William Castle’s “House on Haunted Hill” is one of the coolest movies.
Frederick Loren (Vincent Price) is on his fourth wife. Her name is Annabelle (Carol Ohmart). He is an eccentric millionaire. He is giving a party. He has invited 5 people from all walks of life. The only thing they have in common is they all need money. He offers each one $10,000 if they will stay overnight in a haunted house he has rented for the evening. Seven people have died in the house. With his wife and himself the people in the house now total seven. Watson Pritchard (Elisha Cook Jr.) owns the house. He inherited it. He tells stories about some of the deaths. Lance Schroeder (Richard Long) is a test pilot. Nora Manning (Carolyn Craig) works for one of Loren’s companies as a secretary. Dr. David Trent (Allan Marshall) is a psychiatrist and Ruth Bridgers (Julie Mitchum) is a gossip columnist.
Spooky things start right away. Blood drips from the ceiling. There is a vat of acid in the basement. Nora almost gets killed by a falling chandelier. Then Nora sees things that the others don’t believe. She finds a head in her suitcase that disappears. Are these things all paranormal or is one of the Lorens up to something evil.
As a party favor Loren gives each one a tiny coffin with a gun in it. The .45 caliber pistol is for protection. By now Nora is a basket case. The others are spooked as well. And the night is just beginning.
"House on Haunted Hill" was released in 1958 and was directed by William Castle. The over dramatic flair of Price and the other actors is part of the mood of the movie. Add in some thunder and lightning and it is one scary movie for either a dark theater or late night TV. The intensity of everything going on has just one purpose. To propel you to the very end of the movie. On the way there are twists and turns but William Castle won’t be done with you until the final credits roll. This is one good Horror movie.
The outside house shots for the house are a Frank Lloyd Wright house called The Ennis Brown House. Castle’s gimmick for this movie was to float a skeleton over the audience toward the end of the movie.