6 reviews
Melvyn Douglas stars as a seemingly kindly Grandfather who comes to stay with his family in general, but to visit his granddaughter Judy(played by Jodie Foster) in particular. Judy is a bright girl but also a deaf-mute, though he has the ability to telepathically communicate with her, which she enjoys despite not understanding how it's possible. He also brings Judy a doll house that is an exact replica of their home, but it turns out that grandpa is also a most bitter man out to avenge himself by using black magic via both the doll house and some cookies made to resemble each relative...excellent tale with fine acting, particularly Jodie Foster who is entirely credible. Suspenseful yet tragic, with grandpa not evil so much as horribly misguided.
- AaronCapenBanner
- Nov 13, 2014
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Intriguing episode from William Castle's hit-or-miss anthology series "Ghost Story" features Melvyn Douglas in a juicy role playing grandpa to deaf-mute Jodie Foster, secretly communicating with her telepathically while on a visit to see former son-in-law Richard Mulligan, his new wife and family. With a grudge against everyone in the household but Foster, Douglas uses cookie dolls to represent the family members, along with a dollhouse mock-up of their home, to manipulate the little girl into doing harm to the others, starting with the housekeeper who senses his evil. Robert Bloch wrote the teleplay, and maybe only he could get away with using cookies as voodoo dolls! Douglas' scenes with young Foster, silent except for a voice-over, are well-directed by Daryl Duke, who allows this strange tale to unfold carefully. It isn't especially scary (few tales from "Ghost Story", later renamed "Circle of Fear", actually were), but with an interesting central idea and a moral at the end: grandpas who play with fire get burned.
- moonspinner55
- Nov 27, 2017
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A young Jodie Foster exudes talent amidst an additionally solid cast of seasoned actors. A very entertaining supernatural tale about Voodoo and what could be considered the world's smallest haunted house - a child's dollhouse.
- ebeckstr-1
- Nov 25, 2021
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- theoctobercountry
- Jul 20, 2012
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- mark.waltz
- Feb 25, 2021
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- BandSAboutMovies
- Feb 25, 2022
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