''Return from Witch Mountain'' is a 1978 American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

–

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

and a sequel to '' Escape to Witch Mountain'' (1975) and the second film in the ''Witch Mountain'' franchise. It was produced by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

. It was written by Malcolm Marmorstein and is based on characters created by Alexander Key, who also wrote the novelization of the film for Disney.

Ike Eisenmann Ike Eisenmann (born July 21, 1962) is a former American actor, producer, and sound effects specialist who has been active in the entertainment industry since childhood. Early life and education Eisenmann was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Rut ...

Kim Richards Kim Erica Richards (born September 19, 1964) is an American actress, socialite, and television personality. She began her career as a child actress, and rose to prominence from her roles in '' Nanny and the Professor'', '' Escape to Witch Mount ...

, and

Denver Pyle Denver Dell Pyle (May 11, 1920 – December 25, 1997) was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling Jr. in s ...

reprise their roles as Tony, Tia, and Uncle Bené—

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and '' -oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20 ...

extraterrestrials Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...

with special powers including

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

and

telekinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

. The two main villains are played by

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...

as Letha Wedge, a greedy woman using the last of her money to finance the scientific experiments of Dr. Victor Gannon, played by

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultim ...

. It was the final film of actor

Jack Soo Jack Soo (born Goro Suzuki, October 28, 1917 – January 11, 1979) was an American singer and actor. He was best known for his role as Detective Nick Yemana on the television sitcom ''Barney Miller''. Early life Soo was born Goro Suzuki on a s ...

, who died of cancer in January 1979. In September 1978, the film was re-released to theaters on a

double bill The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

with ''Escape to Witch Mountain''. A

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

called '' Beyond Witch Mountain'' was made in 1982.

Plot

Tony and his sister Tia are in need of a vacation. Uncle Bené drops them off in their

flying saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has ...

at the

Rose Bowl Stadium The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium located in Pasadena, California. Opened in October 1922, the stadium is recognized as a National Historic Landmark and a California Historic Civil Engineering landmark. At a modern capacity of an all ...

in Los Angeles, California, after which the siblings quickly become separated from each other. A man named Dr. Victor Gannon (Lee) and his assistant Letha Wedge (Davis) happen to see Tony using his powers to save Letha's nephew Sickle from certain death. Realizing that Tony has supernatural powers, Dr. Gannon drugs the boy with a tranquilizer shot and takes him back to their laboratory. There, Dr. Gannon successfully tests a new mind-control technology on him. Under its influence, Tony is completely hypnotized and does everything that his kidnappers want him to do, including stealing gold from a museum exhibit and stopping Tia from finding them. With Tony at his robotic bidding, Dr. Gannon hopes to achieve recognition within the scientific community and worldwide power, while Letha merely wants a return on her investment. A group of would-be tough boys whom Tia comes across, called the Earthquake Gang, are being chased by the Golden Goons, in which Tia then telepathically gets rid of them. The gang of boys accept her into their gang and help her look for her brother. They let her sleep in their secret hideout, where she often gets many visions of where her brother is; first at the gold museum where Tony is controlled by a chip attached to his ear. He unstacks the gold but is followed by Mr. Yokomoto, the

truant Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will (though sometimes adults or parents will allow and/or ignore it) and usually does not ref ...

officer who thinks Tony should go to school, and chases the doctor, aunt, nephew, and Tony in his minibus unsuccessfully. As a result, Mr. Yokomoto destroyed public property and ends up losing his job. Using her telepathy to find Tony, Tia discovers his captors' hideout but is caught by Sickle using

chloroform Chloroform, or trichloromethane, is an organic compound with formula C H Cl3 and a common organic solvent. It is a colorless, strong-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to PTFE. It is also a precursor to various ...

and is placed in an anaesthesia chamber by Gannon. Unable to move, Tia telepathically asks Alfred the goat to find the Earthquake Gang. They chase the goat back to the hideout and free Tia as Tony, Letha, Sickle, and Victor drive to a plant to steal plutonium. Tia traces their location and describes it to be a "big round ball." One of the members assume the location to be another place, and Tia is upset. They come across Mr. Yokomoto, who tells them that he lost his job and the only thing that works is the radio. The news given about the plutonium plant stresses on the word "molecular flow." Tia then asks Mr. Yokomoto to drive them to the location after she magically repairs the minibus. After Victor and his gang reach the site, he shuts down the plant's cooling system. In exchange for turning it on, he requires 5 million dollars in cash. The people working at the plant make arrangements for the money as soon as possible, but Tia reaches the site in time, where she and Tony battle to turn on the cooling system. Tia manages to turn it on, but Victor commands Tony to kill his sister. In this course of time, she understands how he is being controlled and destroys the device. Tia explains what had happened to him, in which Tony makes Victor, Sickle and Letha go up to the ceiling with no way of getting down. Mr. Yokomoto drives the kids to the Rose Bowl Stadium and the Earthquake Gang come along to say bye. Tony and Tia bid farewell to the kids after they board the flying saucer and go back to Witch Mountain.

