Olivia Hussey in Black Christmas (1974)

Black Christmas one sheet movie poster image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

Director Bob Clark and Warner Bros. brought the offbeat horror flick Black Christmas to American movie theaters in 1974. Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder play the terrorized sorority sisters, with John Saxon as the police detective.

Bob Clark Directs Black Christmas

Black Christmas was the brainchild of Canadian writer Roy Moore, who had acquired the idea for his creepy story – that of a man making bizarre phone calls to sorority houses – after reading about similar events which  had allegedly occurred in major cities around the world during a 12-month period. Moore’s script was originally titled The Babysitter, which morphed into Stop Me, then Silent Night, Evil Night and, ultimately, Black Christmas.

Bob Clark and Gerry Arbeid produced Black Christmas in cooperation with Canadian Film Development and Famous Players. Clark (Porky’s, A Christmas Story) also directed and added his input to Roy Moore’s oversexed screenplay.

Olivia Hussey and Keir Dullea Head Black Christmas Cast

Olivia Hussey (Jessica Bradford), Keir Dullea (Peter Smythe), Margot Kidder (Barb Coard) and John Saxon (Lt. Kenneth Fuller) head the cast. Other players include Marian Waldman (Mrs. MacHenry), Andrea Martin (Phyllis Carlson), James Edmond (Mr. Harrison), Doug McGrath (Sgt. Nash), Art Hindle (Chris Hayden), Lynne Griffin (Clare Harrison), Michael Rapport (Patrick Cornell) and Les Carlson (Bill Graham).

Edmond O’Brien was originally cast as Lt. Fuller, but failing health forced him to withdraw. O’Brien later died at age 69 of Alzheimer’s disease in 1985.

Black Christmas Filmed in Toronto

Budgeted at $620,000, Black Christmas was filmed from March to May 1974 in Toronto, Canada. The University of Toronto/Victoria College served as the principal location. Selected as the terrorized sorority was Hart House at 6 Belmont Street in Toronto. Better known today as simply the “Black Christmas House,” the old home has since been renovated, with every wall taken down and rebuilt and the outside white stucco removed and painted a different color. Also getting the axe was the home’s huge tree on the main lawn, which was cut down because it blocked the light into several rooms.

Black Christmas: Agnes, It’s Me, Billy…

Black Christmas opens at a sorority house, where a group of girls are gathered for a holiday party. Jessica, Barb and Phyllis, along with the other girls, begin receiving a series of obscene phone calls from an unknown caller they have dubbed “The Moaner.” In time, the unidentified stranger exhibits a more ghoulish bent, using a variety of different voices.

When shy sorority sister Clare turns up missing, the police are called in to investigate. The unfortunate Clare, however, has matriculated upstairs to the attic where she is wrapped in plastic and cooling her heels for good in a rocking chair. Mrs. MacHenry, the ex-vaudevillian house-mother, doesn’t fare much better, as she later encounters the psychotic killer who plants a crane hook in her face.

Although slow to react, Lt. Fuller and his boy scouts eventually trace the mysterious phone calls back to the sorority house. Jess, believing that the crazy perp is her boyfriend Peter, later whacks him over the head, killing the big lug. With Peter dead, the police now believe that the reign of terror is over.

“Agnes, it’s me, Billy,” the words are spoken. The telephone then rings, signaling that the real killer is still on the prowl – maybe. 

Black Christmas Opens in Canada

Black Christmas opened in Canada on October 11, 1974. It was later released in the United States on December 20, 1974, under the title Silent Night, Evil Night. The movie did poorly under that moniker, so the title was changed back to Black Christmas.

“Black Christmas, a bloody, senseless kill-for-kicks feature, exploits unnecessary violence in a university sorority house operated by an implausibly alcoholic ex-hoofer,” scoffed Variety.

“Black Christmas is the best chiller of the year, a creepy, murderous suspense film with an ending guaranteed to rattle what’s left of your sensibilities after the movie’s hour and 45-minute onslaught,” reported the Boston Evening Globe.

Film Analysis: Can You Hear Me Now?

Although successful in its day, Black Christmas has taken on an entirely new status in recent years – cult film extraordinaire. In fact, many consider the picture to be the prototype of the contemporary slasher movie, giving rise to such similarly “bent” fare as Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Scream (1996) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).

Black Christmas is a bloody riot to watch, with Albert J. Dunk’s camera mainly serving as the point-of-view for the killer. The obscene phone call bit seems quaint now, as today’s creeps would probably send an anonymous email or text message, or maybe use Triond’s forum. The less bright of the bunch might try to phone, but a lack of minutes would probably doom their cause.  

Black Christmas was remade by writer-director Glen Morgan in 2006. Released on Christmas Day (now that’s sick), Morgan’s version was much gorier than the original in disposing of its victims, which included an icicle through the skull, electrocution, beheading by a pair of ice skates, a candy cane through the neck and even impalement on a Christmas tree. Say what you want, but no one can accuse Morgan of not getting into the holiday spirit.

View Black Christmas at your own peril. Just don’t confuse either version with Irving Berlin’s White Christmas or Elvis Presley’s Blue Christmas. Bing Crosby isn’t here, and neither is Colonel Tom Parker.

Black Christmas Box Office, Trivia, DVD

• Black Christmas grossed $4.053 million at the American box office.
• Malcolm McDowell, Bette Davis and Gilda Radner all turned down roles in the original.
• Black Christmas was telecast over NBC-TV under the title Stranger in the House.
• On DVD: Black Christmas Special Edition with the interview feature The Twelve Days of Black Christmas (Somerville House, 2006).

“Sergeant Nash, I don’t think you could pick your nose without written instructions,” Lt. Fuller tells one of his cops.

And these guys are going to find the killer? Ho, ho, ho…