It Happened at Lakewood Manor

It Happened at Lakewood Manor (also known by the titles Ants and Panic at Lakewood Manor)[1] is a 1977 American made-for-television horror film starring Lynda Day George, Suzanne Somers, Myrna Loy, Brian Dennehy and Bernie Casey. It was directed by Robert Scheerer and premiered December 2, 1977 on ABC.[2]

"Ants (film)" redirects here. For the 1998 animated comedy film, see Antz.
It Happened at Lakewood Manor
Promotional release poster
GenreHorror
Written byGuerdon Trueblood
Directed byRobert Scheerer
StarringRobert Foxworth
Lynda Day George
Bernie Casey
Barry Van Dyke
Karen Lamm
Myrna Loy
Brian Dennehy
Suzanne Somers
Theme music composerKim Richmond
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerAlan Landsburg
ProducerPeter Nelson
Production locationsQualicum Beach
Vancouver
CinematographyBernie Abramson
EditorGeorge Folsey, Jr.
Running time100 min.
Production companyAlan Landsburg Productions
Release
Original networkABC
Original release
  • December 2, 1977 (1977-12-02)[1]

Plot

During construction at the old, hard-pressed Lakewood Hotel, two workers stumble upon a swarm of ants in a closed section of the building. After discovering the ants to be unusually aggressive and dangerous, the workers attempt to get the warning out, but are accidentally buried alive.

Shortly after, the unscrupulous real estate magnate Anthony Fleming (Gerald Gordon) and his partner and mistress Gloria (Suzanne Somers) arrive at the hotel, there to haggle with the elderly proprietor, Ethel Adams (Myrna Loy) and her daughter Valerie (Lynda Day George) as they pursue plans to convert Lakewood into a casino. In the meantime, foreman Mike Carr (Robert Foxworth), who is in a relationship with Valerie, and his co-worker and friend Vince (Bernie Casey) find the two missing workers, dead from poisoning. The ants begin to emerge, attacking a boy, then killing a hotel cook, and nearly killing Vince as he and Mike investigate the pit in which their men were buried.

Peggy Kenter (Anita Gillette), a Board of Health (BOH) inspector and an acquaintance of Carr's, decides to quarantine the hotel, thinking a virus is at work. Mike soon discovers that there is an immense ant nest in the pit, and concludes that these insects are responsible for the attacks. Tom (Bruce French), a BOH researcher, finally discovers that the ants are highly venomous and resistant to insecticides.

By that time, the ants are swarming the hotel by the millions, killing Gloria and Peggy's assistant White (Steve Franken) and driving Carr, Valerie, Ethel, Fleming, hotel employee Richard (Barry Van Dyke) and his girlfriend Linda (Karen Lamm) upstairs. Vince alerts the authorities, who attempt to contain the ants with a trench - filled first with water, then with burning gasoline after Tom points out that army ants cross streams on bridges built from ant corpses - and rescue most of the people trapped inside the hotel. Carr, Valerie and Fleming, the only people remaining, are eventually cornered by the ants; Tom tells them not to move, in order to give the ants no reason to attack them. As the ants begin crawling all over them, Fleming panickedly launches himself from the room's balcony to the swimming pool below in a desperate attempt to escape, but misses the jump and dies in the fall. Shortly afterwards, two suited-up rescuers arrive and take Carr and Valerie to safety.

When they are taken away by the ambulance, Tom assures Carr that such a case will not likely be recurring, as the unique environmental conditions at the hotel estate were vital for the existence of the ants' nest.

Cast

Production

The location for Lakewood Manor was The College Inn in Qualicum Beach BC, Canada.[3]

Stuntman Conrad Palmisano was buried alive for the film (with a garden hose supplying him air); he would later become chairman of the Screen Actors Guild's stunt and safety committee.[4]

Release

It Happened at Lakewood Manor was released as Ants on DVD on February 9, 2014.[5] It was released on blu-ray by Kino Lorber as Ants! in 2022 with a commentary track by film historian Lee Gambin.[6]

References
  1. Erickson, Hal. "It Happened at Lakewood Manor (1977)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2013-10-03. Retrieved 2013-06-08. Boiled down to basics, this is a rehash of Jaws, with ants (!) substituting for sharks (the film's video release title, in fact, was Ants)....First telecast December 2, 1977, It Happened at Lakewood Manor was subsequently retitled Panic at Lakewood Manor.
  2. "It Happened at Lakewood Manor (Ants)". Turner Classic Movies. United States: Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  3. Horner, Neil (November 25, 2011). "Get the creepy-crawlies in Qualicum Beach". Parksville Qualicum Beach News. pqbnews.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-22. Retrieved 2013-06-08. That's where the other local star of the show comes in. Lakewood Manor was played by The College Inn in Qualicum Beach. The film — somewhat less than a box office smash — came to the attention of Qualicum Beach Museum manager Netaja Waddell recently ...
  4. "Stunts given due". January 27, 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-08. Veteran Hollywood stuntman and second-unit director Conrad E. Palmisano was once buried alive for a scene in 1977′s It Happened at Lakewood Manor. With his only source of oxygen coming from a small garden hose connected to him underground, he gave strict instructions to the surrounding film crew: 'Bury me once, bury me good. I only want to do this once.'
  5. Ants (DVD). February 9, 2014. ASIN B000FGFBUS. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  6. "Kino: Ants Detailed for Blu-ray" (Blu-ray). Kino Lorber. April 20, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
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