“The Legacy” – Bonkers’ 70s shocker led to a sweet Hollywood story

Richard Marquand's “The Legacy” (1979) begins sweetly, with a loving couple (future couple Sam Elliott and Katherine Ross) and a gentle ballad that disguises how truly crazy the film gets.

A gruff Elliott (post-Frogs and still many years away from being one of our most enduring and consistently great screen actors) and the lovable Ross (post-The Graduate) play Pete and Maggie. It follows a couple from Los Angeles who fly to England and are immediately involved in a car accident that occurs while traveling cross-country on their motorcycle to a job.

While everyone involved escapes unscathed, Pete and Maggie find themselves whisked away by an eclectic group of celebrities and find themselves looked after by a wealthy family in the sprawling Ravenhurst mansion.

Of course, Pete and Maggie accept the offer of a temporary stay.

The mansion features a spectacular swimming pool, huge living rooms and a strange secret in the hallway. There is someone in a hospital bed, behind plastic curtains, who sounds very old and is frequently visited by the residents.

Who is he and why is everyone in love with him?

Marquand's film comes after Tom Tryon's 1973 novel “Harvest Home” and, coincidentally, Robin Hardy's cult classic “The Wicker Man,” both of which came out the same year and feature very similar plot structures and plot twists.

“The Legacy” is pulpier than both, although it shares a thematic kinship with them (yes, I'm doing my best not to spoil the plot), as are “Rosemary's Baby” (1968) and Ross' own “The Stepford” . Wives” (1975). The Legacy came at a time of reworking of the American gothic scene in popular culture, with the long-running vampire soap opera Dark Shadows (1966-1971) and Burnt Offerings (1976) being prime examples.

I guess you could say that Marquand's film, while the smallest in comparison to the above works, is still an entertaining sleeper horror film, as much of a page-turner in cinema as John Coyne's ubiquitous best-selling novel adaptation (which was actually in circulation) . in pop culture longer than the film adaptation).

For years during my childhood, the eerie book cover of The Legacy (which featured a white cat head with a monster hand, like the movie poster) was on every airport book rack.

Even before Pete and Maggie leave for Europe, Marquand's film features stylishly designed sets. Notice how much greenery radiates from her apartment. As soon as the shot changes, we see that amazing swimming pool and the eerie, transparent plastic shields that are literally keeping the film's best secret a secret.

Elliot and Ross were made before their wedding in 1984 and there is great chemistry here. It helps that we care about this couple, no matter how wild and ridiculous the story may be.

Young Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross on the set of The Legacy (1978) – the film in which they met and fell in love.

They are still together after 46 years. pic.twitter.com/Tc6EKhW0Ha

— Michael Warburton (@TheMonologist) August 2, 2024

The violence and shocks come when you least expect it, like a post-coital shower that turns the hot water into a weapon (yes, it gets that silly). Showering, going swimming, looking in the mirror – no one is really safe in this film.

I love how The Legacy shows so much restraint at first and then scares us by going crazy when we least expect it.

It's often a scary film, with even the cats in the mansion being photographed in the most spooky ways. While The Legacy gets sillier as it progresses, it's never boring and has some standout sequences. Like in a classic Hammer horror film, the blood resembles a thick layer of paint and is applied generously.

Katharine Ross and Sam Elliott met on the set of The Legacy in 1978, married in 1984 and have been together ever since. #HollywoodCouples pic.twitter.com/9ttJ5QZvQp

– Carolyn S (@SamesVegasss) September 9, 2021

A second-act escape sequence goes on too long and introduces an inevitable plot twist, but the finale is just as wild as the buildup. “The Legacy” gets especially funny (intentionally, I think) when Elliot is in manic “let’s get out of here” mode. Meanwhile, Ross maintains her gentle, non-goofy curiosity about everything that happens to them.

Other supporting cast houseguests include a feisty fellow played by Roger Daltrey (yes, The Roger Daltrey!) and Charles Gray, who has been immortalized in cinema since his role as the criminologist/narrator in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975).

If you've seen “Midsommar” (2019) or “The Wicker Man” (both versions), you're one step ahead of the story (or at least more than the naive main characters), but the film still holds some real ones in its view Surprises.

Marquand's film looks like a classic Dan Curtis thriller (either Dark Shadows or Burnt Offerings) and has the mischievous heart of a Friday the 13th vehicle. I have a weakness for any film in which the hero tries to fight his way out of trouble with a crossbow (!).

You can see why Elliot and Ross make such a good couple and are still married as of this writing. Funny that it took this movie to bring them together.

As for Marquand, “The Legacy” was his directorial debut and was only appreciated as a schlocky drive-in attraction upon its initial release, but that's not a bad thing for Marquand. His film is considered a find for horror fans and he later found great success when he made a small film called Return of the Jedi (1983).