I don’t know the name of the movie version but you mean the Philip K. Dick short story “Imposter”. Terry Nation adapted it for the BBC before writing for a new BBC series called Doctor Who. he wrote the second-ever serial of the series, which starred aliens he created called the Daleks.
Interesting that this should pop up today - I’ve come across a link to an interview with Mr. Regehr today. Here it is. And a good quote from the interview:
In fairness, Anne Rice stole the idea originally from Harlan Ellison, who was very disappointed by the adaptation.
Why anyone would want to take credit for “Sub Rosa”, I have no idea.
Creators steal or at least adapt. The trick is to grab some idea and develop it well. Cf. Shakespeare, JS Bach, Disney, Colin Chapman, et al.
The cult of originality is a rather recent conceit about who sells what to whom and how quickly. Space / Soap / Horse operas, pulp fiction, penny dreadfuls, bosom-heaving romances, are more fast-food entertainment than immortal art. Make it; sell it; make another; sell that and more before the lawyers come for you.
Most drama still embodies Mark Twain’s 3-act structure: 1) Send them up a tree; 2) throw rocks at them; 3) see if they come down. Setup; conflict; resolution. What, a spirit haunts a family line? That can be played many ways till we concoct our desired ending. Just don’t multiply your Daleks unnecessarily.
Given the times, was it the blowing or his silence which assured his passage?
There are only twelve stories. Harlan Ellison has written seven of them.
P.S. I was going to add my own riff on the “haunted bellows” meme, but I couldn’t think of anything good. 