The Dark Secret of Harvest Home
- TV Mini Series
- 1978
- 5h
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
A young couple moves to a quiet New England village, only to soon find themselves mixed up in mysterious rituals.A young couple moves to a quiet New England village, only to soon find themselves mixed up in mysterious rituals.A young couple moves to a quiet New England village, only to soon find themselves mixed up in mysterious rituals.
- Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
- 2 nominations total
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn a 1977 Associated Press article, Bette Davis stated that Widow Fortune was "a part I've wanted ever since Tom Tryon wrote the book."
- Quotes
Worthy Pettinger: May God Damn the corn! And May God Damn the Mother!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021)
Featured review
"The Ways" of Cornwall Coombe
Stars like Bette Davis were not getting the big roles for the big screen that they were in the days of the big studio system so many like Davis turned to the small screen. One of her better choices was The Dark Secret Of Harvest Home where she actually went back to her New England roots to play the Matriarch in a special matriarchal society that has developed in an isolated corner of Connecticut.
David Ackroyd with wife Joanna Miles and daughter Rosanna Arquette think they've found this picturesque relic of a town where time seems to have stood still. Even the fact that they find a house in need of a bit of repair seems to be inviting them to stay. What they don't know is that the family is being auditioned by Davis known to one and all as the Widow Fortune who rules the roost there. In fact if this were a beehive Cornwell Coombe would have the men either as worker bees or worse drones.
The women acclimate quite quickly, but Ackroyd starts developing suspicions. Sad to say they prove to be right. These folks have their own kind of religion, Christianity with pagan fertility rites. There's one male among them who is the Prince of the Harvest and what perks come with John Calvin's office. But what a price he has to pay for them.
The kid who is scheduled to be Calvin's successor wants to commit the unpardonable heresy of leaving. Michael O'Keefe plays him and it's his story that makes Arquette start to question 'the ways'.
Bette Davis really was born to play the Widow Fortune, I cannot imagine another actress doing justice to the role. O'Keefe as the young man who thinks there just might be something more to this old world than a New England farming community that has some strange ways is very touching in his performance.
I'm not a big fan of these kind of horror novels and the films that come from them. But author Tom Tryon did a wonderful job in creating some real three dimensional characters, not just meat waiting to be slaughtered by some guy waving an ax.
The Dark Secret Of Harvest Home is more than horror film fans.
David Ackroyd with wife Joanna Miles and daughter Rosanna Arquette think they've found this picturesque relic of a town where time seems to have stood still. Even the fact that they find a house in need of a bit of repair seems to be inviting them to stay. What they don't know is that the family is being auditioned by Davis known to one and all as the Widow Fortune who rules the roost there. In fact if this were a beehive Cornwell Coombe would have the men either as worker bees or worse drones.
The women acclimate quite quickly, but Ackroyd starts developing suspicions. Sad to say they prove to be right. These folks have their own kind of religion, Christianity with pagan fertility rites. There's one male among them who is the Prince of the Harvest and what perks come with John Calvin's office. But what a price he has to pay for them.
The kid who is scheduled to be Calvin's successor wants to commit the unpardonable heresy of leaving. Michael O'Keefe plays him and it's his story that makes Arquette start to question 'the ways'.
Bette Davis really was born to play the Widow Fortune, I cannot imagine another actress doing justice to the role. O'Keefe as the young man who thinks there just might be something more to this old world than a New England farming community that has some strange ways is very touching in his performance.
I'm not a big fan of these kind of horror novels and the films that come from them. But author Tom Tryon did a wonderful job in creating some real three dimensional characters, not just meat waiting to be slaughtered by some guy waving an ax.
The Dark Secret Of Harvest Home is more than horror film fans.
helpful•104
- bkoganbing
- Feb 17, 2015
Details
- Runtime5 hours
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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By what name was The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (1978) officially released in India in English?
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