Lady in White

For the 1938 film directed by Mario Mattoli, see The Lady in White.

Lady in White
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Frank LaLoggia
Produced by	Frank LaLoggia Andrew G. La Marca
Written by	Frank LaLoggia
Starring	Lukas Haas Len Cariou Alex Rocco Katherine Helmond
Music by	Frank LaLoggia
Cinematography	Russell Carpenter
Edited by	Steve Mann
Distributed by	New Century Vista Film Company
Release dates	April 22, 1988
Running time	Theatrical cut 112 min. Extended cut 117 min.
Country	United States
Language	English Italian
Budget	$4.7 million
Box office	$1,705,139

Lady in White is a 1988 American family horror film of the ghost/mystery genre. Much of the film was made in Wayne County, New York, taking advantage of the appropriate local area. The movie is based on a version of the The Lady in White legend, concerning a woman who supposedly searches for her daughter in Durand-Eastman Park in Rochester, NY.

The film was directed, produced, and written by Frank LaLoggia, a native of Rochester. Starring Lukas Haas, Len Cariou, Alex Rocco, and Katherine Helmond.

Plot

In a flashback, horror author Franklin "Frankie" Scarlatti tells a story on the way to his hometown, Willowpoint Falls. On Halloween 1962, Frankie (Lukas Haas)—then 9 years old—is tricked by school jokesters Donald (Jared Rushton) and Louie (Gregory Levinson) and ends up locked in the school's cloakroom after the last school bell has rung. Trapped well after dark, he witnesses the ghostly scene of a brutal attack of a red-haired little girl. Suddenly, he is attacked and strangled by a dark figure. Losing consciousness, he again sees the girl, and she mysteriously asks for his help to find her mother. Without warning, Frankie is revived by his father Angelo (Alex Rocco) and rushed to the hospital. The police arrest the janitor, Harold "Willy" Williams (Henry Harris), believing him to be the attacker.

As Frankie recovers at home, Frankie's brother Geno (Jason Presson) brings him a newspaper article about the attack, and he learns it was linked to the deaths of eleven other children, all apparently at the hands of a child serial killer. The name of the girl he met is also revealed to be Melissa Ann Montgomery (Joelle Jacobi), the very first victim. She begins to haunt Frankie, and the two form a tenuous friendship. Striving to help her, he returns to the cloakroom to investigate. Remembering that his attacker began unscrewing the grating over the air vent prior to the attack, he removes the cover to discover several dust-laden objects, including a few toys, a hair clip, and a high school class ring. Frankie pockets the hair clip and ring, then leaves. Later, Frankie overhears the chief of police talking to his father, who reveals the case against the janitor is crumbling, and that the cloakroom is also the scene of Melissa's murder. After considering this new information, Frankie confides in Phil (Len Cariou), a family friend, that the class ring likely belongs to the killer and that he thinks the killer returned to the cloakroom to retrieve it as the air system was due to be replaced soon. Unbeknownst to Frankie, the ring, which had accidentally fallen out of his pocket earlier, has been found by Geno and hidden away again.

Later, Donald and Louie convince Frankie to go out with them to the nearby cliffs. They visit a cliff side cottage, and Frankie realizes this is where Melissa lived. Entering a bedroom, Frankie learns it was Melissa's old room. So he takes the hair clip (which he has been carrying with him all this time) and replaces it alongside its twin on Melissa's dresser. Minutes later, the boys encounter a ghostly lady dressed in white. They all take off running and Frankie collides into Geno within the surrounding forest. Frankie tries to explain the link between Melissa, the attacker and the lady in white, but is unsuccessful.

One evening, Melissa appears to both Geno and Frankie. The town clock begins to chime and Frankie realizes that her nightly death re-enactment is about to commence. They follow her ghost to the school then wait until her lifeless body reappears, which is then carried by an invisible figure out of the school and onto the cliffs. At the last minute, she awakes and begins screaming as she is thrown over the cliffs. A pale, woman dressed in white then comes out of the cottage. Upon seeing Melissa's lifeless body on the rocks below, she commits suicide by falling off the cliff to her death. The ghostly scene ends and the brothers head home. Finally, Frankie understands the source of Melissa's anguish. He vows to help her bring her killer to justice.

