The 1951 short film "Return to Glennascaul" - now available to stream for free via the Irish Film Institute's IFI Archive Player - will get you in the mood for Halloween.
When Orson Welles offers a stranger with car trouble a lift, his passenger recalls a haunting event that spooks and intrigues the driver.
The film opens as Orson Welles interrupts his filming of "Othello" (in which he performed alongside his old friends Micheál Mac Liammóir and Hilton Edwards) to present a "short story from the haunted land of Ireland."
At a crossroads in the foothills of the Dublin mountains, Welles picks up a stranger who is having car trouble. The stranger tells of an encounter a year earlier at that very same spot with a young woman and her mother who signalled for him to stop. He offered to drive them home to their house, Glennascaul, and upon arrival, was invited in for a glass of whiskey.
After a pleasant visit, he left, but upon return later that night, he found the house deserted. The next day, he learns that his crossroads encounter had been a ghostly one.
"Return to Glennascaul" is part of the Irish Film Institute's Oscar® Collection: A Selection of Irish Academy Award® Nominated Short Films. It was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Short Subject in 1953.
IFI recommends an audience of 8 years old and older for "Return to Glennascaul."
The Irish Film Institute's Oscar® Collection
A great short film, like a great short story, conjures worlds with clarity and economy, bringing viewers on journeys that are brief but deeply engrossing. Since the 1950s, Irish filmmakers have mastered the short film form and secured international recognition with an impressive array of awards including many Academy Award® nominations and victories. Popularly known as the Oscars, the awards are the most famous and prestigious in the entertainment industry.
This collection brings together a selection of these award-winning films – ghostly tales and pitch-black comedies, illuminating documentaries, and exquisite animations – populated by an array of famous folks such as Seán O’Casey, Orson Welles, Fionnula Flanagan, and Brendan Gleeson. The films, directed and written by Irish men and women, date from 1951 to 2018.
The Oscar® Collection: A Selection of Irish Academy Award® Nominated Short Films is drawn from material preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.
This programme is supported by the Government of Ireland through the National BCP Network.
"Return to Glennascaul" is published here thanks to the Irish Film Institute (IFI), who IrishCentral has partnered up with to bring you a taste of what their remarkable collection entails. You can find all IrishCentral articles and videos from the IFI here.
To watch more historic Irish footage, visit the IFI Archive Player, the Irish Film Institute’s virtual viewing room that provides audiences around the globe free, instant access to Irish heritage preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. Irish Culture from the last century is reflected through documentaries, animation, adverts, amateur footage, feature films, and much more. You can also download the IFI Archive Player App for free on iPhone, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku.
IrishCentral has partnered up with the IFI to bring you a taste of what their remarkable collections entail. You can find all IrishCentral articles and videos from the IFI here.
