House on Haunted Hill (1959)

A millionaire offers ten thousand dollars to 5 people whom agreed to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with he and his wife.

Director:

William Castle

Writer:

Robb White

Stars:

Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Vincent Price	...	Frederick Loren
Carol Ohmart	...	Annabelle Loren
Richard Long	...	Lance Schroeder
Alan Marshal	...	Dr. David Trent
Carolyn Craig	...	Nora Manning
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Watson Pritchard (as Elisha Cook)
Julie Mitchum	...	Ruth Bridgers
Leona Anderson	...	Mrs. Slydes
Howard Hoffman	...	Jonas
Skeleton	...	Himself

Storyline

Eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren and his 4th wife, Annabelle, have invited 5 people to the house on Haunted Hill for a "haunted House" party. Whoever will stay in the house for one night will earn ten thousand dollars each. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | party | haunted house | psychiatrist | caretaker | 

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Taglines:

First Film With the Amazing New Wonder EMERGO: The Thrills Fly Right Into The Audience!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 February 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Haus auf dem Geisterhügel

Filming Locations:

Ennis-Brown House - 2655 Glendower Avenue, Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

William Castle Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Black & White and Color) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The popular theme music originally had haunting lyrics by Richard Kayne, but only the orchestral version was used in the final film. For the record, the lyrics went as follows: There's a house on Haunted Hill / Where ev'rything's lonely and still / Lonely and still / And the ghost of a sigh / When we whispered good-bye / Lingers on / And each night gives a heart broken cry / There's a house on Haunted Hill / Where love walked there's a strange silent chill / Strange silent chill / There are mem'ries that yearn / For our hearts to return / And a promise we failed to fulfill / But we'll never go back / No, we'll never go back / To the house on Haunted Hill!

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Goofs

The Cadillac funeral cars in procession at the beginning of the film are various model years. In the next scene when they pull up in front of the house they are all the same year.

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Quotes

Frederick Loren: Don't stay up thinking of ways to get rid of me, it makes wrinkles.

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Crazy Credits

The end title credits list "Skeleton - By Himself"

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Connections

Referenced in Vincent Price: The Sinister Image (1987)

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Soundtracks

"House on Haunted Hill"
Theme
by Richard Kayne and Richard Loring

User Reviews

Fantastically entertaining camp classic! A must see for all horror fans.

Forget the awful, senseless remake, the original 'The House On Haunted Hill' is one of the most entertaining and enjoyable chillers of all time. William Castle's over the top camp style is an acquired taste for many, but once you enter into the spirit of things you're in for a wild, fun ride. The legendary Vincent Price is in his element here as the cynical millionaire trapped in a loveless sham of a marriage, and Carol Ohmart, who I have only ever seen in the cult classic 'Spiderbaby', is a knockout as his tough as nails "better half". Their haunted house party guests, led by the much loved character actor Elisha Cook, Jr ('The Maltese Falcon' ,The Killing',etc.etc.), are well cast and amusing, and the whole thing is a hoot! I recommend this movie to all horror fans. It is quite possibly the single most entertaining horror thriller of the 50s. Supremely silly but still scary at the same time. Great stuff!