House on Haunted Hill (1959)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

William Castle

Writer:

Robb White (writer)

Release Date:

17 February 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

See it with someone with warm hands!

Plot:

Frederick Loren has invited five strangers to a party of a lifetime. He is offering each of them $10,000 if they can stay the night in a house...

Plot Keywords:

Party | Murder | Eccentric | Haunted House | Caretaker

Cast

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

Also Known As:

The House on Haunted Hill (USA) (trailer title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | West Germany:18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1963) | Norway:16 (1960) | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (video rating) (2003) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

William Castle Productions

Trivia:

The large grosses for this film were noticed by Alfred Hitchcock. This led him to create his own low-budget horror film--Psycho (1960).

Goofs:

Plot holes: After the guests have locked themselves in their rooms, Nora emerges, goes to the end the hall and discovers Annabelle swinging from a noose. Nora screams. She backs into a corner and is confronted with a monster hand and screams again. Next scene, the doctor knocks on Mr. Loren's door and asks him if he heard anything strange, to which Mr. Loren replies that he thought he heard footsteps. How did no one heard Nora screaming?

Quotes:

Annabelle Loren: You know, of course, that I'm his fourth wife. The first simply disappeared; the other two died.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Halloween (2007)

One of the Most Entertaining Movies Of Its Genre

This classic version of "House on Haunted Hill" is one of the most entertaining examples of the low-budget, black-and-white horror films that used to be such a mainstay for movie fans. It has few frills, but it does have some thrills, and in particular it has a cleverly written story that is told at a brisk pace, with a good deal of interesting and pleasingly macabre detail.

Horror legend Vincent Price is in his element as the mysterious millionaire who invites a houseful of guests to spend the night in a supposedly haunted mansion, and his performance will give his fans everything that they expect. The supporting cast is solid, led by Elisha Cook, who is very good as a nervous, tipsy character whose rambling proclamations of doom add the right touch of offbeat suspense. The settings are given plenty of detail that makes the characters' explorations of the house even more interesting.

The story is nicely written for the genre, making very good use of the possibilities in the setup, throwing in some good turns, and resolving everything in a resourceful fashion. And it's not without some real suspense - even those who normally watch low-budget horror features solely for the camp factor might get an actual start once or twice as everything plays out. And even if you don't find anything scary, there is plenty here that makes it enjoyable to watch.