Haunts of the Very Rich (1972)

A group of wealthy but secretly very troubled people travel to an island resort but find themselves wondering about their existences after a while.

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writers:

William Wood (teleplay), T.K. Brown III (story) (as T.K. Brown)

Stars:

Lloyd Bridges, Cloris Leachman, Edward Asner

Cast

Cast overview:
Lloyd Bridges	...	Dave Woodrough
Cloris Leachman	...	Ellen Blunt
Edward Asner	...	Al Hunsicker
Anne Francis	...	Annette Larrier
Tony Bill	...	Lyle Dugan
Donna Mills	...	Laurie Dugan
Robert Reed	...	Rev. John Fellows
Moses Gunn	...	Seacrist
Beverly Gill	...	Miss Vick
Todd Martin	...	Harris
Phyllis Hill	...	Rita
Michael Lembeck	...	Johnny Delmonico
Susan Foster	...	Miss Upton

Storyline

A group of people, all of whom, we can only assume, are very rich, are on a plane flying to an island resort. When they land, they are greeted by a mysterious black man (Seacrist), and the plot thickens. Ellen Blunt gets a makeover from a mysterious black woman (all the mysterious characters in this film are either black or "native") in a scene laden with homo-erotic undertones, and Dave Woodrough falls in love with her. We come to find out that John Fellows is a minister tormented by his own conflicted spirituality; Annette Larrier is an unhappy housewife strung out on prescription uppers and downers; and Al Hunsicker has a very, very hairy back. We also come to find out that just before setting off on their journey, each of the "guests" had narrowly escaped death -- or had they?

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | death | island | makeover | afterlife | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Au-delà de la fortune

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

ABC Circle Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scenes at the island resort were filmed at Vizcaya, an Italianate villa on Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida. The estate, built in 1916, was originally the winter home of International Harvester vice president James Deering. The house and grounds are now a museum open to tourists.

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Connections

Version of Between Two Worlds (1944)

User Reviews

Not bad, though has some problems

This made-for-TV movie has several things going for it. The acting is well done, no surprise there because of the professional cast, with Robert Reed being the standout due to one striking monologue he has. The locations are atmospheric and do give the impression of being far from civilization. Also, there are no boring bits.

However, as good as the movie is, there are a couple of problems that hold it back from true greatness. The first problem is with its length. Even though the movie runs a little less than 75 minutes long, the movie feels somewhat stretched out. Maybe this would have played better had it been produced as a one hour television episode of "The Twilight Zone". The second problem is that the "mystery" is no mystery - I guessed what the twist would be in the opening minutes! In fairness, the movie does trick the audience just before the end into thinking there's some other explanation.

While I wouldn't quite say that this is worth seeking out, if you come across it when you have some time to spend, you'll probably be entertained enough.