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.
Ghostbusters: Scene by Scene 