Badmovies.org Forum

Movies => Good Movies => Topic started by: trekgeezer on April 16, 2010, 07:19:36 PM

Title: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: trekgeezer on April 16, 2010, 07:19:36 PM
An interesting little movie starring Jodie Foster.  The film starts with 13 year old Foster making herself a birthday cake on Halloween.  A man (Martin Sheen) comes to her door and talks her into letting him in.  His motives are obviously not good as he touches her inappropriately. She finally gets him out of the house by telling him that her fathers is  upstairs in his room.

The next day the landlady barges in and starts rearranging furniture and wanting to see Fosters father (anytime some asks about him, he is conveniently not available).

We meet a few other characters, such as the local cop and Mario (the local cops nephew), who befriends Foster and becomes he accomplice.

Why is the girl alone and what's with the illusive Dad?  These are the questions that have to be answered.

A lot of folks won't like this film simply because it's slow moving, like a lot of 70's films.    My wife and I found it pretty enjoyable.


This movie was on the Reelz channel on Directv. They seem to have a big catalog of 70's films on hand. 

Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: akiratubo on April 16, 2010, 10:00:37 PM
I didn't agree with the way the movie ended.  Otherwise, it's a solid little movie and worth a look.  Just don't expect a "horror" movie, per se, and you should be happy enough with it.
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: The Burgomaster on April 17, 2010, 04:34:49 PM
Years ago, this used to be on TV frequently.  I bought the DVD when it was released a few years ago.  Still enjoyable after all these years.

Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: lester1/2jr on April 18, 2010, 04:39:37 PM
one of a number of things I've taped off thistv and yet to watch
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: BTM on April 19, 2010, 01:15:21 AM
Did you know?

According to what I've read, it actually started out as a stage play.  I thought that was kind of interesting.  Makes sense though, considering most of the film takes place in the same room.

Anyway, it was a good film, definitely worth a watch.  I do wonder though, about the mentality of some of the people involved with the production of it.  If you read the trivia section of the imdb, it doesn't sound like Foster had a good time of it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074806/trivia (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074806/trivia)

Can't say I blame her.  And WTF, where did they get a dead hamster?? (shudders)
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: voltron on April 24, 2010, 12:42:09 PM
Ahhhh, I posted about this one a while back. I absolutely love this movie. A great little suspense flick that I caught on tv years ago and just recently got on dvd. Blew me away the first time I saw it and it still holds up. Seeing Rynn's (ahem) dad for the first time freaked me out.
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 31, 2010, 05:54:45 PM
akira -spoiler alert   whatever however you do it-------   +++===


the ending was awesome. she was going to kill herself rather than be raped by the guy and instead he took her drink. the camera lingered on her for the entirety of the credits. i thought it was really effective ending
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: JPickettIII on June 03, 2010, 12:05:08 PM
Isn't there a scene where the boyfriend climbs in the bed naked with Jodie.  I believe that she was sick or something.  I remember seeing a documentary about movies with young actresses being portrayed in a sexual way.

I remember the documentary talking about Jodie Foster doing a movie where she played a thirteen year old girl.

Later,

John
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: lester1/2jr on June 03, 2010, 12:24:53 PM
I don't recall that scene but I saw it on tv
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: The Burgomaster on June 03, 2010, 02:10:48 PM
Quote from: JPickettIII on June 03, 2010, 12:05:08 PM
Isn't there a scene where the boyfriend climbs in the bed naked with Jodie.  I believe that she was sick or something.  I remember seeing a documentary about movies with young actress being portrayed in a sexual way.

I remember the documentary talking about Jodie Foster doing a movie where she played a thirteen year old girl.

Later,

John

Yes, there is a scene like this (I don't remember the particulars). 


Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: voltron on June 03, 2010, 04:35:30 PM
Quote from: lester1/2jr on May 31, 2010, 05:54:45 PM
akira -spoiler alert   whatever however you do it-------   +++===


the ending was awesome. she was going to kill herself rather than be raped by the guy and instead he took her drink. the camera lingered on her for the entirety of the credits. i thought it was really effective ending

Funny, but I never really took the ending as Rynn was going to kill herself. I always thought she knew he would take her cup instead for some reason. Either way, I liked the ending, too.
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: lester1/2jr on June 03, 2010, 05:00:27 PM
well it's both. either she was going to die or he was. either way he doesn't get to rape her, so she was relaxed
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: JPickettIII on June 03, 2010, 05:43:45 PM
Quote from: voltron on June 03, 2010, 04:35:30 PM
Quote from: lester1/2jr on May 31, 2010, 05:54:45 PM
akira -spoiler alert   whatever however you do it-------   +++===


the ending was awesome. she was going to kill herself rather than be raped by the guy and instead he took her drink. the camera lingered on her for the entirety of the credits. i thought it was really effective ending

Funny, but I never really took the ending as Rynn was going to kill herself. I always thought she knew he would take her cup instead for some reason. Either way, I liked the ending, too.

Sounds so up lifting.   :bluesad:

John
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: BTM on June 04, 2010, 01:05:25 AM
Quote from: JPickettIII on June 03, 2010, 12:05:08 PM
Isn't there a scene where the boyfriend climbs in the bed naked with Jodie.  I believe that she was sick or something.  I remember seeing a documentary about movies with young actress being portrayed in a sexual way.

I remember the documentary talking about Jodie Foster doing a movie where she played a thirteen year old girl.

Actually, the scene is the boyfriend is in the bed sick (although why he's at her house sick instead of home, I'm not sure... get the feeling the girl wasn't the only one with absent parents) and she climbs into bed with him.  He's like, "You might catch my cold."  She replies, "I don't care." 

