The Reincarnation of Peter Proud

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The Reincarnation of Peter Proud
Theatrical release poster.
Directed by	J. Lee Thompson
Produced by	Charles A. Pratt Frank P. Rosenberg
Written by	Max Ehrlich
Starring	Michael Sarrazin Margot Kidder Jennifer O'Neill Cornelia Sharpe
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography	Victor J. Kemper
Release date(s)	April 25, 1975 October 29, 1975 December 8, 1975
Running time	105 mins
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975) is an American motion picture released by Bing Crosby Productions, and Cinerama Productions Corporation. The film was of the supernatural suspense genre. It was directed by J. Lee Thompson, notable for directing Cape Fear (1962) and based upon a 1973 novel by Max Ehrlich. The film was later remade in India twice: the Hindi film Karz (1980) and the Tamil film Enakkul Oruvan (1984).^[1]

It starred Michael Sarrazin in the title role, and also featured rising stars Margot Kidder of Superman fame, 1970s movie star Jennifer O'Neill, known for Summer of '42, and Cornelia Sharpe, best known for acting alongside Al Pacino in Serpico.

1 Promotional Taglines
2 Movie Synopsis
3 Critical Reception
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Promotional Taglines

Suppose you know who you had been in your previous life. Where you had lived... whom you had loved and how you had died. What then?

NOW AN ELECTRIFYING MOTION PICTURE

[edit] Movie Synopsis

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Dr. Peter Proud (Michael Sarrazin) is a professor at a California college. He begins to have recurring dreams about a past life, in which he sees various people, places, cars, bridges and homes. One horrific dream is of a man killed by a woman in a rowboat while swimming naked. The man repeatedly cries, "Marcia don't!"

Haunted by these visions, Peter Proud seeks medical treatment for his "phantom" ailments, and goes to a "sleep lab" to try to decipher his dreams. These, though, are not registering as dreams; in fact, they are not registering at all.

One evening while watching television, several of his "visions" play out before him on a local documentary entitled "America Past & Present". He sees the arch and the church that have been dominating his dreams, and calls the television station to find out where this place is. Peter discovers that it is in Massachusetts, and he and his girlfriend Nora (Cornelia Sharpe) travel to the East Coast.

Once in Massachusetts, the couple drive from town to town, but are unsuccessful in finding out more until they arrive in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is here that Peter starts to see familiar sights from his dreams, such as the bridge, the church, the Puritan statue, and others. Continuing his search, he finally locates Marcia, the mystery woman from his nightmares (Margot Kidder), and befriends her daughter Ann (Jennifer O'Neill) at a local country club.

Marcia is suspicious of Peter, and ponders why he has come to see her, and how he knows so much about her life. Ann and Peter eventually fall in love, to Marcia's disapproval, as she starts to realise that Peter Proud is the reincarnation of her deceased husband. The film ends as Peter Proud is drawn to the lake where the original crime was committed years ago, and suffers the same fate as his predecessor.

[edit] Critical Reception

The Reincarnation of Peter Proud received a mixed response from critics upon its release. Steven Scheuer labelled the film as a "clunky yarn", (Scheuer, 1990: 869), while Mick Martin and Marsha Porter awarded the film their 'turkey' rating, and criticised it for its "turgid direction [and] contrived plot", (Martin and Porter, 1996: 887). Leslie Halliwell also panned the film as an "hysterical psychic melodrama which pretty well ruins its own chances by failing to explain its plot", (Halliwell, 2000: 675).

Other critics, though, were considerably more generous in their appraisal of the film. In comparison to other reviewers, Leonard Maltin said that the film was "moderately gripping", (Maltin, 1991: 1000). A.H. Weiler, like Halliwell, was unconvinced by the film's plot, but, unlike him, lauded it for its "polished [filmic] treatment", and J. Lee Thompson's "properly moody [directorial style]" (Weiler, 1975).