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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →In Halloween (1978), P.J. Soles played Lynda, Laurie Strode’s friend, whose phone-cord death became one of the film’s memorable scenes. Soles later recalled that Nick Castle was inside Michael Myers’s mask for the scene—and that the first take felt more like tickling than strangling.
How Lynda’s death scene was filmed, according to P.J. Soles
In a 2021 interview with Yahoo Entertainment’s Ethan Alter, Soles said the production filmed the phone-cord scene in three takes. Castle, who was not hired to play Michael Myers as his main job on the film, wore the mask for the scene. Soles recalled: “He was tickling my neck with the phone cord for the first take. We did three takes.”
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She said she asked Castle to pull tighter after that first take. Soles also explained that she had to act much of the death herself; her account describes what she remembers from filming, rather than a production record independently documenting each take.
Why Carpenter had to call “Cut”
Soles said she knew it was her last scene and did not want the moment to end. As she fell out of frame, she kept grunting until director John Carpenter stopped the take. In her words: “I knew it was my last scene, so as I’m falling out of frame, I just kept grunting. John had to say ‘Cut,’ because I wouldn’t stop! I didn’t want it to end.”
#1 Best Overall
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The role Soles would rather be remembered for
Although Lynda’s death is the scene at the center of her recollection, Soles said she would rather be associated with Lynda’s casual catchphrase. “I’d rather be known as the girl who says ‘Totally,’ all the time.” She also described the young characters as good kids who were just goofing around.
The interview placed Halloween among Soles’s early screen work, after Carrie (1976) and before later films including Rock ’n’ Roll High School (1979), Breaking Away, Private Benjamin and Stripes. The scene’s lasting appeal rests partly on that contrast: Lynda’s playful, ordinary manner meets the film’s sudden horror.
Quick Recap
Rank #3
- Halloween 3-Movie Collection (Blu-ray + Digital)
Rank #2
Sources
- Yahoo Entertainment: Ethan Alter’s 2021 interview with P.J. Soles
- Gizmodo: Cheryl Eddy’s 2021 summary of Soles’s recollection
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