46 Fun Facts About Black Christmas Movie

Black Christmas (1974) was produced and directed by which filmmaker, who later made A Christmas Story?

Bob Clark produced and directed Black Christmas in 1974 and went on to make Porky's and A Christmas Story in the early 1980s.

In which Canadian city was Black Christmas filmed?

Black Christmas was shot in Toronto in early 1974; the sorority house was a real home on Clarendon Crescent that the director found while location scouting.

What was the working title of Roy Moore's screenplay?

Roy Moore's script was titled 'Stop Me'; the director renamed it Black Christmas, liking the irony of something dark happening at a festive time.

Which urban legend inspired the film?

The film draws on 'the babysitter and the man upstairs', the legend in which threatening calls turn out to be coming from inside the house, which Black Christmas reveals in its climax.

What nickname have the sorority sisters given the obscene caller?

The sisters call him 'the Moaner' for his obscene, moaning calls; the caller raves about someone named Billy and later echoes an argument Jess had with her boyfriend.

Which actress plays the final girl, Jess Bradford?

Olivia Hussey plays Jess Bradford, the sorority sister who fields the obscene calls and is the only resident of the house to survive the film.

The film's star signed on after a psychic told her what?

A psychic told her she would make a lucrative picture in Canada, which is what persuaded the Argentine-born star to accept a low-budget Canadian horror film in 1974.

Which future Lois Lane plays the boozy sorority sister Barb?

Margot Kidder plays the hard-drinking Barb; she went on to play Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve in the four Superman films from 1978 to 1987.

With what object is Barb murdered in her bed?

Barb is stabbed with a glass unicorn figurine from her bedside while carollers at the front door drown out the sound of the attack.

How is Clare, the first victim, killed?

Clare is suffocated with a plastic dry-cleaning bag in a closet; Lynne Griffin said being a strong swimmer helped her hold her breath and stare without blinking for the shot.

Where does the killer leave Clare's body?

The killer props Clare's body in a rocking chair in the attic, where it sits by the window with the bag over her head; the police never find it, even at the end.

Which Second City performer replaced Gilda Radner as Phyllis a month before shooting?

Martin returned as the housemother in the 2006 remake, the only original cast member to do so.

Which Hollywood legend turned down the role of housemother Mrs. Mac?

Bette Davis turned down Mrs. Mac, and the role of the tippling housemother went to Marian Waldman.

Keir Dullea was cast in the film on the strength of his role in which movie?

Keir Dullea was cast as Jess's boyfriend on the strength of 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which he had played astronaut Dave Bowman; he shot all his scenes in about a week.

John Saxon replaced which ill actor as Lieutenant Fuller at two days' notice?

Edmond O'Brien had been cast as Lieutenant Fuller but was too ill to continue; John Saxon flew in to replace him and later played another horror cop, Nancy's father in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

How did actor Nick Mancuso make his voice sound more demented while recording the killer's phone calls?

Nick Mancuso stood on his head while recording so that the blood rushing to his head made the killer's voice more demented; the director also contributed voices to the calls.

How did composer Carl Zittrer create the film's eerie score?

He then slowed the recordings down on tape to distort them further.

How were the killer's point-of-view shots of him climbing the house achieved?

Camera operator Bert Dunk climbed the trellis with a rig strapped to his head, producing the killer's-eye view that became a slasher staple.

Under what alternate title did Warner Bros. first release the film in the United States?

Warner Bros. released it in the US as Silent Night, Evil Night, fearing 'Black Christmas' would make audiences expect a blaxploitation film; it later reverted to the original title.

Under what title was the film scheduled for its 1978 NBC television premiere?

NBC retitled it Stranger in the House for its January 1978 network premiere; some affiliates pulled the broadcast after the real sorority-house murders in Florida that month.

The 1978 TV premiere was disrupted because of murders at a Florida State sorority house committed by whom?

Ted Bundy killed two Chi Omega sisters at Florida State University on 15 January 1978, two weeks before NBC's broadcast, so some affiliates pulled the film.

Which carol do the children sing at the front door while Barb is being killed?

A children's choir sings 'O Come, All Ye Faithful' at the front door while Barb is stabbed upstairs, the carol masking her screams in the film's most famous cross-cut.

Whom does Jess kill with a fire poker, believing him to be the murderer?

Jess beats Peter, her boyfriend, to death with a fire poker in the basement after he breaks in through a window, convinced he is the killer; the police assume the case is closed.