Again, according to IMDB trivia, the director was very insistent about Jodie doing a nude scene in the film, causing her a lot of emotional distress.  Eventually, her old sister stepped in and played body double.  I think in most versions of the film the scene is trimmed anyway.

Like I said earlier, Jodie has stated she didn't have that great of a time with that movie.  :bluesad:
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: Flick James on June 07, 2010, 05:39:34 PM
Quote from: JPickettIII on June 03, 2010, 05:43:45 PM
Quote from: voltron on June 03, 2010, 04:35:30 PM
Quote from: lester1/2jr on May 31, 2010, 05:54:45 PM
akira -spoiler alert   whatever however you do it-------   +++===


the ending was awesome. she was going to kill herself rather than be raped by the guy and instead he took her drink. the camera lingered on her for the entirety of the credits. i thought it was really effective ending

Funny, but I never really took the ending as Rynn was going to kill herself. I always thought she knew he would take her cup instead for some reason. Either way, I liked the ending, too.

Sounds so up lifting.   :bluesad:

John

Like about a few hundred other films from the early to mid 70's. They were dark times and the films reflected that.
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: Allhallowsday on June 07, 2010, 06:41:19 PM
Quote from: voltron on June 03, 2010, 04:35:30 PM
Quote from: lester1/2jr on May 31, 2010, 05:54:45 PM
akira -spoiler alert   whatever however you do it-------   +++===


the ending was awesome. she was going to kill herself rather than be raped by the guy and instead he took her drink. the camera lingered on her for the entirety of the credits. i thought it was really effective ending

Funny, but I never really took the ending as Rynn was going to kill herself. I always thought she knew he would take her cup instead for some reason. Either way, I liked the ending, too.
She was not going to kill herself; she knew exactly what she was doing.  The point being she'd graduated from accidental homicide to actual murder. 
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: AndyC on June 08, 2010, 10:43:13 PM
Quote from: Flick James on June 07, 2010, 05:39:34 PM
Like about a few hundred other films from the early to mid 70's. They were dark times and the films reflected that.

That is one of the things I love about movies from that time, including this one. They could get away with endings that were dark and/or ambiguous. Nowadays, if it isn't a happy (or at least optimistic) ending, it's a cheap shock ending. And you don't get much ambiguity unless it's blatantly setting up a sequel. Back then, you could do it for artistic reasons.

Saw this movie on TV a few months ago. It was the first time I'd seen it in probably close to 30 years. Not as much tension as I remember, but that's true of most thrillers I saw as a kid.

It did remind me of how good Martin Sheen was at playing smarmy creeps.
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: wreckage3001 on October 12, 2010, 05:27:05 PM
I agree AndyC, they don't do such films today. Anyway this is Jodie Foster's best performance ever.

If you love TLGWLDTL like I do please visit rynnjacobs.blogspot.com, it's completely dedicated to the movie. Even if you're a big fan I bet that you might find many new and interesting details there...
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: wreckage3001 on October 12, 2010, 06:40:47 PM
Quote from: Allhallowsday on June 07, 2010, 06:41:19 PM
Quote from: voltron on June 03, 2010, 04:35:30 PM
Quote from: lester1/2jr on May 31, 2010, 05:54:45 PM
akira -spoiler alert   whatever however you do it-------   +++===


the ending was awesome. she was going to kill herself rather than be raped by the guy and instead he took her drink. the camera lingered on her for the entirety of the credits. i thought it was really effective ending

Funny, but I never really took the ending as Rynn was going to kill herself. I always thought she knew he would take her cup instead for some reason. Either way, I liked the ending, too.
She was not going to kill herself; she knew exactly what she was doing.  The point being she'd graduated from accidental homicide to actual murder. 
To tell the truth this theory is no more provable than the other. The crucial line is her whispered "I thought I did" when Hallet asked her if she knows to survive. For me this is at least a possible sign of resignation, not of an ice cold killer plan. What's really interesting are her next two questions, "What about Mario?" and "Will you tell your wife". I think she knows his answers already and is fully aware of the things to come. Rynn is a clever girl sure, but not a single scene of the movie tells us she's devilish or like Damien from The Omen, she's no way a killer. What is quite different to the novel. But maybe some movie tag lines or the bad marketing of TLG gave some people the idea of  Rynn as a very dark person and this way a planned poisoning seems to make sense. Remember how Rynn discovers all these new feelings in very short time...first love and the possible sudden death of it the same week. And think about Rynn as a victim of her abusive mother. No, this is not a girl that knows about sickos always switching cups. I don't believe this.
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: wreckage3001 on October 12, 2010, 06:48:43 PM
Quote from: BTM on April 19, 2010, 01:15:21 AM
Did you know?

According to what I've read, it actually started out as a stage play.  I thought that was kind of interesting.  Makes sense though, considering most of the film takes place in the same room.

Anyway, it was a good film, definitely worth a watch.  I do wonder though, about the mentality of some of the people involved with the production of it.  If you read the trivia section of the imdb, it doesn't sound like Foster had a good time of it.



Can't say I blame her.  And WTF, where did they get a dead hamster?? (shudders)

You can find more details about the Connie situation and what JF said about it on my site. rynnjacobs.blogspot.com
Title: Re: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Post by: BTM on October 13, 2010, 03:23:04 PM
Wpw, I must say, the sheer amount of detail as well as the information you go into on the film is pretty amazing (if a little obsessive.) 

A truly impressive work!