Year: 1980
Language: English
Format: 35mm Colour
Runtime: 107 min
Director: Peter Medak
Producer: Joel Michaels, Garth Drabinsky
Executive Producer: Mario Kassar, Andrew Vajna
Writer: William Gray, Diana Maddox, Russell Hunter
Cinematographer: John Coquillon
Editor: Lilla Pederson, Lou Lombardo
Sound: Austin Grimaldi, Karl Scherer, James Pilcher, Joe Grimaldi, Dino Pigat
Music: Rick Wilkins
Cast: George Scott, Trish Devere, Melvyn Douglas, Jean Marsh, John Colicos, Barry Morse

After losing his wife and daughter in an automobile accident, distinguished composer John Russell (George C. Scott) can’t come to terms with his grief; he is also having visions of his nine-year-old daughter playing in the house. Russell relocates to Seattle after accepting a university teaching position and moves into a grand mansion, where he begins to experience supernatural phenomena.

With the help of his real estate agent, Claire (Trish Van Devere), John digs into the history of the house; he discovers it to be haunted by the spirit of a child whose murder was covered up by a changeling (Melvyn Douglas), who grew up to inherit a fortune and become a powerful industrialist and senator. The tormented spirit uses John to quell its thirst for revenge.

A haunted house tale that successfully blends the horror and mystery genres, The Changeling received mixed reviews upon its release but went on to perform extremely well in the United States. It remains one of the highest-grossing and most popular Canadian features ever made and was an uncommon success, both artistically and financially, during the height of the tax-shelter era. A cut above most other films of the period, The Changeling is well crafted (John Coquillon’s cinematography and Trevor Williams’s production design are both superb and won well-deserved Genie Awards) and makes good use of its American stars, although it did contribute to the tax-shelter trend of setting Canadian-made films (it was shot in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C.) in U.S. locales.

An effective example of its genre, The Changeling was also an important milestone in the career of producer Garth Drabinsky; he received, with Joel B. Michaels, his second award in three years for Best Motion Picture (his first was a Canadian Film Award for The Silent Partner, 1978). The Changeling won a total of nine Genie Awards, including Adapted Screenplay (William Gray, Diana Maddox) and a sweep of the Best Foreign Actor/Actress prizes by real-life husband and wife George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere. The film also won the Golden Reel Award for highest box-office receipts.