Cast

as Letha Wedge *

as Dr. Victor Gannon *

as Tia Malone *

as Tony Malone *

as Mr. "Yo-Yo" Yokomoto * Anthony James as Sickle * Richard Bakalyan as Eddie *

Ward Costello Edward "Ward" Costello (July 5, 1919 - June 4, 2009) was an American actor, composer and lyricist. Costello was born in Boston. When he was young, he left home to go to sea, after which he was an itinerant worker on farms and ranches before h ...

as Mr. Clearcole *

Christian Juttner Christian Juttner (born May 20, 1964) is a former American film and television actor. He began his career as a child actor and is best known for his roles in the 1978 films '' Return from Witch Mountain'' and ''I Wanna Hold Your Hand''. Life ...

as Dazzler *

Brad Savage Brad Savage (born December 9, 1965) is an American actor and singer best known for his role as Danny in the 1984 movie ''Red Dawn'', for which he received a nomination for the Young Artist Award in the category "Best Young Supporting Actor in a ...

as Muscles * Poindexter Yothers as Crusher *

Jeffrey Jacquet Jeffrey Michael Jacquet (born October 15, 1966) is a former American actor perhaps best known for his television roles as Eugene in the first season of the ABC sitcom ''Mork & Mindy'' and as Jeremy Saldino on the CBS science-fiction adventure ...

as Rocky *

Stu Gilliam Stewart Byron "Stu" Gilliam (July 27, 1933
datalounge.com; accessed July 21, 2018. – October 11, 2 ...

as Dolan * William Bassett as Operations officer * Tom Scott as Monitor * Helene Winston as Dowager * Albert Able as Engineer *

as Uncle Bené *

Brian Part Brian Part (born March 24, 1962 in Los Angeles, California) is an American child actor best known for his role of the adopted son of Mr. Edwards ( Victor French) on television's ''Little House on the Prairie''. He now writes and performs music wit ...

, Pierre Daniel as Goons * Wally Brooks as Taxi fare * Mel Gold as Security guard * Bob Yothers as Cop * Casse Jaeger as School patrolman * Larry Mamorstein as Guard * Bob James as Gate guard * Ruth Warshawsky as Lady in car * Adam Anderson as Man in museum * Rosemary Lord as Woman in museum * Ted Noose as Policeman * Wally Berns as Man in car Actors Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann appear in at least four films together—this one, the original 1975 Disney film ''Escape to Witch Mountain'', and the television film '' Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell''. Richards portrays the roadside waitress and Eisenmann portrays the Sheriff in a re-imagined remake of the original film '' Race to Witch Mountain'', released in March 2009.

(Mr. "Yo-Yo" Yokomoto) was diagnosed with

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voi ...

in the autumn of 1978, several months after the film's release. ''Return from Witch Mountain'' would be his final movie appearance, as he died the following January. The emergency voice heard over Yokomoto's minibus radio—announcing the problem at the

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exh ...

plant—is that of

Gary Owens Gary Owens (born Gary Bernard Altman; May 10, 1934 – February 12, 2015) was an American radio announcer, personality, disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offered deadpan recitations of total nonsense, wh ...

Filming locations

Filming started on April 11, 1977. The otherwise vacant lot, upon which the children's dilapidated mansion hideout stands, was at the Alameda Street railroad yard in California, where the Rochester House (a relic from the 1880s) was waiting for restoration and relocation. The house was never restored and was ultimately demolished in 1979. Scenes of Dr. Victor Gannon's mansion, the location of his laboratory, were filmed at Moby Castle on Durand Drive, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. The tunnel scenes were filmed at the

Fillmore and Western Railway The Fillmore and Western Railway was a heritage railway which operated on track owned by the Ventura County Transportation Commission. Visitors to Fillmore would see filming activity as well as sets and support equipment at the company's rai ...

Fillmore, California Fillmore is a small city in Ventura County, California, United States, in the Santa Clara River Valley. In an agricultural area with rich, fertile soil, Fillmore has a historic downtown that was established when the Southern Pacific built th ...

constructing a faux tunnel structure. The faux tunnel still stands and can be seen from CA-126/Telegraph Road. The gold bar robbery sequence was filmed at the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park, Los Angeles. The building facing the park's Rose Garden was used for exterior shots of the museum. The scene in which Yokomoto's minibus is overturned and breaks a fire hydrant was filmed near the Sunset Boulevard bridge and Glendale Boulevard underpass intersection, in the

Echo Park Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known f ...

district.

Novelization

Alexander Key wrote a novelization of ''Return from Witch Mountain'', based on Malcolm Marmorstein's screenplay; the book was released by Westminster Press in 1978 to coincide with the film's theatrical release.

Home video

''Return from Witch Mountain'' was released on VHS in April 1986. It was first released as a Special Edition DVD in Region 1 on September 2, 2003, re-released on DVD in a two-movie collection along with '' Escape to Witch Mountain'' on September 5, 2006, and re-released as part of the ''Walt Disney Family Classics'' line on March 10, 2009. On October 13, 2015, ''Return from Witch Mountain'' was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

as a Disney Movie Club exclusive title.

Notes

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Return From Witch Mountain 1978 films 1970s fantasy adventure films 1970s mystery films 1970s science fiction adventure films American mystery films Mad scientist films Walt Disney Pictures films American children's adventure films American children's fantasy films American fantasy adventure films American science fiction adventure films American sequel films Films based on science fiction novels Films directed by John Hough Films produced by Ron W. Miller Films scored by Lalo Schifrin Films set in Los Angeles Witch Mountain films Films about telekinesis Witch Mountain (franchise) 1970s English-language films 1970s American films