Line #22 Trivia/Halloween1978


1	* ActorInspiredElement:
2	** The script called for Dr. Loomis to look shocked when Michael's body disappears from the lawn. Creator/DonaldPleasence argued that he should have an "I knew this would happen" look. They shot it both ways; the latter made the final film. The OhCrap reaction [[RefittedForSequel was retained for the 2nd film, however.]]
3	** The actors mostly wore their own clothes due to the tight budget. Laurie's wardrobe however was bought for $100 at a local JC Penney's.
4	* BillingDisplacement: Creator/DonaldPleasence gets [[BilledAboveTheTitle billed above the main title]]. While his Loomis is a major character, the film's protagonist is Laurie. This is completely due to Pleasence being the only name actor in the piece, However unlike other films which usually bill the actors that are being introduced after the established actors have been credited, Creator/JamieLeeCurtis is billed right after Pleasence in the female lead position of the credits order. Thanks to the film being a star-making turn for Curtis, she's billed above the title right along with Pleasence in the credits for the film's sequel. Home releases of Halloween nowadays tend to give Curtis top billing on the cover, ''over'' Pleasence, as Jamie Lee Curtis is much more well known now.
5	* {{Blooper}}:
6	** When Tommy first sees Michael carrying Annie's body, Annie's head is on Michael's left side. It cuts to Tommy's horrified reaction, then back to Michael, and now her head is on his ''right'' side.
7	** The credits' information is wrong; it's mentioned that Michael was 6 when he killed Judith and 21 throughout the rest of the film, yet the credits say he was 8 and the present-day Michael (specifically Tony Moran) is 23.
8	* BreakthroughHit: For Creator/JohnCarpenter.
9	* CaliforniaDoubling: The movie was filmed in California in the spring, as opposed to Illinois in the fall. In spite of the set decorators' attempts to scatter dead leaves along all the sidewalks, the trees are all bright green. There are even some palm trees and mountains visible in some backgrounds.
10	* ChannelHop: The film was produced independently through Irwin Yablan's Compass International, who also distributed the film themselves because the major studios were uninterested, though the prints were struck through Creator/{{MGM}}. Warner-Columbia released the film in some international territories. On home video, the film was originally released exclusively by Blockbuster, and later Media Home Entertainment (VHS) and The Criterion Collection ([=LaserDisc=]). Anchor Bay also released the film numerous times through VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray for almost twenty years before Lionsgate took over the home video rights, and released the film on 4K UHD.
11	* CompletelyDifferentTitle:
12	** Sweden: ''All Saints' Bloody Night''
13	** Italy: ''Witch's Night''
14	** France: ''Night of the Masks''
15	** Portugal: ''Return of Evil''
16	* {{Corpsing}}: In the scene where Sheriff Brackett surprises Laurie as she walks up the sidewalk with her back turned, she covers her mouth. This was actually Jamie Lee Curtis trying not to laugh.
17	* CreatorBacklash: Both Creator/JohnCarpenter and Debra Hill expressed displeasure at the SexSignalsDeath trope's rise in horror after this movie. They said the reason the horny teenagers got killed was because they were too busy trying to do it that they failed to notice a killer approaching; they're punished for carelessness, not pre-marital sex. Laurie only survives because she's on her own for most of the film.
18	* CreatorCouple: Debra Hill and Creator/JohnCarpenter were dating, and co-wrote the screenplay in addition to her producing and him directing.
19	* DarkhorseCasting: The film's low budget meant that Creator/DonaldPleasence was the only name actor in the cast.
20	* DawsonCasting: The actors playing Lynda, Annie and Bob were all in their late 20s playing high school students. The only "teen" actor close to her character's age was Creator/JamieLeeCurtis, who was 19.
21	* DivorcedInstallment: This was originally a sequel to ''Film/BlackChristmas1974''. John Carpenter had approached Bob Clark for ideas and, while the latter didn't want to do a sequel, he did suggest what would happen in one; the unseen killer Billy from the original would have been caught, sent to a mental hospital, escape years later and start killing at the house again, this time on Halloween.
22	* ExecutiveMeddling: A very positive example. The film's financiers conceived of the idea of a killer pursuing babysitters and hired Carpenter to make the film, giving him full creative control. They requested that the film have scary moments every ten minutes and also suggested the Halloween theming.
23	* FollowTheLeader: Irwin Yablans and Moustapha Akkad approached John Carpenter to make a film that would have the same impact as ''Film/TheExorcist''.
24	* TheForeignSubtitle:
25	** Brazil: ''Halloween: Night of Terror''
26	** Finland: ''Halloween: Night of the Masks''
27	** Germany: ''Halloween: The Night of Horror''
28	** Italy: ''Halloween: The Night of the Witches''
29	** Norway: ''Halloween: The Night the Killer Came''
30	* FunnyCharacterBoringActor: Inverted. Jamie Lee Curtis said she related more to the outgoing Lynda and Annie than the shy, bookish Laurie.
