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House on Haunted Hill

DVD Release: House on Haunted Hill

  • Release Date: 1999
  • Subtitles: English & Français
  • Interactive menus
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Scene access

DVD Release: House on Haunted Hill

  • Release Date: 2003
  • Animated menus
  • Direct scene access
  • Original movie trailer
  • Movie lobby poster
  • Trivia quiz

DVD Release: House on Haunted Hill

  • Release Date: 2003

DVD Release: House on Haunted Hill

  • Release Date: 2003

DVD Release: House on Haunted Hill

  • Release Date: 2003
  • Digitally mastered
  • Interactive menus
  • Scene selections

DVD Release: House on Haunted Hill [Collector's Edition]

  • Release Date: 2004

DVD Release: House on Haunted Hill

  • Release Date: 2004

DVD Release: House on Haunted Hill

  • Release Date: 2005
  • Biographies
  • Filmographies
  • Photo gallery
  • Interactive menus
  • Jump to scene
  • Dolby Sound
  • PC/Mac compatible

DVD Release: House on Haunted Hill

  • Release Date: 2005
  • cc
  • Hilarious audio commentary by Mike Nelson of TV's "Mystery Science Theater 3000"
  • All-new colorized version
  • Restored Black-and-White version
  • Original theatrical trailer and press book

DVD Release: House on Haunted Hill

  • Release Date: 2005

DVD Release: The House on Haunted Hill

  • Release Date: 2006
  • With a special introduction by Vincent Price

DVD Release: House on Haunted Hill

  • Release Date: 2007

DVD Release: House on Haunted Hill

  • Release Date: 2007

  • Rating: StarStarStar
  • Genre: Horror
  • Movie Type: Haunted House Film, Gothic Film
  • Themes: Ghost Stories, Trapped or Confined, Driven Insane
  • Director: William Castle
  • Main Cast: Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Carolyn Craig
  • Release Year: 1958
  • Country: US
  • Run Time: 75 minutes

Plot

A perennial favorite of the "Shock Theatre" TV circuit, House on Haunted Hill stars Vincent Price as sinister gent (you're surprised?) Frederick Loren, who owns a sinister mansion on a sinister hill, where seven murders have occurred. He makes a proposal to several strangers, offtering $10,000 to anyone who can last the entire night. Loren festively gives each of his guests a tiny coffin containing a loaded handgun, designed to protect them from the spooks that emerge in the house over the course of the night. The picture hinges on its surprise ending, which packs in several by-now-familiar twists. When originally released to theaters, House on Haunted Hill was accompanied by one of those gimmicks so beloved of producer/director William Castle: the gimmick was "Emergo," and it involved a prop skeleton that "emerged" from the side of the screen at a crucial moment to frighten the audience. Like most of Castle's best films, House didn't really need the gimmick, but its presence added to the fun -- especially when second- and third-time viewers responded to "Emergo" by bombarding the skeleton with popcorn and empty soda bottles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Review

Cinema showman William Castle's best films are imbued with an infectious sense of mischief that overcomes deficiencies, and House on Haunted Hill is no exception. An excellent vehicle for star Vincent Price and one of Castle's most beloved concoctions, this lightweight ghost story is lots of fun even without the director's trademark theater gimmicks. Price is in prime form, alternating between pure ham and quiet subtlety, able to express a macabre notion simply by arching an eyebrow. Co-star Elisha Cook Jr. has only one task here, to look shell-shocked and mutter predictions of doom, and he performs it with twitchy, sweaty aplomb. The rest of the cast is serviceable, with only ingenue Carolyn Craig standing out via her shrill shrieks and stilted line readings. Castle directs House on Haunted Hill to be spooky rather than frightening, with floating skeletons and flickering candlelight, but a few ghastly images of acid baths and hanged women slide in for the E.C. Comics crowd. Campy and creepy in equal measures, House on Haunted Hill deserves its status as a horror classic. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide

Cast


Elisha Cook, Jr. - Watson Pritchard; Julie Mitchum - Ruth Badgers; Leona Anderson - Mrs. Slykes; Howard Hoffman - Jonas

Credit

William Castle - Director; William Castle - Producer; Carl Guthrie - Cinematographer; Roy Livingston - Editor; Dave Milton - Art Director; Von Dexter - Composer (Music Score); Robb White - Screenwriter; David D. Martin - Technical Director; Jane Huizenga - Production Director; Rosemary Horvath - Director

Similar Movies

After Midnight; And Then There Were None; The Bat; Bring Me the Vampire; The Cat and the Canary; The Fall of the House of Usher; The Haunting; The Legend of Hell House; The List of Adrian Messenger; Murder by Death; The Night Has Eyes; The Old Dark House; Terror in the Haunted House; Theater of Blood; 13 Ghosts; Ten Little Indians; Secret of the Blue Room; Thark; The Fall of the House of Usher
 
 
Wikipedia: House on Haunted Hill
This article is about the original 1959 film. For the 1999 remake see House on Haunted Hill (1999 film).
House on Haunted Hill
House_on_Haunted_Hill.jpg
Original theatrical release poster.
Directed by William Castle
Produced by William Castle
Robb White
Written by Robb White
Starring Vincent Price
Carolyn Craig
Elisha Cook Jr.
Carol Ohmart
Alan Marshal
Julie Mitchum
Music by Richard Kayne
Richard Loring
Von Dexter
Cinematography Carl E. Guthrie
Editing by Roy V. Livingston
Distributed by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation
Release date(s) 17 February 1959
Running time 75 min
Country Flag_of_the_United_States.svg
Language English
Budget $200,000 (estimated)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

House on Haunted Hill (1959) is a horror film directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, and starring Vincent Price as eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren. He and his fourth wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house for a "Haunted House" party. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn ten thousand dollars. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.

Style

In retrospect, the film's style is similar to the E.C. comic books of the era, such as Tales from the Crypt, and features elements of campy humor. The theatrical trailer promoted the film as The House on Haunted Hill, although all advertising material, and the title on the film itself were simply titled House on Haunted Hill. The film is best known for a famous promotional gimmick used in the film's original theatrical release called "Emergo": William Castle placed an elaborate pulley system in some theaters showing the film; allowing a plastic skeleton to be flown over the audience at the appropriate time. [1] [2] In the late 1980s, the Film Forum in New York City had a revival of the film (along with several other Castle pictures) that included the original gimmicks.

Thanks to Castle's gimmickry, the film was a huge success. Alfred Hitchcock took notice of the low-budget film's performance at the box office, and set out to make his own low-budget horror film, which became the critically acclaimed hit Psycho (1960). Ironically, Castle himself was a Hitchcock fan, and tried to imitate Hitchcock's work in later films such as Homicidal (1961).

Release

House on Haunted Hill was originally released by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. The film has since fallen into the public domain, and is available in a number of issues. Two major studios have released the film in remastered versions. Warner Home Video released the film on DVD as a tie-in to promote the release of the 1999 remake. In 2005, the film was colorized by Legend Films. The color version was released on DVD the same year by 20th Century Fox. Extras prepared by Legend Films for the Fox DVD release included an audio commentary track by comedian Michael J. Nelson, of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame, two versions of the trailer, and a slideshow of images from the film's original press book. The colorized release was very well received. [citation needed]

Cast

Trivia

External links


 
 

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