Return from Witch Mountain
Sinister forces from this world against two young space travellers from another.
1978 | 95m | English
Popularity: 1 (history)
| Director: | John Hough |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Malcolm Marmorstein |
| Staring: |
| 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. | |
| Release Date: | Mar 10, 1978 |
|---|---|
| Director: | John Hough |
| Writer: | Malcolm Marmorstein |
| Genres: | Family, Fantasy, Adventure, Science Fiction |
| Keywords | |
| Production Companies | Walt Disney Productions |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $6,393,000
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Christian Juttner | Dazzler |
| Brad Savage | Muscles |
| Poindexter Yothers | Crusher |
| Jeffrey Jacquet | Rocky |
| Stu Gilliam | Dolan |
| William Bassett | Operations Officer |
| Tom Scott | Monitor |
| Helene Winston | Dowager |
| Albert Able | Engineer |
| Denver Pyle | Uncle Bene |
| Brian Part | Goon #1 |
| Pierre Daniel | Goon #2 |
| Wally Brooks | Taxi Fare |
| Mel Gold | Security Guard |
| Bob Yothers | Cop |
| Casse Jaeger | School Patrolman |
| Larry Marmorstein | Guard #1 |
| Bob James | Gate Guard |
| Ruth Warshawsky | Lady in Car |
| Adam Anderson | Man in Museum |
| Rosemary Lord | Woman in Museum |
| Lloyd Nelson | Museum Guard |
| Ted Noose | Policeman |
| Wally K. Berns | Man in Car |
| Robert Board | Museum Patron (uncredited) |
| Bob Harks | Guard (uncredited) |
| Gary Owens | Newscaster (voice) (uncredited) |
| Murray Pollack | Scientist (uncredited) |
| Adam Roarke | Museum Guard (uncredited) |
| Bob Templeton | Museum Patron (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| John Hough | Director |
| Frank V. Phillips | Director of Photography |
| Jack Senter | Art Direction |
| Art Cruickshank | Special Effects |
| Malcolm Marmorstein | Screenplay |
| Bob Bring | Editor |
| Danny Lee | Special Effects |
| John B. Mansbridge | Art Direction |
| Eustace Lycett | Special Effects |
| Herb Taylor | Sound Supervisor |
| Lalo Schifrin | Original Music Composer |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Ron Miller | Producer |
| Jerome Courtland | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 14 | 20 | 10 |
| 2024 | 5 | 15 | 21 | 9 |
| 2024 | 6 | 12 | 22 | 8 |
| 2024 | 7 | 17 | 31 | 8 |
| 2024 | 8 | 12 | 23 | 8 |
| 2024 | 9 | 9 | 19 | 6 |
| 2024 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 5 |
| 2024 | 11 | 10 | 19 | 7 |
| 2024 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 6 |
| 2025 | 1 | 10 | 16 | 8 |
| 2025 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Trending Position
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.
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.