrible severalise the well-thought-of role player that they had to post him away : " It was very traumatic for me as well and he burst into snag . " They were in a dire situation , with the threat of one of thebest Christmas horror moviesbeing canceled as they had no fiscal surety to complete the film . For a low - budget slasher with a tight schedule , they needed an quick solution . Arbeid persist in , " If we had n’t had got John Saxon at a moment ’s observance , we would have had to abandon the production . " Saxon revealed he thought he was already throw inBlack Christmas , but there was a case of miscommunication , and he was inform the role had been filled . Days later , he receive an urgent call asking him to now board a flight to Toronto . He remembered arriving in the city around midnight and shoot the hunt political party aspect soon afterwards , in the very other hours of the forenoon .
The originalBlack Christmasalmost did n’t pass without Saxon ’s presence , and it would n’t have become an influential slasher thatinspired horror such as John Carpenter’sHalloween . Although the grounds behind his sudden casting was extremely unfortunate , Saxon brought considerable passion and serious-mindedness to the role of Lt . Fuller . Thankfully , the horror proved successful and has since spawned two inferiorBlack Christmasremakes .
More : All Black Christmas Movies Ranked , Worst To good
