House on Haunted Hill - 1959 - P.F.F.

This film is a personal favorite of mine, it is old, black and white and not all that scary, but it has stood the test of time and they always say imitation is the highest form of flattery, if that is the case the 1999 remake of this film was pretty flattering. Though this is one of those movies that the original has some redeeming qualities that the remake can’t hold a candle to. Some scenes are pretty campy and some of the dialogue is a bit off, but the cast makes it work anyways. I mean, really, anything with Vincent Price is going to be considered a classic and worth seeing.

So, the plot, Mr. and Mrs. Loren are throwing a haunted house party and they have invited 5 people to the house, if they can stay the night in the house, they will receive $10,000 (Which in 1956 would have been like $88,255.60 in 2016). Each person has their own reasons for being in the house from desperate need to just plain greed. The relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Loren is an interesting dynamic that plays into the plot of the movie so I can’t get too far into it. As with many of the films from the ’50s and ’60s they rely more on the jump scare and atmosphere than gore or violence. And the atmosphere in this film is amazing. The house itself is almost its own character. There is a wonderful soundtrack and use of light, shadows, and simple tricks that do not cheapen the story but help drive it along. The cast is amazing and play off each other very well. The Lorens (Vincent Price and Carol Ohmart), are amazing, the way they play off each other is just completely amazing. There is always something about Vincent’s presence when he is on camera that is an atmosphere all its own. Then there is his beautiful counterbalance, that being the striking beauty of Carol Ohmart.

This film has a charm all it’s own. From the audio effects, lighting, and use of sound, it actually has a wonderful atmosphere. Even with only a short explanation of each character, they can be developed enough to give you an emotional investment in the characters and decide which ones you like and which ones you don’t. The house is beautiful, the opening sequences of the film were shot using the Ennis Brown house in Los Angeles. The house was designed and built in 1924 by Frank Lloyd Wright. The house is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Due to the fact, the film itself is in black and white, the shadows around the house give an eerie feeling of foreboding and that the house is actually haunted. The inside is made to look old and abandoned but still high class and has a style of its own.

Shall we talk about some of the people that brought this story to life? I think so, and we are going to start with one of the kings of horror himself, that would be the amazing Vincent Price. With an impressive career that spanned over six decades, his voice, face, and all-around class became almost a staple of the horror genre. Starring with other horror icons like Peter Lorre, Peter Cushing, Sir Christopher Lee, these men helped shape the genre for later generations and stars. Some of the things he is best known for are his distinctive low-pitched voice and the way he was able to bring atmosphere into anything he did with just his presence and that voice. At 6’4” inches, he was also known for his slender frame and towering height that dwarfed many of his costars. One thing I will remember about him is his laugh, it always scared me as a little girl. With an extensive resume from the 40s, 50s, and 60s horror to animated features and music videos, the man’s popularity spanned many generations. People who watched and enjoyed him in such films as ‘The Tower of London” (1939) and ‘Laura’ (1944), their children got to enjoy him in such films as “The Fly” (1958) and “The Raven” (1963). A whole new generation got to know Vincent in the 1970’’s and ’80s with him starring in “Madhouse” (1974) and the Disney hit film “The Great Mouse Detective” (1986), he has said that his role in the “Great Mouse Detective” was one of his favorites, especially since two of the songs in the movie were written for him. There is a story, told by Price, that he and Peter Lorre went to see the body of Bela Lugosi at his funeral, Lorre, seeing Lugosi in his Dracula attire turned to Price and said, “Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart, just in case?”. He is one of the few people that has 2 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for television and one for Motion Pictures. In the early 1990’s he was introduced briefly to a new generation of fans with his brief role in the Johnny Depp film “Edward Scissorhands’ (1990), his role in the film was intended to be much larger, but due to the fact he was very ill from Parkinson’s disease and emphysema, he was only physically able to appear in two scenes. The horror community lost an icon on October 25, 1993, when Vincent was called home from lung cancer and emphysema. Whether he was playing a villain, anti-hero, or narrating a documentary, there will never be another like him and he is sorely missed.

