Lady in White is a 1988 Mystery Horror film written, directed and scored by Frank La Loggia. It is about a young boy who witnesses the ghost of a murdered girl, leading him to try to solve the mystery of her murder.
Provides Examples Of:
- Affectionate Nickname: Phil calls Frankie "Broken Arrow".
- Anachronism Stew:
- Frankie's father uses CPR on him as shown below, which was used by medical professionals at the time, but was not taught to the general public until the 1970s.
- Until the late 1970s, the term "molested" didn’t refer to child sex abuse; instead, it was more likely to refer to a mugging.
- Author Avatar: Not only does he portray Frankie as an adult and have a very similar name, but Frank La Loggia was also born into an Italian-American family in New York.
- Big Damn Heroes: Amanda saves Frankie from Phil by knocking him unconscious.
- "Blind Idiot" Translation: When Geno is woken by his grandmother at 3:30 PM, she tells him it is 33 o'clock.
- Butt-Monkey: Papa Charlie, especially when he’s trying to sneak a cigarette. At one point, he ends up setting his pants on fire.
- Character Title: The titular Lady in White seems to refer to Amanda Harper, but it is actually Melissa's mother Anne Montgomery.
- Comically Missing the Point: During the limbo dance, Miss La Della tells Donald and Louie that they have the limbo stick too low, oblivious to the fact that they are doing this on purpose so they can look up her skirt.
- Creator Cameo: Frank La Loggia appears as the adult Frankie Scarlatti.
- Cute Ghost Girl: Melissa.
- Dirty Kid: During the limbo dance, Donald and Louie lower the limbo stick so they can get a look up their teacher’s dress. The teacher doesn’t seem to catch on.
- Disney Villain Death: Phil lets go of the branch and chooses to fall to his death.
- Driven to Suicide: The Lady in White jumped off the cliff after her daughter's murder.
- Dude, Not Funny!: When Geno says that, with eleven kids molested and killed, Frankie could’ve made it an even dozen, Angelo is not amused.
- Easily Condemned: Willy the janitor is blamed for the killings because he was found passed out drunk at the school (where he works) the night of Frankie’s attack.
- Ethereal White Dress: The one worn by the title character, obviously.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Phil genuinely seems to care about Frankie and doesn't try to kill him until it is clear he knows Phil is the killer.
- The Farmer and the Viper: Played with. In the backstory, Phil was orphaned at a young age, but then he got lucky, with his best friend’s family taking him in and raising him as their own, becoming a foster brother to Angelo and ultimately an Honorary Uncle to Frankie and Geno. When Phil starts molesting and killing kids, this is enough to keep Frankie and Geno out of his sights — at first. However, Phil does end up attacking a disguised Frankie in the cloakroom, and he later deliberately tries to kill Frankie to keep him quiet.
- Foreshadowing:
- The fact that the man in the cloakroom leaves Frankie alive after taking his mask off when he could have killed him and gotten away with it makes it easy to guess he's someone he knows.
- When Melissa shows Frankie the ornament that’s meant to represent her mother, it depicts a blonde woman, hinting that the red-haired woman we’ve seen up to this point is not the Lady in White.
- Framing Device: The story is an extended flashback told by Frankie as an adult.
- Gone Horribly Wrong / Prank Gone Too Far: Donald and Louie lock Frankie in the cloakroom as a prank. It very nearly gets him killed.
- Grave-Marking Scene: The framing story begins with Frankie returning to the town cemetery as an adult to visit the graves of Melissa and her mother.
- Groin Attack: Frankie gives this to Geno after he scares him.
- Harmful to Minors: Both sex and violence:
- Frankie witnesses a ghostly reenactment of Melissa’s rape and later murder. On two occasions, Melissa’s killer tries to kill Frankie.
- Melissa is the ghost of a girl who was raped and murdered, along with ten other children.
- Intimate Healing: Frankie's father gives him this after the attack.
- Kids Are Cruel: Donald and Louie locking Frankie overnight in the cloakroom is their idea of a joke.
- Most Writers Are Writers: Frankie is a famous horror novelist as an adult.
- My Greatest Second Chance: The Lady in White was not able to save Melissa; however, as a ghost, her intervention prevents Frankie from meeting the same fate.
- Near-Death Experience: Frankie has one of these where he sees Melissa commanding him to find the Lady in White.
- Nostalgic Narrator: Adult Frankie narrates the story.
- Not Quite Dead: Phil is hit on the head with a rock and is thrown over a cliff before dying.
- Pædo Hunt: The killer is a pedophile, but the police, in hunting him, scapegoat an innocent man.
- Police Are Useless: The police use the black janitor Harold Williams as a scapegoat even though they know there is no solid evidence against him.
- Red Herring: That creepy red-haired woman who was spying into Frankie’s bedroom at night? She’s not the Lady in White.
- The Reveal: Geno discovers Phil is the killer when he matches the initials on the ring to him.
- Rewatch Bonus: Some of the scenes take on new significance when we realize that Phil is the killer.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Frankie realizes the killer's identity when he hears Phil singing Melissa's song. However, considering it's a notable song by Bing Crosby, that doesn't really mean much.
- Serial Killer: Melissa is the only victim we see, but there are ten more.
- Signature Item Clue: The ring found in the vent, which is the only item you wouldn't expect on a child.
- Take My Hand!: Angelo to Phil at the climax.
- Third-Person Flashback: The story is told by Frankie as an adult to his taxi driver, but it contains many events he was not present at.
- Title Drop: Happens when Frankie is reading of the legend in a newspaper.
- Unfinished Business: The reason Melissa appears to Frankie is to avenge her death.
- Wham Shot: The shot of Amanda, dressed in white, watching Frankie through the window.
- Would Hurt a Child: The killer molested and killed Melissa and ten other children before attacking Frankie.
