Quite a Fright

Wide-eyed with fright, moving quickly while constantly checking behind for an unknown pursuer, the librarian franticly searches for an exit point, like a rat trapped in a maze. Elmer Bernstien’s music mirrors her urgency as she rounds a corner and the music stops. Suddenly, she’s confronted by a low, guttaral roar as her hair begins to blow and her face is illuminated by a sharp, bright light. The popular saying, “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost” could not be more perfectly attributed as her arms flail and she screams out with terror.

It rounds off what is an excellent, wordless introduction that sets the stage for our protagonists while establishing a creepy tone. In a career that has spanned five decades, for actress Alice Drummond, it must seem peculiar that just a few scenes of dialogue-free acting have come to be her defining screen moment. Such is the popularity and classic status of Ghostbusters.

Words by Gareth Rhodes.

Floating Books

As the librarian enters the dimly downlit basement with an armful of books, an ominous oboe gives way to the sound of the theremin as the camera prowls behind a lone Alice Drummond. This gives us the unsettling sense of her being followed to an isolated place, which increases her vulnerability and heightens tension. The corridors of the basement are maze-like and there are no other people around. As she turns one of the many tight corners to return a book, the camera halts as she moves further down the aisle. Then, unknown to her but witnessed by the audience, two or three books begin to float from shelf-to-shelf. At once, she glances to her side, seemingly having caught half-sight of something in her peripherial field of vision, but returns to her work. It’s a simple, but effective use of practical effects to thicken the sense of danger and intrigue.

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Trivia: The library basement scenes were filmed at the Los Angeles public library.

Words by Gareth Rhodes.

Alice Drummond

We cut to the Rose Main Reading Room, the grand interior of the New York Public Library, as a female employee gathers books left by the public, placing them on a cart to be transported to the basement archives. Actress Alice Drummond is the archetypal librarian – a small-boned, cardigan-wearing woman in her mid-to-late-50’s, diligently pushing the wooden book cart. Elmer Bernstien’s musical arrangement of theremin and wispy strings continues to intrigue us as to an unknown threat.

Words by Gareth Rhodes.

The Rose Main Reading Room in the New York Public Library.