Which 1978 film grew out of John Carpenter hearing a Black Christmas sequel pitch?

Halloween grew from the director's description of a sequel in which the killer is released and returns home on Halloween night; Carpenter took the idea and made his own film.

Which comedian told the film's star he had seen Black Christmas 27 times?

Steve Martin told her he had seen Black Christmas 27 times, calling it a favourite; she had assumed he was praising a different film of hers.

Roughly what was the 1974 film's production budget?

The budget was about $686,000, part of it put up by the Canadian Film Development Corporation, and the film went on to gross several million dollars.

Who plays Sergeant Nash, the dim-witted desk officer at the police station?

Doug McGrath plays Sergeant Nash, the desk officer Barb fools into writing down a bogus 'Fellatio' telephone exchange.

On which date did the 2006 remake open in US cinemas, angering religious groups?

The remake opened on Christmas Day 2006, a date Dimension chose after Wolf Creek's success on Christmas Day 2005; church groups called a slasher on the holiday offensive.

Who wrote and directed the 2006 remake?

Glen Morgan, the X-Files and Final Destination writer, wrote and directed the 2006 remake, with his longtime partner James Wong among the producers.

In the 2006 remake, why is Billy Lenz's skin yellow?

Billy Lenz was born with severe jaundice from a liver condition, leaving his skin yellow and his mother repulsed; he later kills her and bakes cookies from her flesh.

Who is revealed as the second killer in the 2006 film?

Agnes, Billy's sister (and daughter, born of his mother's abuse), is the second killer; both names come from the phone calls in the 1974 original.

How does Billy die at the end of the 2006 remake?

Kelli shoves Billy over a hospital stairwell railing and he falls onto the Christmas tree below, impaled on its top; she then finishes off his accomplice with a defibrillator.

Which actress plays Billy's mother, Constance, in the 2006 remake?

Karin Konoval plays Constance, the mother who locks young Billy in the attic; the flashbacks show her abuse driving him to kill her.

How much did the 2006 remake gross worldwide, against a $9M budget?

It made more on home video than in cinemas.

Which studio produced the 2019 remake?

Blumhouse Productions produced the 2019 remake for Universal, part of its run of low-budget horror that includes Get Out and Happy Death Day.

Who directed the 2019 Black Christmas?

Sophia Takal directed and co-wrote the 2019 remake with April Wolfe, reworking the story around campus sexual assault.

Which actress plays Riley Stone, the lead in the 2019 film?

Imogen Poots plays Riley Stone, a survivor of campus assault who leads the sorority's fight back; critics who disliked the film nonetheless praised her performance.

In the 2019 film, the killings are linked to a bust of college founder Calvin Hawthorne that oozes what?

The bust of founder Calvin Hawthorne oozes a black liquid that the fraternity brothers use in rituals, turning them into the hooded killers; Professor Gelson is in on the cult.

Unlike the two earlier films, what MPAA rating did the 2019 remake receive?

The 2019 film was rated PG-13, a choice its director made to reach younger women; the 1974 and 2006 films had both been rated R.

Which 1968 role had made the actress playing Jess internationally famous?

She played Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 Romeo and Juliet at fifteen, a role that made her world-famous six years before Black Christmas.

Which university's campus stood in for the 2019 film's Hawthorne College?

The University of Otago's campus in Dunedin doubled for Hawthorne College, with filming in and around Dunedin in June and July 2019.

Which remake had the 2006 film's director made just before being hired for Black Christmas?

Willard, his 2003 remake of the 1971 rat horror starring Crispin Glover, flopped, but Dimension Films hired him anyway to write and direct Black Christmas.

In which city was the 2006 remake shot?

The 2006 remake was shot in Vancouver, the British Columbia city that doubles for countless American settings; the director later said he clashed with the Weinsteins over its tone and ending.

What is the name of the sorority in the 2006 remake, housed in Billy Lenz's former home?

The 2006 sorority is Delta Alpha Kappa, whose house is the former Lenz family home where Billy was locked in the attic as a child.

What does Jess tell her boyfriend she plans to do, to his fury?

Jess tells her boyfriend she is pregnant and intends to have an abortion, a decision later critics cited as giving the 1974 film a feminist edge.

Which two 2019 films opened against the Black Christmas remake in the US?

Jumanji: The Next Level and Richard Jewell both opened on the same December 2019 weekend, and Black Christmas finished far behind Jumanji with an opening of roughly $4 million.