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Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by James Signorelli, starring Cassandra Peterson as eccentric horror host Elvira. The film's screenplay, written by Peterson, John Paragon, and Sam Egan, follows Elvira inheriting a house nestled in the heart of an overtly prudish community. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with Peterson nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress as well as a Razzie Award for Worst Actress. The film marked Elvira's big-screen debut, having previously gained notoriety on the Movie Macabre television program. The character subsequently returned to theaters in the 2001 film Elvira's Haunted Hills. Plot Buxom Los Angeles TV horror hostess Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, quits her job after the station's new owner sexually harasses her. She plans to open an act in Las Vegas, but needs $50,000 for the project. Upon learning she is a beneficiary of her deceased great-aunt Morgana, she travels to Fallwell, Massachusetts, to claim the inheritance, which includes a mansion, a recipe book and Morgana's pet poodle, Algonquin. In Fallwell, Elvira's worldly attitude and revealing clothes set the conservative town council against her, but theater operator Bob Redding befriends her. The town's teenagers quickly accept her, to the chagrin of their parents, who consider her a bad influence. Bowling alley owner Patty is interested in Bob, and at Elvira's late-night horror film festival at Bob's theater, she succeeds in humiliating Elvira. Elvira struggles to sell the house so she can depart for Las Vegas. Meanwhile, she is unaware that her harsh but seemingly-harmless uncle, Vincent Talbot, is actually a warlock who is obsessed with obtaining Morgana's spellbook. He offers Elvira fifty dollars for the book. When he visits Morgana's house to buy it from Elvira, Algonquin hides it much to Vincent's dismay. He plans to kill Elvira and conquer the world, and has been fueling the townspeople's hostility. Elvira tries to impress Bob with a home-cooked dinner, but mistakenly uses the spellbook as a cookbook and summons a creature that attacks them. Elvira learns that the cookbook was actually her mother Divana's spellbook, and that Morgana hid her as an infant to protect her from Vincent. When Elvira tries to unleash the creature against the Morality Club at their picnic for revenge, she prepares the brew incorrectly and it instead has an aphrodisiac effect; the adults begin behaving sexually, dancing and removing their clothing while Elvira observes nearby. She is accosted by Vincent, who again offers to buy the book for a much higher price which is this time refused by Elvira. When Patty confronts Elvira, the resulting fistfight ends up humiliating Patty by revealing that her bra is stuffed. Vincent leads the townspeople in arresting Elvira for witchcraft, which is still illegal in the state. They decide to burn her at the stake. The teenagers try to free her from jail but fail and accidentally lock themselves into a different cell. Bob tries to recover the spellbook from the mansion, but is tied up by Vincent and his goons, who take the book. Algonquin transforms into a rat and frees Bob by gnawing through his bonds. Elvira is tied to a stake and the fire is lit, but she uses Morgana's ring to summon a rainstorm which quenches the flames; she then escapes with Bob. At the mansion, Elvira and Vincent engage in a magical battle that sets fire to the house. Elvira banishes Vincent to the underworld, while the house and all of the magical artifacts are destroyed. The next day, Elvira prepares to leave town. The townspeople apologize for their behavior, and they ask Elvira to stay. She kisses Bob but, as she is homeless, she insists that she must leave. As his sole living relative, Elvira has inherited Vincent's estate, which allows her to open her show in Las Vegas, where she performs a lavishly-produced musical number. Cast Production Pre-production As her Elvira character rose to fame, Cassandra Peterson announced plans to spin her off into a feature film. NBC casting director Joel Thurm pitched the idea of a sitcom to network president Brandon Tartikoff, who became enthusiastic about the notion. However, Peterson had her heart set on bringing the character to the big screen, and there were concerns that she would never get the opportunity if she made the leap to prime time. Tartikoff later finalized a deal for NBC to produce a film, which would possibly be followed up with sequels, and eventually a TV series but he ended up leaving the network before a show materialized. Peterson and frequent writing collaborator John Paragon met in the comedy troupe The Groundlings, and he worked his way up from recurring guest-star to writer on her Movie Macabre series. Sam Egan was brought into the fold because he was an experienced TV writer and had impressed Peterson with his script for The Fall Guy episode "October the 31st," which he had written explicitly for her. Tartikoff pushed for a storyline similar to Harper Valley PTA, and after the first draft was turned in, the writers were forced to add a group of teenagers, which resulted in reducing screen time for all of the other characters. After appearing in a small part in Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Peterson thought Tim Burton was the perfect choice to direct her film, but he got tied up with the production of Beetlejuice. Tartikoff tapped James Signorelli to direct. Although Signorelli only had one feature film to his credit, he had been prolifically churning out commercial parodies on Saturday Night Live since 1977. Peterson was dealt a crushing blow with the 1986 AIDS-related death of Robert Redding, to whom she dedicated the film and named the character of Bob after. She and Redding had collaborated to create Elvira's look, and he painted the portrait which is used for Morgana Talbot. Accustomed to Redding styling her wigs, Peterson became perpetually unhappy with their appearance and later admitted that she was too harsh with the film's wig stylist. The name of the fictional town of Fallwell, Massachusetts, where Elvira moves to in the film, has been noted for its resemblance to the surname of Jerry Fallwell, an American televangelist, conservative activist, and co-founder of the Moral Majority. Casting Many roles were played by Cassandra Peterson's associates from The Groundlings, including Edie McClurg (Chastity Pariah), Tress MacNeille (Anchorwoman), Joey Arias (Hitchhiker), Lynne Marie Stewart (Bartender), Deryl Carroll (Charlie), and co-writer John Paragon (Gas Station Attendant). Paul Reubens was also supposed to appear in a bit part, but this became unfeasible when Big Top Pee-wee went into concurrent production, so his cameo came in the form of a Pee-Wee Herman doll that is visible in Elvira's dressing room. Additionally, Eve Smith was a regular on Movie Macabre (playing Elvira's Auntie Virus), Peterson's parents were prominently featured as extras during her .... Discover the Cassandra Austin popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Cassandra Austin books.