The Haunting (1963/I)

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Shirley Jackson (novel)
Nelson Gidding (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 September 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

You may not believe in ghosts but you cannot deny terror

Plot:

Dr. Markway, doing research to prove the existence of ghosts, investigates Hill House, a large, eerie...

Plot Keywords:

House | Mansion | Ghost | Research | Psychic

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Julie Harris	...	Eleanor 'Nell' Lance
Claire Bloom	...	Theodora 'Theo'
Richard Johnson	...	Dr. John Markway
Russ Tamblyn	...	Luke Sanderson
Fay Compton	...	Mrs. Sanderson
Rosalie Crutchley	...	Mrs. Dudley
Lois Maxwell	...	Grace Markway
Valentine Dyall	...	Mr. Dudley
Diane Clare	...	Carrie Fredericks
Ronald Adam	...	Eldridge Harper

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G (alternate rating) | Australia:M | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (re-rating) | UK:X | USA:Approved | USA:G (1972 re-release) | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Alderminster, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, UK

Company:

Argyle Enterprises

Trivia:

Robert Wise had seen Julie Harris in a play and decided she was perfect for the leading role. She later confessed that shooting the picture had been very hard on her. She saw her character, Eleanor, in a different way than director Wise but didn't feel it was her place to disagree, so playing the part was a struggle for her. Still she claims Wise was a perfect gentleman and they remained friends for decades.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Eleanor runs into a room in Hill House, a close-up shot shows a mirror fall off a mantle on its own. However, a wire is visible attached to the middle of the back of the mirror and going through a hole in the middle of the wall behind it. When the mirror falls, the wire goes slack as the wire feeds out of the hole in the wall, meaning the wire was held taut to hold the mirror up on the mantle until it was time to release the wire.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. John Markway: [voice-over] An evil old house, the kind some people call haunted, is like an undiscovered country waiting to be explored. Hill House had stood for 90 years and might stand for 90 more. Silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there... walked alone.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in The Haunted Mansion (2003)

More faithful to the book

After finding this gem at the public library's VHS section, I finally received the chance to watch the 'better' version of The Haunting. With what I could recall from reading the original novel (after seeing the modern version), I found this cinematic version infinately better and denser in character exposition than the 1999 version. In this 1963 version, the ending stayed closer to what happened in the novel and that was the definitive moment of The Haunting. I can't say much for the modern version, other than it was an effects film.

What I found original in this 1963 version is that there were some clever uses of lensing effects to heighten the strangeness of Hill House. By adjusting the props in the sets so that they are off by a few degrees, it helps to unsettle the viewer.

I'm hoping for a dvd release so that I can own both versions of the film. In the meantime, read the novel. There were a few details left out.