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 original novel was set in New England, with an American team of psychic investigators. The storyline was changed, to fit the movie's production in England, with British actors playing the investigators.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Voice on gramophone: Welcome to my house. I'm delighted you could come. I'm certain you will find your stay here most illuminating. Think of me as your unseen servant, and believe that during your stay here I shall be with you in spirit. May you find the answer that you seek. It is here, I promise you. And now, auf Wiedersehen.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Ride the Wild Side (2005) (V)

Fantastically Scary Haunted House Chiller

A group of experts on paranormal activity are paid to prove that evil spirits haunt the Belasco mansion (affectionately known as "Hell House"). At one point, a character says that 'Hell House' is the Mount Everest of haunted houses, and I think this film is the Mount Everest of haunted house movies. In terms of suspense and hair-raising horrors, the film kicks the ghostly butts of films like "The Haunting" and "The Others." It's probably the scariest movie that I've seen where the chills are achieved without showing much. There is hardly any blood, violence, or gore, and the horrors are mostly implied, but just try to get this movie out of your head. You just can't! It is funny how this film uses every haunted house cliché and still comes across as one of the best films of the genre. Richard Matheson's screenplay is so tight that if you sneeze, you will miss something really important. His script is a model of economy, wasting absolutely no time, and grabbing the viewer by the throat. I would have liked to see a bit more character development, but the actors are great in suggesting things that the script does not have time to explore. Roddy McDowal's reluctant medium is the highlight of the film, but Pamela Franklin is also superb as a young psychic. The setting is claustrophobic (just a few rooms), but the excellent ensemble cast does wonders with the limitations imposed by the sets. Director Hough creates an almost unbearable tense atmosphere, and he makes the house a very important character. The ending is a beauty and a real surprise.