13 Ghosts (1960)

Director:

William Castle

Writer:

Robb White (written by)

Release Date:

July 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

IT'S FUN TO BE SCARED BY 13 GHOSTS (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

A family inherits what proves to be a haunted house, but a special pair of goggles allows them to see their ghostly tormentors.

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Haunted House | Mansion | Seance | Lifting Someone Into The Air

Cast

Charles Herbert	...	Buck Zorba
Jo Morrow	...	Medea Zorba
Martin Milner	...	Benjamen Rush
Rosemary DeCamp	...	Hilda Zorba (as Rosemary De Camp)
Donald Woods	...	Cyrus Zorba
Margaret Hamilton	...	Elaine Zacharides
John Van Dreelen	...	Van Allen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Burnside	...	Ghost (uncredited)
William Castle	...	Himself (uncredited)
David Hoffman	...	Messenger (uncredited)
Roy Jenson	...	Ghost (uncredited)

Directed by
William Castle

Writing credits
Robb White		(written by)

Produced by
William Castle	....	producer

Original Music by
Von Dexter

Cinematography by
Joseph F. Biroc		(director of photography) (as Joseph Biroc)

Film Editing by
Edwin H. Bryant		(as Edwin Bryant)

Art Direction by
Cary Odell

Set Decoration by
Louis Diage

Makeup Department
Helen Hunt	....	hair stylist
Ben Lane	....	makeup supervisor
Richard Cobos	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Hazel Keats	....	hairdresser (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Max Stein	....	assistant director
Robert Robinson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Max Frankel	....	second propman (uncredited)
Harry Hopkins	....	prop master (uncredited)
Jim Meehan	....	lead man (uncredited)

Sound Department
Harry D. Mills	....	sound (as Harry Mills)
Charles J. Rice	....	sound supervisor
Eldon Coutts	....	recordist (uncredited)
Sol Jaffe	....	mikeman (uncredited)
Andy Payne	....	cableman (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Richard Albain	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Al Becker	....	key grip (uncredited)
Robert Coburn	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Clarence Eubank	....	best boy (uncredited)
Emil Oster	....	camera operator (uncredited)
James Saper	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Other crew
Dona Holloway	....	associate to producer
Charlsie Bryant	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• William Castle Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1960) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film-Verleih (1961) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (TV)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (William Castle Collection)

Special Effects

• Butler-Glouner (photographic color effects)

Other Companies

• Pathé  Eastman color by

Also Known As:

Runtime:

85 min | 82 min (black and white version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (No. 19630) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec)

Company:

William Castle Productions

Trivia:

William Castle was able to get popular child actor Charles Herbert to play Buck by offering to give him top billing. Charles Herbert would appear in this and two other features in this year before roles in features completely dried up. He would complete his career in television roles.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the wind starts to blow at 06:42 after Buck makes his birthday wish you can see from 06:45 to 06:46 that it is blowing from behind Mrs. Zorba and toward Medea, who is sitting across from Mrs. Zorba, consistent with the flames on the birthday candles blowing toward Medea as they are extinguished at 06:44. However, at 06:00 a large fire place was shown behind Mrs. Zorba (which appeared in an earlier scene at 05:12) rather than the double window with a phone and phone book sitting in front of it shown from 06:42 to 06:43 to be the source of the wind. At 08:30 Medea is kneeling by the phone with the double window to her left reading from the phone book and talking to her father who is returning from answering the front door, but for this window to have been behind Mrs. Zorba, the film frames must be flipped horizontally so that the window would be to her right. Without the frame-flip, this window would have to be in the position of the single window shown from 06:45 to 06:46 without a phone and phone book sitting in front of it.

Quotes:

Ben Rush:Are you all moved in?
Buck Zorba:There wasn't anything to move except us.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King (2011) (TV)

Still fun and scary even forty years later

13 Ghosts has stood the test of time well, as have most of Castle's films. While much is made of the gimmick of seeing the ghosts with 3d glasses, the movie itself is well made and not just a vehicle to carry the gimmick. Seeing the movie on television or video without the 3d glasses (but with the ghosts visible) makes you realize this is a well made film.

The scene where the father encounters the ghosts for the first time in the hidden room is quite spooky, and the special effects are almost hypnotic to watch. The story behind the ghosts being in the house is developed quite well, and makes the ghosts themselves more enjoyable. The ghosts range from almost comical to truly frightening, and it is fun to wait and see what kind of spirit you will encounter next.

The house itself is a rather nice piece of real estate, and I'm sure some people have driven around Los Angeles trying to find it. Martin Milner plays the lawyer who facilitates the will giving the family the house, and it is interesting to see him in his pre-Adam 12 days.

13 Ghosts is definitely worth watching, especially around Halloween. While some may find the plot and idea less than satisfying, I found it to be very spooky. And you really do get to see all 13 ghosts!