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Creepy Classics Spotlight Movie Last Weekend - HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1958) Every week, readers here are selecting a movie to view...then we all try to watch it together utilizing our DVD/video library. This past Saturday night, many of us watched HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1958). Suggested by Suggested by Bob Swaney, Manalapan, New Jersey. Details about movie nights to come are HERE. Please include your name and location after your comments, so we can see how we're all joining together from diffeent locals around the globe! Let's all Synch-Up Saturday nights at 7:30PM, or catch this week's movie sometime over the weekend!
HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL is one of those movies that I can watch again and again and NEVER tire of. Each scene is entertaining (even if illogical!). My favorite scare scene is the floaring witch/housekeeper in the basement. This sent me to running from the room when I was about 8 years old! I slowly crept back to the dark, empty living room for more William Castle punishment. I always thought that seeing the rope tie itself around the heroine's feet was a cheat in the plot. But, I love this thing for sheer fun, scary entertainment! -Ron Adams, Ligonier, PA
Hi Bob, Ron (Hope "Chiller" was a "Thriller" show for the whole gang, sir!), my good friend Kevin Surnear, Barb Heiss, Bob Pelligrino and everybody else out there in "HORRORWOOD U.S.A." (INCLUDING ALL OF MY SIMULCAST BUDDIES!) I just finished watching "The House On Haunted Hill" for the 2nd time this past weekend (once on FRIDAY evening and then late SATURDAY evening for an encore presentation!) What a GREAT movie to watch for the Halloween holiday season! I first remember watching this one when I was a young kid during the mid-1970`s when it was aired by "The Hoolihan and Big Chuck Show" ( P.S.-This was the VERY FIRST film that the great pair ever showed on their program!) ---Anyway, here are my observations/opinions on this all-time spooky classic: 1) You gotta love the sharp, biting and witty dialogue between Frederick Loren (brilliantly played by Vincent Price) and his wife, Annabelle (chillingly potrayed by the underrated and VERY BEAUTIFUL Carol {"Spider Baby"} Ohmart ) in this film. Both actors show great zeal in delivering their lines with enthusiasm and professionalism. That being said, much credit should ALSO go to Robb White for writing these fantastic lines! (After all, actors and ultimately, a film, are only as good as the script that is used) 2) This movie plays like a filmed version of the popular murder/mystery board game "Clue" {albeit with spooky props added}
4) Nice Supporting Cast here too! Richard Long does a nice job here as the "inquisitive" test-pilot Lance Schroeder- who gets in a little "over-HIS-HEAD" when trying to protect hysterical Nora Manning (played to the hilt by Carolyn Craig) from being killed by the villian/evil spirits of the house. Alan Marshal plays Dr. David Trent (the psychiatrist) with the customary mix of concern, mystery, arrogance and finally, underhandedness. (Of course, we eventually find out that he and Annabelle are in cohoots with each other and are trying to knock off Frederick by getting a frightened Nora to shoot him accidentally down in the creepy basement..... Super character actor Elisha Cook Jr. {"Blacula"} is always nice to see as well. He plays the terminally spooked Watson Pritchard and has some of the best lines in the film as well! 5) I know Nora Manning is really put through the ringer in this film (being scared) BUT AFTER A CERTAIN POINT I FELT LIKE SLAPPING THE LADY! ALL HER SCREAMING WAS ENOUGH TO GIVE ME A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN - LET ALONE HER!!!! 6) Nice creepy music score by Von Dexter in this film. It definitely enhances this production!
- My rating: 3.75/5 stars! ---Dan Brenneis- Strongsville, Ohio- Monster Bash Staff Member And LifeTime FilmFan Extroadinairre.
Happy Halloween Synchers! Blood curdling screams and the great Elisha Cook Jr. open this weeks classic House on Haunted Hill. An original opening and set up, a recognizable group prepares for a night of terror. This is my second life time viewing. I remember as a kid having opportunities to see it, but a friend told me it was the scariest film he had ever seen, so I avoided it till later in life when I found it for a dollar at Dollar General.
