The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane

Promotional poster for US release
Directed by Nicolas Gessner
Produced by Zev Braun
Written by Laird Koenig
Starring Jodie Foster
Martin Sheen
Alexis Smith
Mort Shuman
Scott Jacoby
Music by Christian Gaubert
Cinematography René Verzier
Edited by Yves Langlois
Distributed by 1976 AIP -
USA, theatrical release
2005 MGM -
USA, DVD release
Release dates
 November 26, 1976 (Canada/USA)
December 25, 1976 (Sweden)
January 26, 1977 (France)
Running time
 100 min / 91 min (USA)
Language English (mono)
Budget CAD 1,100,000 (est.)

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane is a 1976 Canadian-French[1] film directed by Nicolas Gessner and starring Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen, Alexis Smith, Mort Shuman, and Scott Jacoby. It was written by Laird Koenig, based on Koenig's 1974 novel of the same title. The plot focuses on thirteen-year-old Rynn Jacobs (Foster), a mysterious child whose dark secrets concerning her absent poet father are prodded by various nosy villagers in a small town in Maine. The film, though predominantly a dramatic thriller, also blends elements of horror, mystery, and romance.

Plot

On Halloween in the seaside town of Wells Harbor, Maine, Rynn Jacobs (Jodie Foster) is celebrating her thirteenth birthday alone in her father Lester's house. Lester is a poet and they have recently moved from England. Frank Hallet (Martin Sheen), the adult son of landlady Cora Hallet (Alexis Smith), drops by and makes sexual advances toward Rynn.

Cora Hallet later arrives at the house, snooping about for Rynn's father. Rynn claims her father is in New York and taunts the landlady about her son. The situation becomes more tense when Mrs. Hallet insists on getting her jelly glasses from the cellar. Rynn steadfastly refuses to let her in the cellar, and finally, Hallet leaves. She returns later and takes the box of glasses, which Rynn has retrieved from the cellar beforehand. Rynn, however, has forgotten the rubber seals for the jars. Ignoring Rynn's warnings, Mrs. Hallet opens the trap door to the cellar and steps down to get the seals herself. Suddenly terrified by something she sees, Mrs. Hallet tries to flee but accidentally knocks down the cellar door support, causing the door to slam down on her head.

Trying to hide evidence of Mrs. Hallet's visit, Rynn goes outside to move her car. Her inability to start the car attracts the attention of Mario (Scott Jacoby), the nephew of Officer Miglioriti. He returns to help her move the car, and they have dinner together at Rynn's house. Miglioriti stops by to tell them that Frank Hallet has reported his mother missing, and asks to see Rynn's father, but Mario covers by saying that Rynn's father has gone to bed. Later that night, Frank Hallet makes a surprise visit. Suspicious and looking for answers about the whereabouts of his mother and Rynn's father, he tries to scare Rynn into talking by strangling her pet hamster. Mario chases Frank away, and Rynn now trusts him enough to show him her secret.

As Rynn relates, her terminally ill father and abusive mother divorced long ago. To protect Rynn from being returned to her mother's custody after his death, he moved them to an isolated area and made plans to allow Rynn to live alone, then committed suicide in the ocean so his body would not be found. He also left Rynn with a jar of powder, telling her that it was a sedative (while it is actually potassium cyanide) to give to her mother if she ever came for her. Rynn coolly recounts how she put the powder in her mother's tea and watched her die. She hid the body in the cellar, where it was discovered by Mrs. Hallet, leading to her own death when the trapdoor came down on her head.

The trust between Rynn and Mario blossoms into romance. They move the bodies out of the cellar and bury them by the side of the house. It starts to rain heavily, and Mario catches a terrible cold. Miglioriti, suspicious of Rynn's excuses for her father's absence, again returns to the house. When he asks to see her father, an older looking man comes down the stairs, who introduces himself as Lester Jacobs, and with his suspicions finally put to rest, Miglioriti takes his leave. It is then revealed that her father was actually Mario wearing a mask. They go upstairs, undress and get into bed together. The next day, Rynn learns that Mario's cold has developed into pneumonia and he is in the hospital. Rynn comes to see him, but he is unconscious, and she feels lonelier than ever before.

That night, as Rynn is going to bed, she is shocked to find Frank coming out of the cellar. Having put the pieces together and knowing the truth about Rynn's parents, he attempts to blackmail her by offering to protect her secrets in exchange for strongly implied sexual favors. Rynn, seemingly defeated and resigned to Frank's demands, agrees to his suggestion that they have a cup of tea. Rynn places a dose of the potassium cyanide into her own cup and then takes the tea and almond cookies to the living room. A suspicious Frank switches his cup with hers, and Rynn watches on as he begins to succumb to the poison.

Cast

Reception

The film received five Saturn Award nominations, winning two (by the American Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films) in 1978:[2]

Soundtrack

Soundtrack albums:

Adaptations

As a drama by Laird Koenig:

References

  1. ↑ From the film credits: “An official Canadian-French co-production between I.C.L. Industries Limited (Canada) and La Société Filmel (France) 1975 in association with Ypsilon Films SA.” 1976 Claremont Productions Ltd. As broadcast on Turner Classic Movies, November 20, 2010.
  2. ↑ "saturnawards.org". Retrieved 2007-06-08.
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