House On Haunted Hill (1959)

 House On Haunted Hill (1959)

From the mid 1950's-the mid 1970's b-horror film director William Castle became famous for the gimmicks that would accompany his films.  The 1959 classic House On Haunted Hill was one of these great films, the gimmick that was used in the film was called "Emergo" where the theaters showing the film were equipped with an elaborate pulley system, that at a certain point in the film a skeleton would appear above the crowd, scaring the audiences, and emerging them into the horror happening on screen in the film.  House On Haunted Hill was a campy horror film starring Vincent Price as a rich man who invites hand chosen guests to a "murder party" in a supposedly haunted house.  Anyone who survives the night he will reward with $10,000, though if they get too scared they are allowed to leave before midnight, and forfeit their $10,000.   But when when the houses ghosts are awaken, they end up getting locked in the house, and it seems someone is attempting to kill off the guests.  Who will survive, and is the murderer one of the guests, or is it the ghosts that haunt the house?

House On Haunted Hill was directed and produced by William Castle.  Robb White co-produced the film, and wrote the screenplay.  The film was released by Allied Artists in 1959, and featured the "Emergo" gimmick in the theaters.  The film was a box office grossing $2.5 million on a budget of merely $200,000.   The film was also a critical success, both at the time, and it is still critically acclaimed by modern critics and online film review sites.   Though the film bares a similar title to The Haunting Of Hill House, the two films are totally unrelated.   House On Haunted Hill was remade in 1999, and that remake also featured a 2007 sequel Return To House On Haunted Hill.   Another remake went into production in 2017, though I haven't heard anything more about that.  The 1999 remake, was a box office success, but as far as I am concerned I would rather just pretend that that version doesn't exist.

House On Haunted hill stars Vincent Price as Frederick Loren, and Carol Ohmart plays his wife Annabelle Loren.  The party guests are Richard Long as Lance Schroeder, Carolyn Craig as Nora Manning, Alan Marshal as Dr. David Trent, Elisha Cook as Watson Pritchard, and Julie Mitchum as Ruth Bridgers.  The house's caretakers, who are supposed to leave and lock the guests inside are Leona Anderson as Mrs. Slydes, and Howard Hoffman as Jonas Slydes.  The film has a great cast, and Vincent Price is so amazing as the eccentric and fiendish Frederick Loren.  Roles like this are the reason so many of us adore Vincent Price, he is so perfect in a role like this, he has this show stealing ability to play characters that seem sinister.  I think that Vincent Price has one of the greatest voices in Hollywood, and is one of my favourite actors. Carolyn Craig was very convincing as Nora Manning, the sweet young girl, who it seems to be the focus of the hauntings of the house, she plays the fear that her character feels so effectively.  All in all the cast is great and each character/actor brings something unique and special to the film.  The way that the film was written is also great, as the characters never give up too much information too soon, giving away the identity of the real villain of the film, so that when the end happens, it is actually a surprise.  All in all it is an effective campy horror film, as well as a decent whodunnit murder mystery film.  With just enough humour, as to not take away from the serious horror, but to also keep it fun

If you have not yet seen House On Haunted Hill (well to be honest I am shocked as this is an amazing classic) I highly recommend checking it out.  This is a must see classic horror film.  The film is well written, well acted, well directed, and though it is campy, it is absolutely amazing.  If I were to teach an introduction to college course on the history of horror cinema, House On Haunted Hill would definitely be a part of that course.  If you have not yet seen this film, it is quite easy to find ways to see it, as the film has gone into the public domain, which means it can be found for free legally online, though I highly recommend trying to find it on DVD, it is often found in public domain horror film collections on DVD as well.  THis is definitely a film that should be apart of every film collector's library.   All in all this ranks among one of the great classic horror films, it is effective as a campy b-horror film, but also delivers some genuine scares, and a few laughs on the way, but even with the humour mixed in, the film maintains a consistent tone and a wonderful pacing that keeps the film fun and interesting.