Bite Sized Morsels of Horror!

Dr. Sam Loomis

Feeling pressure to cast a big name in a film of mostly then unknowns actors, John Carpenter first approached Peter Cushing, who had appeared as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars (1977).  Cushing’s agent rejected Carpenter’s offer due to the low salary being offered. The films budget was only $300,000 and half of that went on buying the Panavision cameras so the film would have a 2.35:1 scope. With Cushing out, Carpenter then reached out to Christopher Lee, who also turned down the role, although the actor would later tell Carpenter that declining the role was the biggest mistake he made during his career.

Halloween - Dr. Sam Loomis - Horror Land - Terror Bites

Donald Pleasence eventually accepted and confessed to Carpenter that he had taken the role because his daughter Lucy, a guitarist, had enjoyed Assault on Precinct 13 for the films score. 

Halloween - Dr. Sam Loomis - Horror Land - Terror Bites

Terror Bytes
  • Pleasence was paid $20,000 for five days work.
  • The total duration of his scenes is just over 18 minutes.
  • Donald Pleasence refused to shoot a scene where Loomis calls his wife on the phone. He thought the character shouldn’t have a family or a past.
  • Donald Pleasence played Loomis for 5 films. Malcolm McDowell stepped in for the reboots. 
  • Sam Loomis is also the name of Marion Crane’s secret lover in Psycho.
  • Dr. Sam Loomis’ revolver is a Smith & Wesson model 15 combat masterpiece .38.
  • Dr. Sam Loomis’ automobile is a 1977 BMW 320i [E21].
  • Dr. Sam Loomis’ had a much darker ending in the original Halloween 6 conclusion, which can now be found in the restored “Producers Cut”. 

“I’ve tended to play Loomis with a light touch—not totally comedic, but in a manner that fit with these films’ attention to suspense and tension. To play Loomis totally heavy… seems to be at odds with the way the character was set up. But I have no problem taking their money and dancing their dance, as long as I can twist their dance away from them. I’m doing that on this film, right now. They just haven’t realized it yet.”

–Donald Pleasence

 

Ref:  IMDB, wikipedia, Fangoria

Halloween - The Shape

Halloween - The Shape

Halloween - The Shape

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