''The Ghosts of Buxley Hall'' is a 1980 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

produced by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, directed by Bruce Bilson and starring

Dick O'Neill Richard Francis O'Neill (August 29, 1928 – November 17, 1998) was an American stage, film and television character actor best known for playing Irish cops, fathers, judges and army generals. He began his acting career as an original company ...

Victor French Victor Edwin French (December 4, 1934 – June 15, 1989) was an American actor and director. He is remembered for roles on the television programs ''Gunsmoke'', ''Little House on the Prairie'', ''Highway to Heaven'', and ''Carter Country''. ...

Louise Latham Louise Latham (September 23, 1922 – February 12, 2018) was an American actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Bernice Edgar in Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 film ''Marnie''. Early years Latham came from Hamilton, Texas. She was from a fam ...

and

Monte Markham Monte Markham (born June 21, 1935) is an American actor. He has appeared in films, television series and on Broadway. Early life Markham was born in Manatee County, Florida, the son of Millie Content (née Willbur) and Jesse Edward Markham Sr., ...

. It was originally broadcast as a two-part episode of '' Disney's Wonderful World'' on December 21 and December 28, 1980. ''The Ghosts of Buxley Hall'' was filmed on location at

Banning House Banning House, also known as the General Phineas Banning Residence Museum, is a historic Greek Revival- Victorian home in the Wilmington section of Los Angeles, California. Built in 1863 by Phineas Banning near the original San Pedro Bay, it r ...

in the Wilmington section of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Synopsis

When the 100-year-old Buxley Military Academy falls on hard financial times and is forced to merge with a school for girls, the academy's resident ghosts – General Eulace C. Buxley, Bettina Buxley and Sergeant Major Chester B. Sweet – are aggrieved and aroused from their sleep to seek justice. Outraged by this disrespect of tradition, the spirits are further appalled by a modern world of equal rights for women and rock 'n' roll, as well as the dishonest designs a wealthy matron has for the school. The ghost trio declares war on the living who are involved in their own battle of the sexes.

Cast

as General Eulace C. Buxley *

as Sergeant Major Chester B. Sweet *

as Bettina Buxley *Rad Daly as Jeremy Ross *

as Colonel Joe Buxley *

Ruta Lee Ruta Lee (born Ruta Mary Kilmonis; May 30, 1935) is an American actress and dancer who appeared as one of the brides in the musical '' Seven Brides for Seven Brothers''. She had roles in films including Billy Wilder's crime drama '' Witness for ...

as Ernestine Di Gonzini *

Vito Scotti Vito Giusto Scozzari (January 26, 1918 – June 5, 1996), also known as Vito Scotti, was an American character actor who played both dramatic and comedy roles on Broadway, in films, and later on television, primarily from the late 1930s to the ...

as Count Sergio Luchesi Di Gonzini *

Don Porter Donald Cecil Porter (September 24, 1912 – February 11, 1997) was an American stage, film and television actor. On television, he played Peter Sands, the boss of Ann Sothern's character on ''Private Secretary'', and Russell Lawrence, the wi ...

as Judge Oliver Haynes * Steve Franken as Virgil Quinby *

Renne Jarrett Renne Gail Jarrett (born January 28, 1946) is an American actress. She appeared in TV dramas beginning as a child. Notable TV roles included the title role in the short-lived NBC comedy '' Nancy''. Jarret has made more than 100 commercials, and ...

as Emily Wakefield * Christian Juttner as Cadet Captain Hubert Fletcher *

Tricia Cast Patricia M. Cast (born November 16, 1966) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Nina Webster on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. Career Cast came to prominence on the television series ''The Bad Ne ...

as Posie Taylor *Guy Raymond as Ben Grissom *

John Myhers John Benjamin Myhers (December 18, 1921 – May 27, 1992) was an American stage and screen actor. His film roles included playing Mr. Bratt in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' (1967 ...

as E.L. Hart *Joe Tornatore as Vincent *

Stu Gilliam Stewart Byron "Stu" Gilliam (July 27, 1933
datalounge.com; accessed July 21, 2018. – October 11, 2 ...

