Return from Witch Mountain

"Sinister forces from this world against two young space travellers from another."

1978 1h 35m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 246

AdventureFantasyScience FictionFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Tony and Tia are other-worldly twins endowed with telekinesis. When their Uncle Bene drops them off in Los Angeles for an earthbound vacation, a display of their supernatural skill catches the eye of the nefarious Dr. Gannon and his partner in crime, Letha, who see rich possibilities in harnessing the children's gifts. They kidnap Tony, and Tia gives chase only to find Gannon is using her brother's powers against her.

“Sinister forces from this world against two young space travellers from another.”

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Cast

Bette Davis
Letha Wedge
Christopher Lee
Victor Gannon
Kim Richards
Tia
Ike Eisenmann
Tony
Jack Soo
Mr. "Yo-Yo" Yokomoto
Anthony James
Sickle
Richard Bakalyan
Eddie
Ward Costello
Mr. Clearcole

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Hough
Writers: Malcolm Marmorstein
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

48 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Witch Mountain Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Hough, shot by Frank V. Phillips. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bob Bring shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bette Davis and Christopher Lee and Kim Richards carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Sinister forces from this world against two young space travellers from another.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0078158 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Hough directs. Frank V. Phillips behind the camera. Lalo Schifrin scores. Bob Bring cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

148 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "Witch Mountain Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by John Hough, shot by Frank V. Phillips. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Bob Bring shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Bette Davis and Christopher Lee and Kim Richards carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Sinister forces from this world against two young space travellers from another.".
8IMDB entry: tt0078158 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Frank V. Phillips
Original score: Lalo Schifrin
Editing: Bob Bring
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $6,393,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: Return from Witch Mountain (1978)

Part of

Witch Mountain Collection

Escape to Witch Mountain is a 1975 film based on the novel Escape to Witch Mountain by Alexander Key. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and directed by John Hough. Return from Witch Mountain is a 1978 sequel. A made-for-television sequel called Beyond Witch Mountain was made in 1982. The series then had a reboot legacy sequel called Race to Witch Mountain made in 2009.

Also by

John Hough

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Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2020-08-23
★ 6/10
After an intriguing first film, <em>'Return from Witch Mountain'</em> is annoyingly a sequel that chooses a lazy, formulaic evil villain storyline. Don't get me wrong, what you get isn't anything majorly negative but it does very little to boost the production it precedes. The 1975 film ends with a revelation of something more, to the point you'd expect them to build upon it here. Sadly they don't, as we get a very bland bad guy. Christopher Lee is notably in this, but unfortunately for him plays the aforementioned antagonist - Dr. Victor Gannon. He is joined by Bette Davis (Letha), who is equally forgettable. Kim Richards (Tia) and Ike Eisenmann (Tony) return to play the two kids, while there are decent minor roles for Jack Soo (Yokomoto) and Richard Bakalyan (Eddie). Disappointing that they didn't continue the idea left by <em>'Escape to Witch Mountain'</em>. As such, it was always going to come out weaker.
CinemaSerf2023-06-04
★ 6/10
Much as with Ray Milland & Donald Pleasence in the first of these; this sequel is much more about the baddies - in this case a wonderfully venal Bette Davis "Letha" and Christopher Lee as the bonkers scientist "Victor": Lee must be twice the height of his diminutive co-star! Our pair of kids get to go to Los Angeles for a visit. On their way into town, they become separated - "Tony" (Ike Eisenmann) rescues a man he thinks has jumped off a building only to find that it is "Sickle", Davis' nephew and Lee's mind-control experiment guinea pig. They drug and kidnap Tony and carry out some fun capers in her search for loot... Meantime, "Tia" (Kim Richards) has rescued the "Earthquake Gang" from their own kiddie equivalent of "West Side Story" and they all set out to find her lost brother. The adult performances are all good fun, the story has a few twists and turns; goats and extortion, and there are some basic, enjoyable, special effects deployed throughout this rather, comically, predictable fantasy. This is a good follow up, an enjoyable family feature.