Susie Q (film)

Susie Q is a 1996 fantasy-comedy television film directed by John Blizek and starring Justin Whalin, Amy Jo Johnson and Shelley Long. It originally aired on Super RTL in Germany, followed by Disney Channel's airing of it in the United States on October 3, 1996, as a Disney Channel Premiere Film. The film tells the story of a young woman dying with her beau (Bentley Mitchum) on her way to their Winter Formal back in the mid-1950s and coming back to her old house 40 years later in order to help her parents avoid being kicked out of their trailer park home. Later, Zach (Whalin) moves into Susie's (Johnson) old house, but he is the only one who is able to see Susie.

The film was given a "TV-G" rating, and was already cut for some profanity, but not all, when it primarily aired on the Disney Channel.

This film is the only Disney-related title produced by Saban Entertainment and its extensions. As a project commissioned by Disney on behalf of Super RTL and Disney Channel, it was produced by Saban's adult unit Libra Pictures rather than the main, child-friendly Saban output. It was released as a Disney Channel Premiere Film (DCPF) in 1996, a year before Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOM) made its debut in 1997.

However, Disney never owned the Susie Q copyrights until Disney in 2001 acquired Fox Family Worldwide, which includes Saban Entertainment/Libra Pictures and its assets. Susie Q is the only Saban Entertainment property which contains Disney logos and images in promotional and distributional materials also to be directly Disney-branded among the properties including produced in company's both of Saban and Disney era. Consequently Susie Q rights are currently held by The Walt Disney Company through its subsidiary BVS Entertainment.

Plot
In 1955, in the fictional town of Willow Valley, Washington, young Susie Quinn prepares for her winter formal. An inebriated motorist force her and her boyfriend, Johnny Angel, into a waterway, where they drown in their car.

Forty years later, a young man Zach Sands moves into Susie's house with his widowed mother Penny, who is starting a job as a news reporter. Zach's father died in a car accident on his way to Zach's basketball game, leaving Zach so guilty that he abandons basketball. At the local high school, Zach befriends the drama group but also makes enemies of the envious Ray Kovich, son of banker Roger.

While fishing with his younger sister Teri, Zach finds a bracelet that causes Susie's ghost to manifest before him. He researches Susie and discovers that she died 40 years ago. That night, she visits him and shows that he is the only one who can see her. Later, she visits Zach's school, where he's distracted by the other girls until she rips off part of the winter formal dress she's wearing to get his attention. Susie begs him to help her find out what happened to her parents and, while doing so, causes a scene in his class. She apologizes, but continues to cause trouble at school and home until Zach agrees to help.

Zach visits Susie's parents and finds out they are facing homelessness at the hands of the local bank because of a missing title deed. The bank is demanding an unaffordable $25,000 balloon payment. This is part of a larger plan led by Roger that would destroy the town. Susie confesses that before she died, her grandfather was looking for the deed for Willow Valley, and that she is earth-bound because she mistakenly persuaded her grandfather to rest, rather than help him find the deed. Teri discovers that much of the town's land legally belongs to the Quinn family, and it becomes a fierce race until Zach locates the requisite title deed. This draws the attention of the police. Meanwhile, Roger is warned and makes his own plans. The police arrest Zach and Teri, but Susie scares the officer into letting them go free.

Zach and Teri make it to the local news station in time to provide their mother with all the information about the Quinn family history, which is broadcast on live television. In the aftermath, the bankers give up and apologize to the Quinns, the Kovich family leaves town in Roger's attempt to avoid criminal prosecution, and Zach returns to playing basketball in honor of his late father. Thanks to Susie providing Zach with her father's old playbook, the team wins.

With her mistake rectified, Susie returns to the bridge where she died. Zach follows her and asks her what will happen to him now that she's leaving for heaven. She tells him that his life is just beginning and she is sure he can continue playing basketball for both her and his late father. She reunites with the spirits of her boyfriend Johnny and her grandfather in Johnny's car. Before the ghostly trio departs for heaven, Susie gives Zach her bracelet and bids him an emotional farewell. Zach does the same and admits he loves her. In the car, Susie's grandfather briefly awakens and calls Susie by her mother's name, Betsy. She corrects him and tells him to go back to sleep because they have a long trip ahead.

Zach meets a girl who looks identical to Susie, who introduces herself as Maggie. It is presumed that Susie has reincarnated as Maggie.

Cast

 * Amy Jo Johnson as Susie Q / Maggie
 * Ernie Prentice as Grandfather
 * Bentley Mitchum as Johnny Angel
 * Tasha Simms as Betsy Quinn
 * Allan Morgan as Russell Quinn
 * Shelley Long as Penny Sands
 * Justin Whalin as Zach Sands
 * Andrea Libman as Teri Sands
 * Garwin Sanford as Coach Stanford
 * Chris William Martin as Ray Kovich
 * Dale Wilson as Roger Kovich
 * Winston Brown as Brad
 * Sabrina Byrne as Rebecca Bahner
 * Mark Schooley as Telephone Repairman
 * Lloyd Berry as Al the Janitor
 * Benjamin Ratner as TV Director
 * Laura Harris as Jannete
 * Kirsten Robek as Production Assistant
 * Pat Waldron as Miss Crosby
 * David Kaye as Don Tanner
 * Walter Marsh as Old Man - ATM
 * Will Sasso as Officer Bob
 * Allan Franz as Rookie Cop
 * John Johnston as Announcer
 * Carolyn Spielmacher as Girl
 * Brian Arnold as James McGlockton
 * Rebecca Toolan as Mrs. Perkins
 * Aaron Pearl as Player
 * Cameron Labine as Thug