The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
Because there is virtually no information on my favorite movie, and because it is out of print, I thought I would put this little section together to share a bit about it. Ever since I first saw this movie when I was 17, I have been crazy about it.
I have a couple of pictures I have collected from the Net, and a short summary. Based on the novel by Laird Koenig of the same name, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane is, without question, the most outstanding film I have ever seen. The acting, the plot, and the atmosphere are all wonderful. This movie is referred to as a dark comedy, but I could not disagree more. This movie does have a couple funny parts, but it is definately not a comedy. It is a suspense/thriller/horror movie. Very rarely do I encounter a person who has seen Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, let alone another who has chosen it as their favorite.
Pictures
The cover of The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. This cover is quite misleading, however. I could never imagine the protagonist, Rynn Jacobs (Jodie Foster), holding a teddy bear and wearing a dress like that. She is, in fact, an extremely mature thirteen-year-old girl.
This rare cover is much more accurate.
A promo poster.
Rynn Jacobs.
Rynn speaking to Officer Miglioriti (Mort Shuman) (not shown).
Rynn with one of the antagonists, Frank Hallet (Martin Sheen).
Another picture of Rynn with Hallet.
Summary
Taken from the inside jacket of the novel by Laird Koenig.
I have added a couple minor changes (such as Rynn's father's name) so the book description coincides with the movie exactly. The movie follows the book almost precisely, however the book does have some added details and scenes. Changes in the summary are bracketed.
Alone in the darkened house, with only fire's glow and thirteen flickering candles for illumination, silent except for the mounting chords of a [Chopin] concerto, Rynn was preparing a solemn celebration. Until a knock at the door shattered sanctuary.
Rynn is the little girl who lives in the house at the end of the lane with her father--or so she says. No one had seen the poet, [Lester] Jacobs, for a long time, and though the pungent aroma of [French cigarettes] filled the parlor with intimations of his presence, no one was certain he was there:
Not Mrs. Hallet, the real estate agent who'd rented the old house to the eminent English poet and his daughter and whose formidable manner, product of her impeccable Long Island lineage, brooked no betrayals, especially not from a thirteen-year-old...
Not her son, Frank, whose Halloween visit, intruding on Rynn's birthday rituals, had been more trick than treat and whose own insidious motives would soon lock them both in a perilous contest of will...
Not the local policeman who came to call and, lured by what he had seen, returned...
Not the shy young amateur magician who arrived [to help Rynn] and stayed to become confidant and co-conspirator...
Who was the little girl who lived in such strange seclusion at the end of the leaf-swept lane? Lonely innocent seeking shelter from a hostile world? Or a consummate liar? Each for his own reason, the Hallets were determined to find out. And it was then that the terrible secrets of the house at the end of the lane emerged.
