The House of the Seven Gables (1940)

Fighting over an inheritance, one Pyncheon brother frames the other for murder.

Director:

Joe May

Writers:

Lester Cole (screen play), Harold Greene (adaptation),

Stars:

George Sanders, Margaret Lindsay, Vincent Price

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George Sanders	...	Jaffrey Pyncheon
Margaret Lindsay	...	Hepzibah Pyncheon
Vincent Price	...	Clifford Pyncheon
Dick Foran	...	Matthew Holgrave
Nan Grey	...	Phoebe Pyncheon
Cecil Kellaway	...	Philip Barton
Alan Napier	...	Fuller
Gilbert Emery	...	Gerald Pyncheon
Miles Mander	...	Deacon Foster
Charles Trowbridge	...	Judge

Storyline

In 1828, the bankrupt Pyncheon family fight over Seven Gables, the ancestral mansion. To obtain the house, Jaffrey Pyncheon obtains his brother Clifford's false conviction for murder. Hepzibah, Clifford's sweet fiancée, patiently waits twenty years for his release, whereupon Clifford and his former cellmate, abolitionist Matthew, have a certain scheme in mind.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | abolitionist | inheritance | house | mansion | 

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Taglines:

AN ANCIENT HOUSE! A MURDER SECRET! A HIDDEN TREASURE! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Thriller | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Casa das Sete Torres

Filming Locations:

Colonial Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$178,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vincent Price was brought in at the last minute to substitute for Robert Cummings, who had become indisposed through illness.

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Connections

Version of The House of the Seven Gables (1910)

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Soundtracks

"THE COLOR OF YOUR EYES"
(1940)
Music by Frank Skinner
Lyrics by Ralph Freed
Sung by Vincent Price (uncredited)

User Reviews

It could have been better.

I must say I was a little disappointed with this movie. It strayed far from the book written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I had to do a term paper in college on this story and thought that by watching the movie I could better understand what Hawthorne was writing about. It is a good thing I read the book first. It would have been much better had they followed the book. They skipped so much of the original story that it barely resembled THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES.