The Legacy is a 1978 horror film directed by Richard Marquand, in his directorial debut, and starring Katharine Ross, Sam Elliott, Roger Daltrey, John Standing, and Margaret Tyzack.

It follows an American couple who are summoned to a British mansion while visiting England for a work obligation, where they stumble upon its family's curse.

The passenger and owner, Jason Mountolive, invites them to his rambling country estate, Ravenhurst, where they are greeted by Nurse Adams.

Shortly afterward one of the guests, Maria Gabrieli, despite being an excellent swimmer, becomes trapped under the surface of Jason's indoor pool and drowns.

Mountolive receives his guests in his bedroom, a sterile chrome and glass environment where he lies connected to a life support system.

He calls Maggie to the bedside, where a monstrous hand reaches out of the curtains and places a signet ring on her finger with the Mountolive family crest upon it.

Karl Liebnecht is incinerated by a massive burst of flame from a fireplace that leaves the rest of the room untouched.

These reveal that each of their fellow guests had been accused of serious crimes or implicated in major scandals, yet always escaped punishment or censure thanks to Mountolive's intervention.

Maggie realises that she is Jason's great-granddaughter, and that the retainer was a ruse to lure her to Ravenhurst before Mountolive dies so he could appoint her as his sixth potential heir.

He instructs her to choose six heirs of her own, who will likewise be sacrificed when the time comes so that the lone survivor will also inherit the powers bestowed by Satan.

Although keeping the American protagonists, events were manipulated to allow the story instead to take place in an English country estate featuring a collection of stereotypical butlers, chauffeurs and curtseying maids.

[13] Dread Central wrote a mixed review for The Legacy, stating, "It’s hard to hate a movie that spends most of its time being so off-the-wall ridiculous.

[18] British distributor Powerhouse Films released a new region-free limited edition Blu-ray through their Indicator series on 29 July 2019.

The Legacy is perhaps best remembered now for being the film where Hollywood couple Katharine Ross (Margaret Walsh) and Sam Elliott (Pete Danner) first met.

Ross was the leading lady in that film and a bona fide movie star while Elliott was merely what he called a "glorified extra", which left him without the courage to approach her.