Our next cast member is the beautiful Mrs. Loren, played by Carol Ohmart. I honestly could not think of a better woman to play opposite Vincent Price than this beauty. Graceful and charming, Carol was able to get you emotionally invested in the situation between herself and Price in record time. Carol was one of many blonde bombshells that were pranced out to an eager public in the ’50s, looking to be the next “Marilyn’, sadly, just like most of the others, she was unable to climb up to that pedestal. Part of this being that where Marilyn was seen as a vulnerable, innocent sex goddess, Carol was seen as unsympathetic and more hardbitten. In looks, they were that same cookie-cutter beauty that most of the starlets of the 1950s had. Large eyes, full lips, and an amazing figure were the hallmarks of a 1950s leading actress. Having roles in films like “The Scarlet Hour” (1956), “The Millionaire’ (1958), and closing out the 50’s with our wonderful little gem. She continued to make films through the ’60s having roles in such films as “Wild Youth” (1961), and “One Man’s Way’ (1964), though most of her career ended up being more on the small screen with series like “Lock Up” (1960), “Perry Mason” (1961), and “Mannix” (1972). Her last film would be “The Spectre of Edgar Allen Poe” (1974) before she would disappear from Hollywood’s bright lights. After a rather sad period in her life, battling medication addiction and disability, she was able to pull herself from those fires and started to study metaphysics, also making time for oil painting, gardening, and writing. Sadly, Carol was called home on New Years Day, 2002 at the age of 74.

Our last cast member is the timid Watson Pritchard, the current owner of the house and a flighty little man who believes that it is the house that has brought all the misfortune on those who move within its walls. He is played by the talented Elisha Cook, Jr. At a tiny 5’5”, he was best known for playing intense neurotics or spineless double dealers. He had a rather full career that lasted almost 60 years. He is one of my favorite characters in the film due to the way he is flighty yet endearing in his own way. His

career starting in the 1930s with roles in films like “Two in a Crowd” (1936), “Submarine Patrol’ (1938), and “Grand Jury Secrets” (1939). The ’40s and ’50s saw a great many roles in films such as “Ball of Fire” (1941), “Dillinger” (1945), and the iconic classic “The Maltese Falcon” as well as TV series like “Dick Tracy” (1950), “The Lone Wolf” (1955), “Panic!” (1958). The 1960s brought more tv roles that made him even more of a household name. With roles in wildly popular series like “Wagon Train” (1960-1964), “Gunsmoke” (1958-1965) as well as a role in the creepy cult classic “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968). The ’70s saw him in some more films in our beloved genre like “Messiah of Evil” (1973), “Dead of Night” (1977), and “Salem’s Lot” (1979). He closed out his career in the 1980s with roles in such series as the “A-Team” (1985), “Simon and Simon” (1983-1986), and his final role in the wildly popular “Magnum, P.I.” (1981-1988). No matter what role he was playing he was always giving his all. I have never seen a role that I did not enjoy. The world lost a great character actor on May 18, 1995, when because of a stroke, he was called home. He left behind a wonderful resume of great roles that I encourage any film fan to explore.

As I said before this movie has so many qualities that just could not be matched with the remake. There is a simple beauty from the outside of the house to the simple tricks and camera tricks that nowadays will make you laugh but back then had people jumping and screaming in the theatres. This is another one of those great classics that you can’t go wrong with. I love to have “old movie nights’ with nothing after 1959. Watching old films like “Nosferatu”, ‘The Haunted Castle” and of course the Universal monsters. This film is a PFF as there is no real anything too scary, gross, or sexual. There isn’t any super deep character development, but enough for you to care about the characters and what is happening in the house. Again, this is a great old movie, a great Saturday night, popcorn kind of movie when you are not looking for anything with heavy blood, gore, or CGI. Just be wary, should you receive a party invitation from someone you don’t know, offering for you to receive money to just spend a night in an old house. Do your research first, and if you do go, stay in your room, lock the door, and pray for morning. Have a good time.