Cast a Deadly Spell
| Cast a Deadly Spell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre |
Comedy Fantasy Horror Mystery |
| Written by | Joseph Dougherty |
| Directed by | Martin Campbell |
| Starring |
Fred Ward Julianne Moore Clancy Brown David Warner Charles Hallahan Alexandra Powers |
| Music by | Curt Sobel |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Gale Anne Hurd Ginny Nugent (line producer) |
| Cinematography | Alexander Gruszynski[1] |
| Editor(s) | Dan Rae |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Production company(s) |
HBO Pacific Western |
| Distributor | HBO |
| Budget | $6,000,000 |
| Release | |
| Original network | HBO |
| Original release |
|
Cast a Deadly Spell (1991) is a neo-noir fantasy horror HBO film with Fred Ward, Julianne Moore, David Warner and Clancy Brown.[1] It was directed by Martin Campbell, produced by Gale Anne Hurd,[1] and written by Joseph Dougherty.[1] The original music score was composed by Curt Sobel.[1]
Plot
Ward stars as 1948 hardboiled private detective H. Philip Lovecraft, in a fictional universe where magic is real, monsters and mythical beasts stalk the back alleys, zombies are used as cheap labor, and everyone—except Lovecraft—uses magic every day. Yet, cars, telephones and other modern technology also exist in this world.
Sequel
HBO produced a sequel, Witch Hunt. Witch Hunt takes place in the 1950s during the red scare, in which magic is substituted for communism. Dennis Hopper played Lovecraft in place of Fred Ward. Additionally, many characters have different background stories than in Cast a Deadly Spell. For example, Lovecraft refuses to use magic in Cast a Deadly Spell on principle, and because of a bad experience in Witch Hunt.
Cast
- Fred Ward – Harry Philip Lovecraft
- Julianne Moore – Connie Stone
- David Warner – Amos Hackshaw
- Alexandra Powers – Olivia Hackshaw
- Clancy Brown – Harry Bordon
- Charles Hallahan - Detective Morris Bradbury
- Arnetia Walker - Hypolite Kropotkin
- Raymond O'Connor - Tugwell
- Peter Allas - Detective Otto Grimaldi
- Lee Tergesen - Larry Willis/Lilly Sirwar
- Michael Reid MacKay - Gargoyle
- Curt Sobel - Band Leader
Awards
- Saturn Award - Best Genre Television Series (Nomination)
- CableACE Award - Best Original Score (Nomination)
- Emmy Award - Outstanding Music & Lyrics (Won)
- Emmy Award - Outstanding Sound Editing (Nomination)
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 J. O'Connor, John (September 10, 1991). "Review/Television; A Detective and Sci-Fi In Los Angeles Magic". The New York Times.