House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Director:

William Castle

Writer:

Robb White (written by)

Release Date:

17 February 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

See it with someone with warm hands!

Plot:

Eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren and his 4th wife, Annabelle, have invited 5 people to the house on Haunted Hill for a "haunted House" party...

Plot Keywords:

Party | Murder | Eccentric | Haunted House | Caretaker

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

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 Ennis Brown House in Los Angeles, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1924, and now listed on the National Historic Register, was used for the exterior shots of the haunted house during the film's opening sequence.

Goofs:

Continuity: Lance locks his door from the inside with a deadbolt after the Doctor calls everybody to the meeting, and leaves through Nora's door. When they return from the meeting he opens his own, unlocked, door from the outside.

Quotes:

Frederick Loren: [to Annabelle] At last you've got it all, everything I had... even my life. But you're not going to live to enjoy it! Come with me, murderess, come with me!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Halloween (2007)

Soundtrack:

House on Haunted Hill

Spooky Hammy Movie From The Vault of William Castle !!!

William Castle, the Master Promoter of Low Budget Horror films of the 50's and60's , takes a step closer to immortality with this tasty little thriller starring Vincent Price and Elijah Cook Jr. Not a great movie by any means, but the performances and screen presence of the top two are well worth your time. Price, a ritzy wealthy bon vivant , suspects his unfaithful wife ? might be attempting an early demise for him.

He invites 5 people to spend the night at his house,to flesh out the possible killer. (The Historic Ennis Brown Mansion), now in disrepair, irony. The character Watson Pritchard(Elijah Cook Jr.)is the catalyst that helps promote the spookiness of the film. The subplots provided by Richard Long and Carolyn Craig , are just filler. As fate would have it, there are ironic twists , and lessons to be learned about having vats of acids in your cellar. Newer generations may be bored by lack of violence or gore, or the fact there isn't much action, but this is just an innocent date movies from the 50,s. Something to occupy a few hours on a Fri.nite in the dark. Most people in the audience provided their own entertainment. William Castle graduated to bigger and better films such as "Rosemary's Baby" later in the 60's.

So, in the context of the film world, this will never make the top 1000, but if you need a film to watch in the dark with your significant other, then you might look at this one...Enjoy...Even the Skeleton gets Credit...Ha..Ha...Haaaaaa..........