Ghost Story (1981)

Ghost Story is a 1981 horror film starring Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Melvyn Douglas (all in their final film) and John Houseman. The film was directed by John Irvin and is based on the 1979 novel of the same name by Peter Straub. The film co-stars Alice Krig, Craig Wasson and Michael O’Neill (in his debut film).

Plot
In 1979, four men named Ricky Hawthorne (Astaire), John Jaffey (Douglas), Edward Charles Wanderley (Fairbanks) and Sears James (Houseman) are members of a men’s club called the Chowder Society who live in a New England village called Milburn, New York who tell ghost stories every week. Later, the four men begin to realize that scary things are happening and that the stories that were told are true.

Reception
The film currently holds a 35% on Rotten Tomatoes, but doesn’t hold a critic consensus as of right now. Film critic Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a positive review and stated in his review that the film was an improvement of the novel. Ebert also praised the performances as well.