The Other (1972)

lester1/2jr · September 20, 2007, 08:20:03 AM

The Waltons meets "The Omen"!! I should just leave it at that. This is one of those movies that freaks me out not because of the story itself so much as the approach of the director. He combines an excrutiatingly wholesome rural Americana type setting, complete with a barn, an extended family, and fresh produce, and adds several ghastly murders. It is a jarring combination.

It is a little too long , some of the stuff between the kid and the grandmother could have been cut I think and in general it's kind of hard to recomend beause the writing is so utterly conventional and bland a la...the Waltons. Really, the 70's were sort of the last vestiges of the old morality and corny entertainment of the 20th century. Ironically, it was really the conservative 80's that ended it because the self indulgence and vaudevillian elements were reinvigorated with a pragmatic dose of sex, violence, and modernity. Top Gun vs Leave it to Beaver.

If you are in the mood for something different and kinda WTF definately check it out.

Gerry · September 20, 2007, 11:27:40 AM

This has one of the most truly horrifying revelations of all time IMO, when they find what was inside the winecask.

Jim H · September 20, 2007, 01:39:20 PM

I thought this was a very creep and well-made film. It is a little too long though. Still, some great performances, a creepy kid, and some effectively awful but non-gory deaths.

***MILD SPOILER***

I think the final twist is weak. It annoyed me more than anything

***END***

Raffine · September 20, 2007, 02:21:46 PM

I remember being very frightened by this one as a kid. I seriously need to revisit it soon.

FUN FACT!
It's based on the novel The Other by actor-turned-author Tom Tryon. Tryon is probably best know around here as the groom/alien in I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE. After The Other Tryon wrote the neo-pagan novel Harvest Home, which was made into the TV mini-series THE DARK SECRET OF HARVEST HOME starring Bette Davis.

VogNhymn · September 20, 2007, 02:43:56 PM

I dig this film. I forgot much of it though. I may have to break this and Dark Secret of Harvest Home out this weekend.

lester1/2jr · September 20, 2007, 03:46:19 PM

gerry- that was seriously messed up. jack Tripper was rightly shocked and inconsolable

Allhallowsday · September 20, 2007, 10:07:28 PM

lester1/2jr, it sounds to me like you did not get THE OTHER. I would say it's the inverse for 70s cinema versus 80s cinema that being the 70s was all the "... SEX, VIOLENCE AND MODERNITY..." and the 80s "...self indulgence and vaudevillian elements..." Y'know back to the old school and to hell with the lessons learned in the late 60s early 70s era with films like: BONNIE & CLYDE, THEY SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY? PATTON, MEAN STREETS, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, DEATH WISH, TAXI DRIVER, THE GODFATHER, NETWORK real stories with unhappy resolutions... and how can we make even bigger bux? The 80s begins with an accident in 1977 called STAR WARS, followed by CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, E.T., TERMINATOR, INDIANA JONES, POLTERGEIST, GREMLINS, and the return of old Hollywood entertainment and musical scores, with big-budget flix with dandy special effects !!

I guess by "Jack Tripper" you mean JOHN RITTER.

THE OTHER is not "The Waltons," though it may perhaps look a bit like them to you (same era being depicted in the same era, I getcha I betcha if you will.) But THE OTHER is a terribly tragic, twisted and sad story, aside from being a Horror tale. "Leave It To Beaver" was off the air long before THE OTHER was made (last official showing was of "The Photo Album" in early September 1963, two months before JFK was killed in Dallas and the world changed forever.)

Raffine,
Thank you! Some of us are acquainted with Tom Tryon's work, and I think both of his popular and very interesting horror novels were made into worthy films, one for TV as you mentioned!

Shadow · September 20, 2007, 11:19:29 PM

I remember reading Harvest Home when I was 12 years old. So much of that book still haunts my memory.

lester1/2jr · September 21, 2007, 08:26:20 AM

allhallowsday - well my point was that it was IRONIC that the 80's signified the end of, say , variety shows when the whole thrust of the 80's was a return to the old ways. I maintain that it really wasn't. yes, the people in "Wall Street" and "less than Zero" had short hair, but they were coming out of the Ramones and Madonna, not The Ronettes. In short, I don't believe the 80's were retro at all.

I thnk your grasp of film is as off as your grasp of history. that you nitpick stuff about john ritters real name and the correct run of "leave it to Beaver" shows you have completely missd the point, probably a common conundrum for your good self.

Allhallowsday · September 21, 2007, 05:10:52 PM

Quote from: lester1/2jr on September 21, 2007, 08:26:20 AM
allhallowsday - well my point was that it was IRONIC that the 80's signified the end of, say , variety shows when the whole thrust of the 80's was a return to the old ways. I maintain that it really wasn't. yes, the people in "Wall Street" and "less than Zero" had short hair, but they were coming out of the Ramones and Madonna, not The Ronettes. In short, I don't believe the 80's were retro at all.

I thnk your grasp of film is as off as your grasp of history. that you nitpick stuff about john ritters real name and the correct run of "leave it to Beaver" shows you have completely missd the point, probably a common conundrum for your good self.

"...short hair... but they were coming out of the Ramones..." ??

You're right, I don't getcha, but you sure don't get me. But, don't get your hackles up, I'm commenting upon your observations which I don't agree with. Perhaps I misconstrued you. Nitpicking is not clarification nor the statement of facts, fun as they may be to some.

I think "Jack Tripper's" real life widow would appreciate that good actor's name being pointed out. Not everyone looked at Three's Company.

(And it's worth noting since you also mentioned The Waltons that JOHN RITTER had a recurring part on that show as Reverend Fordwick...

) And Leave it to Beaver certainly is not relevant, but... you brought it up (and I see no corollary to THE OTHER). The swipe directed at me at the end of your comments is inappropriate. A forum board exchange is not personal, so please do not make it such. Live some history before you judge others perception of it.

PEACE my friend.

lester1/2jr · September 21, 2007, 06:01:04 PM

you seriously were offended that I referred to him as jack Tripper?

Allhallowsday · September 21, 2007, 08:51:05 PM

Quote from: lester1/2jr on September 21, 2007, 06:01:04 PM
you seriously were offended that I referred to him as jack Tripper?

No.
But your insult directed at me was not lost on me. The smoke in here is so thick, I won't be visiting your threads anymore.

VogNhymn · September 22, 2007, 03:29:20 AM

Quote from: Shadow on September 20, 2007, 11:19:29 PM
I remember reading Harvest Home when I was 12 years old. So much of that book still haunts my memory.

I found this book and purchased it at a local used book store. I lent it to my sister and still haven't got it back. :(

lester1/2jr · September 22, 2007, 08:07:01 AM

QuoteRamones and Madonna, not The Ronettes.

allhallowsday- my point is the 80's were post hippy era , rather than pre hippy era. elements of it were superficially " retro" but in fact it was modern because the advances of the hippy era in realism and even hedonism were incorporated in to it.

Jim H · September 23, 2007, 12:17:13 PM

Quote from: lester1/2jr on September 22, 2007, 08:07:01 AM
QuoteRamones and Madonna, not The Ronettes.

allhallowsday- my point is the 80's were post hippy era , rather than pre hippy era. elements of it were superficially " retro" but in fact it was modern because the advances of the hippy era in realism and even hedonism were incorporated in to it.

I don't think it can be possibly be argued that the 80s really were a return to the old times in any serious way. I think you're preaching to the choir with that.