The House on Haunted Hill
(1958), dir. William Castle, William Castle Productions
Master showman William Castle made a brilliant move when he
cast Vincent Price in his next film. With the added gimmick of ‘Emergo’ (a
flying skeleton that would buzz the audience), Castle would set out to make one
of his better remembered films.
Millionaire Frederick Loren (Price) has rented a large
mansion in the middle of nowhere to host a party with his fourth wife Annabelle
(Carol Ohmart). Wives one through three all had the tendency to die rather
suddenly. The guests, none of whom the
Loren’s actually know personally, are an interesting bunch; there’s test pilot
Lance Schroeder (Richard Long), debit ridden columnist Ruth Bridges (Julie
Mitchum), psychiatrist Dr. David Trent (Alan Marshall), secretary Nora Manning
(Carolyn Craig), and drunkard Watson Pritchard (Elisha Cook). There is an added
incentive for the guests as well, if they can stay the entire night they (or
their next of kin) will be given $10,000. The house has been the scene of
several grisly murders intones Pritchard, who claims that his older brother
tried to spend the night some ago and lost his head…literally.
Once the door is shut (ahead of time) and the blood flows
from the ceiling and ropes vanish, is it the work of ghosts? The Lorens seem to
pitting the guests against each other and Frederick and Annabelle both fondly
remember trying to kill one another. So, is it the natural or the supernatural
that is behind everything?
To explain more would spoil, but does it matter? Price
steals the show so much you won’t even care how things work or when they don't.
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