House on Haunted Hill (1959)

A millionaire offers $10,000 to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him 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	...	Self

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:

acid | overnight in a haunted house | breaking the fourth wall | faked death | animate skeleton | 

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Taglines:

Acclaimed The Super-Shocker Of The Century!

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film of Leona Anderson (1885-1973).

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Goofs

When Dr. Trent removes Annabelle's "Hanging harness", it is just a leather bustier. A real hanging harness would have some sort of hook(s) to transfer the pressure from the neck to the shoulders. Such a harness was used by Darto (Burt Lancaster) in "The Flame and the Arrow,"

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Quotes

Lance Schroeder: If I were gonna haunt somebody, this would certainly be the house I'd do it in.

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Crazy Credits

The end title credits list "Skeleton - By Himself"

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Alternate Versions

The VHS release of the movie cuts out a small scene when Watson Pritchard shows everybody the stain in the ceiling and he says to them 'see that stain? Blood.'

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Connections

Referenced in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: The Night Walker (2014)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

It really was his wife's party.

This movie is a very good tale of a house that may or may not be haunted. This version is better than the newer one, mainly because Vincent Price is so good here, much better than anyone in the new version made in 1999. It is also relatively short and goes by quickly. This movie has some of the same plot elements of the one from 1999, but thankfully the ending to this one is a lot better. I really enjoyed it, as I was hoping the one character would come out on top. This one is about a party being held in an old house that is supposed to be haunted. The people were invited by Price's character and offered $10,000 dollars if they were to stay the entire night. There is tension between Price's character and his wife, there is a girl who is very nervous and wants to leave immediately, and then there is the doctor who does not believe in ghosts. There are three others as well who are invited to stay the night. During the night strange things happen as one of the guests is murdered and there seems to be supernatural things happening. A very well done movie that for me ended perfectly.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 February 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

The House on Haunted Hill

Filming Locations:

Ennis House - 2607 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:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1