Vincent´s great voice raises the quality of any movie he is in. Even in the cheesiest material, he seems sincere. The creepy Hag!!!! The way it glides across the floor...time for nighmares! A non stop thrill ride, William Castle doing what he does best, scaring and entertaining us. Fun, money making, but it doesn´t insult our intelligence. A true genius. Ken Blose,
Scary haunted house movies get no better than this classic William Castle film starring Vincent Price as a millionaire Kevin Coon
Hi Ron, Here are my thoughts on HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. This one’s gonna be fun! The film starts out like it’s going to be a mystery or a film noir thriller. But watch out, because it soon takes a left turn into crazy land. Handing out handguns to your party guests – now that’s one way to enliven the festivities. So Lawrence’s wife and Trent planned the whole thing. Now it all makes sense. Sort of. In the end credits, it says, “Skeleton: By Himself.” I never caught that before. HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL is one of my Monster Kid favorites. The plot doesn’t make a lick of sense. But it packs every horror cliche imaginable into a fun-filled 75 minutes. If you had to show a classic horror film to a modern movie fan, this would be a great choice. Four stars. “Remember the fun we had when you poisoned me?” Steven Thornton
Hey guys. It was good to see everybody at Chiller Theater. Would of like to talk more but you guys were really busy, which is a good thing. This was always a Halloween favorite and that's the reason why I picked it for this past weekend. One of William Castle's best movies.
Talk to you guys later. Bob Swaney
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3) Since we are talking about props, YOU HAVE TO LOVE THE "PARTY FAVORS" hatched up by the good ol` wifey in this one! (Dig those little coffins with a loaded pistol inside each one!) Wow!- I wonder if any of these props are still around- Can you imagine how much one would be worth today?! (Imagine bidding for one of these on e-bay!!!) CREEPY COOL KIDS! - The severed head in the suitcase and the self-playing piano were cool tricks too! 
7) William Castle`s use of "EMERGO" in this film MUST have been a real HOOT back when this premeired in 1958 in San Francisco, C.A. The fans stampeded on opening night and knocked out the first eight rows of seats! Talk about having a hit on your hands! -- Lastly, Watching this fun movie makes me think alot of our dear friend Vincent Price. It`s hard to believe that this talented, gracious, caring and highly cultured man has been gone for 17 years now - (Monday, October 25th, 1993) ironically- he passed away SIX days before Halloween. We all miss you Vincent. Gone BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS!!! 
The architecture of the house is not typical for this kind of film, and not what you see in the posters. I wonder where it is? Well it is the Frank Lloyd Wrights (my favorite architect) Ennis Brown house in LA. Thanks IMDB!
What a great cobra/mongoose relationship between Vincent Price and Carol Ohmart. Just another happy marriage among the wealthy sect.
Starting with Elisha Cook's warning at the beginning of the film, to the floating creepy house keeper, to all the severed heads popping up, to Annabelle's hanging body, and finally to the skeleton coming out of the vat of acid. There is is just no ends to thrills and chills that are thrown at us in the film. And then it ends as it begins with Elisha Cook warning us all over again. Now there are some holes in the plot, like why would Nora Manning's boss (Fredrick Loren) want to kill her and some useless characters, Julie Mitchum, as columnist Ruth Bridgers, brings nothing to the table. But on a whole still a great movie. 
Speaking of the cast Carolyn Graig as Nora Manning and Elisha Cook as Watson Pritchard were a little over the top in the hysteria department, and Richard Lang as Lance Schroeder was probably the most useless hero I ever saw in a movie. But Alan Marshal as Dr Trent and the beautiful Carol Ohmart as Annabelle Loren were great in supporting roles. Matter of fact Carol Ohmart's Annabelle reminded me of an old girlfriend of mine (that's a story for another day). But there is only one cast member that makes the movie what it is and that is the great Vincent Price. Along with Bela Lugosi, he is one of my all time favorites and this is one of his best roles. As Frederick Loren he comes across as both suave host and menacing killer at the same time. No matter how many times I seen this film you don't know if he was the innocent victim defending himself or the evil genius who planned the demise of his wife and her lover. But then again that's why I consider him one of the best there is.
You can get HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1958) on DVD in the 