as Lt. Jim Rodney *

John Ericson John Ericson (sometimes spelled Erickson; September 25, 1926 – May 3, 2020) was a German-American film and television actor known primarily for his co-star role with actress Anne Francis on the ABC television series ''Honey West'' in the 196 ...

as George Ross *

Tony Becker Tony Becker (born September 14, 1963 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor best known for his role as Private Daniel 'Danny' Purcell on the 1987-1990 CBS Vietnam War series ''Tour of Duty''. Career Becker's first television role was ...

as Todd *Karyn Harrison as Waitress *

Billy Jacoby William Jayne Jacoby (born April 10, 1969), known professionally as Billy Jayne and previously Billy Jacoby is an American actor. His siblings, Robert Jayne, Susan Jayne, Laura Jacoby, as well as his half-brother Scott Jacoby are also actors. ...

as David Williams

Production

On April 5, 1981, a little over four months after the December broadcast of ''The Ghosts of Buxley Hall'', director Bruce Bilson married one of the film's co-stars, Renne Jarrett.

Release

''The Ghosts of Buxley Hall'' was released on VHS by

Walt Disney Home Video Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...

in the 1980s. On September 18, 2012, it was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

as a ''Disney Movie Club Exclusive'', available only to club members for mail or online ordering.''The Ghosts of Buxley Hall'' DVD = Disney Movie Club Exclusives
retrieved June 1, 2015

Broadcast

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

presented ''The Ghosts of Buxley Hall'' on October 28, 2015 as part of its "Treasures From the Disney Vault" combined with a "Salute to Halloween". Shown before "The Ghosts of Buxley Hall" were ''

The Three Little Pigs "The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house t ...

'' (1933), ''

The Big Bad Wolf The Big Bad Wolf is a fictional wolf appearing in several cautionary tales that include some of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales.'' Versions of this character have appeared in numerous works, and it has become a generic archetype of a menacing predatory an ...

'' (1934), '' Three Little Wolves'' (1936), '' The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'' (1949), ''

The Old Mill ''The Old Mill'' is a 1937 ''Silly Symphonies'' cartoon produced by Walt Disney Productions, directed by Wilfred Jackson, scored by Leigh Harline, and released theatrically to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on November 5, 1937. The film depicts ...

'' (1937), "

The Plausible Impossible "The Plausible Impossible" is an episode of the ''Disneyland'' television program, originally broadcast on October 31, 1956. Walt Disney explains how drawings and animation make things that are impossible seem plausible, as evidenced in ancient hi ...

" (1956), ''

Escape to Witch Mountain ''Escape to Witch Mountain'' is a science fiction novel written by Alexander Key in 1968. It was adapted for film by Disney as '' Escape to Witch Mountain'' in 1975 which spawned the ''Witch Mountain'' franchise. The novel was illustrated by ...

'' (1975), ''

Lonesome Ghosts ''Lonesome Ghosts'' is a 1937 Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney animated cartoon, released through RKO Radio Pictures on December 24, 1937, three days after ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (19 ...

'' (1937), '' Frankenweenie'' (1984) and ''

Mr. Boogedy ''Mr. Boogedy'' is a 1986 family short film directed by Oz Scott and written by Michael Janover. It was developed as a television pilot and aired as an episode of The Disney Sunday Movie. A sequel named ''Bride of Boogedy'' aired in 1987. The fil ...

'' (1986). Following "The Ghosts of Buxley Hall", the Disney-Halloween salute concluded with ''

Return from Witch Mountain ''Return from Witch Mountain'' is a 1978 American science fiction–adventure film and a sequel to '' Escape to Witch Mountain'' (1975) and the second film in the ''Witch Mountain'' franchise. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was w ...

'' (1978).

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghosts of Buxley Hall 1980 television films 1980 films 1980s fantasy comedy films American fantasy comedy films NBC network original films Films directed by Bruce Bilson Films scored by Frank De Vol Ghosts in television Fictional ghosts Walt Disney anthology television series episodes Disney television films 1980s American films