31	* HeAlsoDid: Nick Castle would go on to direct ''Film/TheLastStarfighter''.
32	* InspirationForTheWork: The story is based on an experience Creator/JohnCarpenter had in college touring a psychiatric hospital. Carpenter met a child who stared at him "with a look of evil" that terrified him.
33	* MissingTrailerScene: An alternate version of Lynda on the phone with Laurie was shot for the trailer, because PJ Soles's blouse was open in the final film. In the trailers and publicity stills, she is wearing a bathrobe instead.
34	* NoBudget: Only $320,000 was spent for this film. John Carpenter himself received only $10,000 to co-write, score, and direct the film ($43,000 in 2018). Nick Castle, who played The Shape, only earned $25 a ''day''! This is pretty amazing for a film that grossed a total of $70 million.
35	* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/DonaldPleasence had been primarily playing villains (most famously [[Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice Ernst Stavro Blofeld]]) up until this point.
36	* ProductionPosse: Many in the cast and crew had worked with Carpenter before, including co-writer/producer Debra Hill (Carpenter's girlfriend), actors Nick Castle and Charles Cyphers, actress Nancy Loomis, and editor Tommy Lee Wallace. He would continue to collaborate with all of them on future projects.
37	* RomanceOnTheSet: Nancy Loomis dated and later married editor Tommy Lee Wallace. They had two kids and eventually divorced.
38	* SleeperHit: One of the defining examples. An extremely low budget indie film, where Donald Pleasence was the only notable name (and he was a character actor), that was panned in its first week. Then one glowing review ([[https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/halloween-1979 it was Roger Ebert's;]] ironic, as he ''loathed'' the slasher genre this film birthed) compared it to Alfred Hitchcock's ''{{Film/Psycho}}'', and it grossed over $1 million in the next week alone. It ultimately grossed $70 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful indie films ever.
39	* SoMyKidsCanWatch: Creator/DonaldPleasence confessed to Creator/JohnCarpenter that the main reason why he took the part of Loomis was because his daughter Angela (who was a musician) had loved Carpenter's musical score for ''Film/AssaultOnPrecinct131976''.
40	* StarMakingRole: For Creator/JamieLeeCurtis. She did get typecast as a FinalGirl for a few years before properly shaking that off and establishing herself as a star in her own right.
41	* StuntCasting: Creator/JohnCarpenter originally wasn't interested in the unknown Creator/JamieLeeCurtis as Laurie. But when he heard she was the daughter of ''{{Film/Psycho}}'''s Creator/JanetLeigh, he cast her in the hopes of drumming up publicity.
42	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
43	** Creator/ChristopherLee turned down the role of Dr. Loomis. He later said it was the biggest mistake he ever made in his career (although he also said the same thing about turning down Creator/LeslieNielsen's role in ''{{Film/Airplane}}''). Also, Creator/PeterCushing was the first choice to play Dr. Loomis, but his asking price was too high, probably as the result of his raised profile from ''Film/ANewHope''. Other candidates included Creator/JohnBelushi (who was busy doing ''Film/AnimalHouse''), Creator/LloydBridges, Creator/MelBrooks, Creator/YulBrynner, Creator/DavidCarradine, Creator/KirkDouglas, Creator/SterlingHayden, Creator/DennisHopper, Creator/KrisKristofferson, Creator/WalterMatthau, Creator/CharlesNapier, Creator/PeterOToole and Creator/LawrenceTierney.
44	** Creator/DennisQuaid was offered the role of Bob (Lynda's boyfriend) since he was dating P.J. Soles at the time, but had to turn it down due to work on another movie.
45	** There were two masks to choose from - the more familiar Captain Kirk mask, and a MonsterClown one (as a nod to Michael killing his sister while dressed as a clown). While they found the clown one scary, too, the Captain Kirk one was ruled better because it was emotionless. Other masks considered include UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, Spock, and Emmett Kelly.
46	** Originally, Dr. Loomis was supposed to have a phone conversation with his wife. Creator/DonaldPleasence convinced Carpenter it would be better if the character didn't have a family or a past.
47	** There was originally no music in the film at all. When one critic complained the film wasn't scary, Creator/JohnCarpenter composed a score in three days.
48	* WorkingTitle: The initial story draft was rather bluntly called ''The Babysitter Murders'', since this was the basic premise conceived by the financiers. When they suggested setting the film during Halloween, the new title was an obvious choice. Producer Irwin Yablans denied that this initial title was ever considered, in an interview for ''The Movies That Made Us'', however.
49	* WriteWhatYouKnow:
50	** Haddonfield was where Debra Hill had grown up in New Jersey.
51	** Debra Hill drew on her experience babysitting as a teen and was responsible for writing most of the teenage girls' dialogue.

Context Trivia / Halloween1978