Lady In White-My Favorite Halloween Movie

This is not just my most favorite Halloween movie of all time, but in my top three of favorite movies of all time.   I particularly love the fact that the timeline is 1962 when I was just two years older than Frankie Scarlatti the main character.   In the very beginning of the movie, Frank Laloggia the writer, producer, and director of the movie very nostalgically reproduced a very heartwarming 1960s location with breathtaking fall foliage. I believe all the "Baby Boomers" who watch this movie will be thrilled to see the classroom of the school and the cloak room.  These scenes reminded me of the classrooms of my own  Alpha Public School during the 1960s. 

Another of my favorite features of this movie is that Frank Laloggia created an extended family for Frankie Scarlatti, and I grew up in an extended family.  His wonderfully interactive Italian family dynamic brought back warm memories of our neighbors in our little town of Alpha, NJ in the 1960s.  Frankie and his family live in a farm house which so awakened memories of my Great Aunt Ree and Uncle Bill's home on True Blue Farm in the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania during the 1960s. 

This movie was a great inspiration to me while writing My Ominous Adventures At True Blue Farm.   When I finished my first rough draft I had emailed it to Frank Laloggia and he wrote back with great words of encouragement, with the advice to expand on the storyline.  I took his advice and the rest is history.

The story touches on several 1960s social subjects, including, the ugly head of racism in small town middle America.   The music of the movie is very moving, and I totally love the way Frank Laloggia incorporated the Bing Crosby song, Did You Ever Seen A Dream Walking into the storyline.


There is a scene in the movie during a grade school Christmas party when the class is doing the limbo.  This scene brought back a fond memory of my late brother Buddy doing the limbo in our parent's luncheonette. 

This is a  Halloween movie that can be shared as a family. In fact I have done so every year since I first rented this movie from the former L.V. Video store in Alpha, NJ in the 1980s.  Lady In White is one of the three movies I watch over, and over again without ever growing tired of them.  Meet Me In St. Louis, and the Wizard Of Oz are the other two. 

Be sure to save Lady In White into your queue for rental on Netflix as a DVD to be sent to your home if you have that membership.  It is also available on Amazon.com.
To learn more about the movie:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_in_White