The Legend of Hell House (1973)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

John Hough

Writers:

Richard Matheson (novel)
Richard Matheson (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 June 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

For the sake of your sanity, pray it isn't true!

Plot:

A team consisting of a physicist, his wife, a young female psychic and the only survivor of the previous...

Plot Keywords:

House | Psychic | Physicist | Mansion | Hidden Door

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Pamela Franklin	...	Florence Tanner
Roddy McDowall	...	Benjamin Franklin Fischer
Clive Revill	...	Mr. (Lionel) Barrett
Gayle Hunnicutt	...	Ann Barrett
Roland Culver	...	Mr. (Rudolph) Deutsch
Peter Bowles	...	Hanley
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Gough	...	Emeric Belasco (uncredited)

Directed by
John Hough

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Matheson		novel "Hell House"
Richard Matheson		screenplay

Produced by
Albert Fennell	....	producer
Norman T. Herman	....	producer
James H. Nicholson	....	executive producer
Susan Hart	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Delia Derbyshire		(as Delia Derbyshire of Electrophon Ltd.)
Brian Hodgson		(as Brian Hodgson of Electrophon Ltd.)

Cinematography by
Alan Hume

Film Editing by
Geoffrey Foot

Casting by
Sally Nicholl

Art Direction by
Robert Jones

Makeup Department
Linda DeVetta	....	makeup artist
Patricia McDermott	....	hair stylist (as Pat McDermott)

Production Management
Ron Fry	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bert Batt	....	assistant director

Art Department
Kenneth McCallum Tait	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Delia Derbyshire	....	sound effects
Leslie Hammond	....	sound recordist (as Les Hammond)
Brian Hodgson	....	sound effects
Peter Lennard	....	dubbing editor
Bill Rowe	....	sound recordist
John Potter	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Roy Whybrow	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Tom Howard	....	photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Tony White	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eileen Sullivan	....	wardrobe mistress

Other crew
Tom Corbett	....	technical advisor
Gladys Goldsmith	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Academy Pictures Corporation (presents)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• CBS/Fox Video (1984) (Belgium) (video)

Special Effects

• Electrophon Ltd. (sound effects)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Academy Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The film was in development at American International Pictures. It was given to James H. Nicholson when he left AIP to become an independent producer. It turned out to be his only post-AIP production, as he was stricken by a brain tumor, and died shortly thereafter.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Pull wire is visible when Fischer is thrown back during the exorcism scene toward the end of the film.

Quotes:

Benjamin Franklin Fischer: What's to tell? The house tried to kill me. It almost succeeded.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Ghost Whisperer: Delia's First Ghost (#2.19)" (2007)

Hoorah for stuffed cats!

What a pity that today's films rely so heavily on special effects.

Here is a perfect example of how what you don't see is much more unnerving than what you do. Do not watch this film alone at night unless you are already in bed and have the remote control to hand.