High Spirits (1988)

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writer (WGA):

Neil Jordan (written by)

Release Date:

18 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Romance

Tagline:

He's an American. She's a ghost. Vacation romances are always a hassle.

Plot:

When Peter Plunkett's Irish castle turned hotel is about to be repossesed, he decides to spice up the...

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Demon | Zombie | Nun | Lingerie Slip

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Peter O'Toole	...	Peter Plunkett
Donal McCann	...	Eamon
Mary Coughlan	...	Katie
Liz Smith	...	Mrs. Plunkett
Tom Hickey	...	Sampson
Tony Rohr	...	Christy
Hilary Reynolds	...	Patricia
Isolde Cazelet	...	Julia
Little John	...	Gateman
Steve Guttenberg	...	Jack Crawford
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Sharon Brogan Crawford
Jennifer Tilly	...	Miranda
Peter Gallagher	...	Brother Tony
Martin Ferrero	...	Malcolm
Connie Booth	...	Marge

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Finland:S | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:12 | Iceland:L | Spain:T | USA:PG-13 (certificate #29466) | Argentina:13 | West Germany:12 | Australia:M | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Dromore Castle, Askeaton, Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland

Company:

Palace Pictures

Trivia:

Liz Smith was cast at short notice after the original choice was too ill to work.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: During the final dance sequence, Beverly D'Angelo accidentally knocks Daryl Hannah's hand making her spill her champagne on the floor. Daryl briefly makes a face before continuing the dance.

Quotes:

Peter Plunkett: [sees large bricks coming out of the wall behind him as he drinks] What is going on here? Eamon? Why are chunks of masonry floating about?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Wrongfully Accused (1998)

This movie at times can put you in high spirits, but it also brings you down.

This movie has a rather standard plot of some old 1970's horror films that I have seen over the years, that of the old house, old building, in this case the old castle where some sort of tragic event took place and the participants of this event are doomed to keep repeating it in the afterlife. And as is the case with those horror movies the event that took place in this movie is the murder of a woman by her jealous husband. This movie is not a horror movie by an stretch of the imagination, it is a comedy. I think some people are visiting the castle and staying there when all the ghost stuff starts happening. It has its moments when it is rather funny as Peter O'Toole is the best member of the cast as far as being funny, then the movie gets right down into being a sort of romance movie. Then the movie ends in a rather unrealistic way, leaving you to think what is up with that. There is also a sex scene that gets rather intense for a PG-13 rated movie so you may want to think twice about letting the kids see this one. I read this movie is not really what the director wanted and it shows as the movie at times plays out in a disjointed fashion. Still, there are laughs to be had and the plot is somewhat good if nothing we have not seen before.