Willy finally has his hearing, but a grand jury fails to indict him due to insufficient evidence. Outside the courthouse, the distraught mother of one the murdered children apologizes for believing he did it, only to then fatally shoot him. Geno begins to research the class ring he found. Using one of his father's old yearbooks and class ring, he realizes that his father and the killer are in the same class. Angelo's yearbook reveals that the initials on the ring, "MPT", belong to Michael P. Terragrossa. Geno quickly deduces that the "P" stands for Phillip—as in their family friend Phil—and he rushes to tell his father. Frankie happens to be with Phil at that same time, and Frankie realizes Phil is the killer after he begins whistling "Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?", Melissa's song. Phil realizes that Frankie has deduced his secret and attacks him, but Frankie escapes and runs to the cliffs. Phil catches him and confesses to the murders, saying if he had known it was Frankie in the Halloween costume, he would not have attacked him, just before he starts to strangle Frankie again. Suddenly, Phil is struck from behind and they both collapse to the ground.

Regaining consciousness, Frankie finds himself in Melissa's old cottage, in her bedroom, illuminated with burning candles. Laying in her bed, he hears the piano being played by Amanda Harper (Katherine Helmond). Frankie learns that she was the one who saved him from Phil, and that she was the lady in white Frankie earlier saw when he was with Donald and Louie. Amanda reveals that she is Melissa's aunt and has been living in the cottage since the deaths of her sister and niece. She also confesses that she attempted suicide, but was unsuccessful. Without warning, Phil attacks and kills Amanda, setting the building ablaze in the process.

Pulling Frankie from the burning cottage, Phil attempts to throw him over the cliff. However, Frankie drops safely to the ground when the ghostly lady in white (Melissa's mother) suddenly appears and frightens Phil, causing him to tumble over the cliff's edge. Melissa emerges from the burning cottage and the two ghosts happily reunite, ascending into the sky in a cascade of light. As Frankie crawls away from the ledge, Phil grabs his ankle. Angelo, Geno, and the police arrive and save Frankie. Angelo also tries to save Phil, but overcome with shame, Phil lets go and falls to his death, despite Angelo's pleas. Everyone watches the cottage burn to the ground as the snow begins to fall.

Cast

• Lukas Haas as Franklin J. "Frankie" Scarlatti
• Len Cariou as Michael Phillip "Phil" Terragrossa
• Alex Rocco as Angelo J. Scarlatti
• Katherine Helmond as Amanda Harper
• Jason Presson as Geno Scarlatti
• Renata Vanni as Mama Assunta
• Angelo Bertolini as Papa Charlie
• Joelle Jacobi as Melissa Anne Montgomery
• Jared Rushton as Donald
• Gregory Levinson as Louie
• Karen Powell as Anne Montgomery (Melissa's mother/"Lady in White")

Release

The film had a budget of 4.7 million and only grossed around 1.7 million.

Critical reception

The film has had a mostly positive critical response focusing on the stylish small town vibe and suspense without gore. Writing in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert stated: "Lady in White, like most good films, depends more on style and tone than it does on story, and after awhile [sic] it's the whole insidious atmosphere of the film that begins to envelop us." New York Times critic Caryn James mostly praised the film, but pointed out that: "the heavy-handed subplot about 60's racism loads the film with more social weight than it can carry. And most damaging, we guess who the murderer is very near the film's beginning." Lady in White maintains a 67% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Awards and nominations

Lukas Haas and Katherine Helmond were both nominated for a Saturn Award in 1990, Haas was also nominated for and won a Young Artist Award. The film itself received nominations for a Young Artist Award and a Fantasporto.

Home media

The film was first introduced to the home video market on VHS by Virgin Visi and later by Anchor Bay on October 15, 1993. Elite Entertainment released a Director's Cut with an extended 4 minutes on March 25, 1998. It was reissued on DVD by MGM on September 20, 2005 and featured 36 minutes worth of deleted footage and commentary from director Frank LaLoggia.

See also

• List of ghost films

External links

• Lady in White at IMDb
• Lady in White at the TCM Movie Database
• Lady in White at AllMovie
• Lady in White at Box Office Mojo
• LA Weekly, May 20, 1988: Interview with Frank LaLoggia on the making of Lady in White