When Nick and Jan move into their new apartment in San Francisco, the batty landlady upstairs tells them about a girl who used to live there in the 20's: a brash young party girl named Maxie, who died in a car crash the morning before her big audition for a Hollywood studio. The trouble is, Maxie, or rather her ghost, hasn't left the house. Worse, she can take over Jan's body. And the only way she's going to leave is if she gets that audition.
Acting
Glenn Close's dual performance — demure Jan vs. flapper firecracker.
Costume
Maxie's 1920s wardrobe transformation is pure silent-film star glamour.
Writing
Ruth Gordon's scene-stealing landlady quips.
Director
Paul Aaron
Glenn Close
Jan / Maxie
Mandy Patinkin
Nick
Ruth Gordon
Mrs. Lavin
Barnard Hughes
Bishop Campbell
Valerie Curtin
Miss Sheffer
Googy Gress
Father Jerome
Michael Ensign
Cleopatra Director
Michael Laskin
Commercial Director
Lou Cutell
Art Isenberg
Nelson Welch
Bartender
Leeza Gibbons
E.T. Reporter
Evan White
Channel 4 Announcer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Glenn Close filmed her 'Maxie' scenes first, then gained weight to play dowdier Jan — the reverse of usual Hollywood pressure.
This was Ruth Gordon's final theatrical film; she died months after release, making her kooky ghost-obsessed landlady weirdly prescient.
US
