Happy Birthday to Me
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| Happy Birthday to Me | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Poster |
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| Directed by | J. Lee Thompson |
| Produced by | John Dunning Stewart Harding Andre Link |
| Written by | John Beaird Timothy Bond Peter Jobin John Saxton |
| Starring | Melissa Sue Anderson Glenn Ford Tracy Bregman Jack Blum Matt Craven |
| Music by | Bo Harwood Lance Rubin |
| Cinematography | Miklos Lente |
| Editing by | Debra Karen |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1981 |
| Running time | 111 min. |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Happy Birthday to Me is a 1980 Canadian slasher film directed by J. Lee Thompson and written by John C.W. Saxton. It was released May 15th, 1981.
Contents |
[edit] Plot Summary
After losing her memory in a freak car accident involving a drawbridge, Virginia returns to her school and becomes part of an exclusive clique. Days before her 18th birthday, a grueling set of murders take place and her friends are the ones who are falling prey.
One by one they go, and Ginny feels she is somehow responsible for their deaths. This is only worsened when she begins experiencing strange blackouts and visions of which she cannot explain. Is Ginny losing her mind, or is she only beginning to realize the truth?
[edit] Selected Cast
- Melissa Sue Anderson - Virginia “Ginny” Wainwright
- Glenn Ford - Dr. David Faraday
- Lawrence Dane - Harold “Hal” Wainwright
- Sharon Acker - Estelle Wainwright
- Frances Hyland - Mrs. Patterson
- Tracey E. Bregman - Ann Thomerson
- Jack Blum - Alfred Morris
- Matt Craven - Steve Maxwells,at tim
- Lenore Zann - Maggie
- David Eisner - Rudi
- Lisa Langlois - Amelia
- Stephanie Miller - Hospital Nurse
[edit] Soundtrack
The film's score varies from copy to copy. Some video releases contain the original theatrical score, whereas others contain a newer, completely different score and ending theme. The original score was written and composed by Bo Harwood and Lance Rubin, respectively.
The film's ending theme, "Happy Birthday To Me" was sung by Syreeta Wright, (credited as simply Syreeta in the ending credits) and written by Lance Rubin (music) and Molly-Ann Leikin (lyrics). Subsequent releases (primarily the recent DVD copies) feature a disco track in place of this theme.
There was no official soundtrack release, however fan-made copies exist over the internet.
[edit] Goofs
- After the 'game' of flying over the drawbridge in cars, Ginny runs away into the forest with just her scarf. In the forest she has her scarf and handbag.
- When the investigator pulls up to the house to inform the Doc and Ginny about the discovery of Ann's empty car, as he gets out the car and the camera shot is from the back of the car, you can see a crew-members face reflected in the small rear-view mirror.
- When the last car flies over the drawbridge, its flies right into the ground and the front gets smashed, one headlight breaks and the front left tire flies off. When Ginny runs out of the car after they stop, the tire is back, the headlight is fixed and the front of the car seems totally intact.
- When Ginny arrives at the inn, as she sits down, she holds her brown handbag in her hand, but in the next shot as she sits, the handbag is on her shoulder.
[edit] Production info
- UK cinema and 1986 RCA/Columbia video releases were culled from a longer print with slightly gorier footage of the weight-lift and shish kebab death scenes, plus the original music score. The 2004 DVD release is the edited R-rated version with the alternate music.
- The press reported that in order to keep the "twist" ending a secret several endings were shot. This is untrue but helped hide the fact that while shooting, the film had no ending. The script was written with one ending that made sense to the story, but did not have a twist. So producers proceeded to film while tinkering with a twist. This explains why there is no build up.
