Haunted Honeymoon



Haunted Honeymoon is a 1986 American comedy horror film starring Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, Dom DeLuise, and Jonathan Pryce. Wilder also served as the film's writer and director. The film also marked Radner's final appearance prior to her death of ovarian cancer in 1989. The title Haunted Honeymoon was previously used for the 1940 U.S. release of Busman's Honeymoon based on the stage play by Dorothy L. Sayers.

In the film, Wilder and Radner play Larry Abbot and Vickie Pearle, two radio murder mystery presenters who decide to get married. Larry, plagued with on-air panic attacks, is treated with a form of shock therapy and subsequently chooses to marry Vickie in a castle-like mansion which had been his childhood home. Once there, they meet the eccentric members of Larry's family, including his great-aunt Kate (DeLuise) and his cousin Charles (Pryce).

Honeymoon was distributed by Orion Pictures through a deal with HBO. It was a box office bomb, receiving negative reviews, failing to gain much profit, and earning DeLuise's character of Great-Aunt Kate the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress.

Plot
Larry Abbot (Wilder) and Vickie Pearle (Radner) are performers on radio's "Manhattan Mystery Theater" who decide to get married. Larry has been plagued with on-air panic attacks and speech impediments since proposing marriage. Vickie thinks it is just pre-wedding jitters, but his affliction could get them both fired.

Larry's uncle, Dr. Paul Abbot, decides that Larry needs to be cured. Paul decides to treat him with a form of shock therapy to "scare him to death" in much the same way someone might try to startle someone out of hiccups.

Larry chooses a castle-like mansion in which he grew up as the site for their wedding. Vickie gets to meet Larry's eccentric family: great-aunt Kate (DeLuise in drag), who plans to leave all her money to Larry; his uncle, Francis; and Larry's cousins, Charles, Nora, Susan, and the cross-dressing Francis Jr. Also present are the butler Pfister and wife Rachel, the maid; Larry's old girlfriend Sylvia, who is now dating Charles; and Susan's magician husband, Montego the Magnificent.

Paul begins his "treatment" of Larry and lets others in on the plan. Unfortunately for all, something more sinister and unexpected is lurking at the Abbot Estates mansion. The pre-wedding party becomes a real-life version of Larry and Vickie's radio murder mysteries, werewolves and all.

Cast

 * Gene Wilder as Larry Abbot
 * Gilda Radner as Vickie Pearle
 * Dom DeLuise as Aunt Katherine "Kate" Abbot
 * Jonathan Pryce as Charles "Charlie" Abbot
 * Eve Ferret as Sylvia
 * Bryan Pringle as Pfister, the Butler
 * Peter Vaughan as Uncle Francis Abbot Sr.
 * Paul L. Smith as Dr. Paul Abbot, uncle
 * Jim Carter as Montego, the Magician
 * Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Cousin Francis Jr.
 * Ann Way as Rachel, Pfister's wife
 * Sally Osborne as Mrs. Abbot (Larry's mother)
 * Knebworth House as the castle

Production
The movie was one of 14 films financed by Orion Pictures through a deal with HBO.

The film was shot in London in September 1985. "Gene calls it a 'comedy chiller'," said Gilda Radner. "For me, this is a part very similar to my own life. I wear a wedding gown in 95% of the movie. Since I didn't wear a gown when Gene and I got married, I asked the 'Haunted Honeymoon' photographer to make me a wedding album!" Radner said.

Reception
The film received negative reviews. It holds a 25% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Dom DeLuise won the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress for his performance in drag.

Box office
The movie was a financial flop, grossing only $8,000,000 in America, entering the box office at number 8, then slipping to 14 the following week. While Gilda Radner was struggling with cancer, she wrote the following about the film: "On July 26 [1986], Haunted Honeymoon opened nationwide. It was a bomb. One month of publicity and the movie was only in the theaters for a week – a box-office disaster."