Escape to Witch Mountain
Two mysterious orphan children have extraordinary powers and are chased by a scheming millionaire. But where do these kids really call home?
- Director: John Hough
- Genre:Adventure / Family / Fantasy / Sci-Fi
- Runtime:98 minutes
Cast
Eddie Albert : Jason O’Day
Ray Milland : Aristotle Bolt
Donald Pleasence: Lucas Deranian
Kim Richards : Tia Malone
Ike Eisenmann : Tony Malone
The movie centers upon the brother and sister pair Tony and Tia, who initially know only their deceased adoptive parents’ surname, Malone. The children are placed in an orphanage, where they face difficulties stemming from their strange psychic powers; Tony can telekinetically move objects with the aid of his harmonica, while Tia can communicate telepathically to Tony, commune with animals, experiences premonitions, and can also use minor telekinetic powers. She carries a “star case” with her at all times, which the children find contains a strange map.
Tia has fragmented memories of her early childhood, including an accident at sea and a man she later remembers as the children’s Uncle Bené (pronounced Ben-ay), whom they believe drowned during their rescue.
During a field trip to see a movie, Tia experiences a premonition and is able to warn wealthy attorney Lucas Deranian against a potentially dangerous accident. Deranian informs his employer, millionaire Aristotle Bolt, of the children’s powers. Bolt, obsessed with the paranormal, demands that Deranian retrieve the children at all costs. Deranian’s detective work leads him to the orphanage, where he poses as Tia and Tony’s uncle, though not under the name Bené, and takes them to Bolt’s mansion.
Though initially suspicious of Bolt’s motives, Tia and Tony are lured in by the wealthy trappings of Bolt’s home. Bolt eventually reveals that he has been monitoring the children via a closed-circuit television system and that he and Deranian are fully aware of their powers. The night of this revelation, Tia and Tony make an escape, making use of their powers to control a wild mustang, guard dogs, and the security fence.
Bolt sends Deranian and a thug, Ubermann, after the children. Tia and Tony hide out in a Winnebago owned by a crotchety widower named Jason O’Day. Initially negative towards the children, Jason gradually begins to recognize their powers and the truth of their story; Tia’s vague memories of a disaster at sea intrigue him. He agrees to take the children on the route indicated by Tia’s star case, which leads them to a mountain known as Witch Mountain, home to unexplainable phenomena. Avoiding Bolt, the law and an incited mob convinced the children are witches, they eventually make their way up Witch Mountain, pursued by Deranian and Ubermann as well as Bolt in a helicopter. Read more
