throwback (halloween) thursday: halloween marathon: house on haunted hill

Originally published 10/10/13:

House on Haunted Hill begins with Elisha Cook Jr. and Vincent Price, each speaking directly to the audience, setting the mood of the movie and the evening to one of creepy horror. Adding to the spooky atmosphere are shots of the exterior of the haunted house — Ennis House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright a prime example of his Mayan Revival architecture.

A disembodied Vincent Price, "Welcome to the House on Haunted Hill"

Frederick Loren (Price), "I am Frederick Loren, and I have rented the House on Haunted Hill tonight so that my wife can give a party. She's so amusing. There'll be food and drink and ghosts, and perhaps even a few murders. You're all invited. If any of you will spend the next twelve hours in this house, I will give you each ten thousand dollars, or your next of kin in case you don't survive. Ah, but here come our other guests."

The five, presumably greedy "guests" are good-looking test pilot Lance Schroeder (Richard Long), newspaper columnist Ruth Bridges (Julie Mitchum), the house's owner Watson Pritchard (Elisha Cook, who is spookier than most of the spooks), suave psychiatrist Dr. David Trent (Alan Marshal), and pretty young thing Nora Manning (Carolyn Craig), who works for one of Loren's companies. Also in attendance, besides the host, Frederick Loren, is his wife, Annabelle. The two aren't exactly a loving couple.

Frederick Loren, "Don't let the ghosts and the ghouls disturb you, love."
Annabelle Loren,"Darling, the only ghoul in the house is you!"

"Eeeeeeeeeeeekkkkk!!!!"

House on Haunted Hill is all in good fun. The guests show up to the party each in their own individual hearse. Each person is supplied with a gun for their own protection. There is a vat in the basement filled with acid. Ghouls and ghosts appear to be on hand to help each of the guests into the netherworld. When the film was first released, director William Castle (The Tingler, Homicidal, The Old Dark House) used a gimmick called "Emergo" in theaters to further scare the audience — a skeleton was made to fly over the audience at a key moment during the film. It is rumored that Alfred Hitchcock, after seeing the success of the low-budget black and white horror movie, applied similar principles to his next film, Psycho. It is true that the sets and design of House on Haunted Hill do share the same production values as Hitchcock's television series, which may be the more direct ancestor of both films. Although dated, and undeniably goofy, thanks to the always wonderfully eloquent Price, House on Haunted Hill is still great Halloween viewing.

vincent price at moma

A recent post about House on Haunted Hill reminded me that I once had the great fortune to meet Vincent Price. It was the early '90s, and I was working at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, in the  bookstore. I was working the cash register and first heard his voice. He was calling to his wife, Coral Browne, to come look at something. Could it be? It was! Vincent Price!

Photo by Herb Ritts

I immediately thought of all the movies I have seen him in - Dragonwyk, where he was dark, handsome and brooding. Laura, where he was weak-willed but wonderful. The Three Musketeers, where he was an evil Richelieu, and The Ten Commandments, an even more evil Baka. And all the wonderful horror films, from the scary House of Wax, The Last Man on Earth, and The Fly to the campy Tales of Terror and Dr. Phibes movies. And what about Theatre of Blood, which almost defies description? Or Egghead on Batman?

From Dragonwyk, via Le Cher Visage de Mon Passe

He was elderly, grey, and maybe just slightly stooped, but still a tall, commanding presence. And that voice. They moved around the store, browsing, and generally having a good time. I lost sight of them as I helped some other customers, but then I heard Coral Browne calling to her husband, first low, and then louder, "Vinnie. VINNIE. VINNIE!!!" They were impressive and a hoot.

They finally finished browsing and started to make their way to the registers to cash out. I couldn't believe my good luck when I found myself face to face with Mr. Price. I asked him what I had to ask every customer before ringing up a sale — if he was a member of the Museum (being a member gave them a 20% discount). He looked at me for a moment, and then in his very best horror movie intonation he exclaimed, "No, No, NNNOOOOO!!!" Coral sighed and I laughed. I love Vincent Price.

halloween marathon: house on haunted hill

House on Haunted Hill begins with Elisha Cook Jr. and Vincent Price, each speaking directly to the audience, setting the mood of the movie and the evening to one of creepy horror. Adding to the spooky atmosphere are shots of the exterior of the haunted house — Ennis House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright a prime example of his Mayan Revival architecture.

A disembodied Vincent Price, "Welcome to the House on Haunted Hill"

Frederick Loren (Price), "I am Frederick Loren, and I have rented the House on Haunted Hill tonight so that my wife can give a party. She's so amusing. There'll be food and drink and ghosts, and perhaps even a few murders. You're all invited. If any of you will spend the next twelve hours in this house, I will give you each ten thousand dollars, or your next of kin in case you don't survive. Ah, but here come our other guests."

The five, presumably greedy "guests" are good-looking test pilot Lance Schroeder (Richard Long), newspaper columnist Ruth Bridges (Julie Mitchum), the house's owner Watson Pritchard (Elisha Cook, who is spookier than most of the spooks), suave psychiatrist Dr. David Trent (Alan Marshal), and pretty young thing Nora Manning (Carolyn Craig), who works for one of Loren's companies. Also in attendance, besides the host, Frederick Loren, is his wife, Annabelle. The two aren't exactly a loving couple.

Frederick Loren, "Don't let the ghosts and the ghouls disturb you, love."
Annabelle Loren,"Darling, the only ghoul in the house is you!"

"Eeeeeeeeeeeekkkkk!!!!"

House on Haunted Hill is all in good fun. The guests show up to the party each in their own individual hearse. Each person is supplied with a gun for their own protection. There is a vat in the basement filled with acid. Ghouls and ghosts appear to be on hand to help each of the guests into the netherworld. When the film was first released, director William Castle (The Tingler, Homicidal, The Old Dark House) used a gimmick called "Emergo" in theaters to further scare the audience — a skeleton was made to fly over the audience at a key moment during the film. It is rumored that Alfred Hitchcock, after seeing the success of the low-budget black and white horror movie, applied similar principles to his next film, Psycho. It is true that the sets and design of House on Haunted Hill do share the same production values as Hitchcock's television series, which may be the more direct ancestor of both films. Although dated, and undeniably goofy, thanks to the always wonderfully eloquent Price, House on Haunted Hill is still great Halloween viewing.

tim burton is back with frankenweenie

Frankenweenie is simply the best movie Tim Burton has done since Ed Wood. To paraphrase the old Addams Family theme song, it's creepy, spooky, and mysteriously ooky. It's also funny and visually amazing. Maybe Burton should limit himself to black and white films and his love of films past, because both these things seem to bring out the best in him. And just in time for Halloween, too, it's a real treat.

Victor Frankenstein loves his dog Sparky

I saw it in 3D, and it looked great, but the scenes are framed and lit so beautifully that it would look just as great in 2D. The stop-motion animated film is a longer re-imagining of Burton's original 1984 version. That film got Burton fired from Disney (Buena Vista), as it was considered too scary for kiddies. Burton must be feeling pretty vindicated to have Disney big-budgeting his reboot.

Burton's love of the classic black and white Universal monster movies is on display. Adults may get more from the film than their child chaperones, as they spot homages to Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Werewolf and many more. Classic horror film actors like Vincent Price and Boris Karloff are also paid tribute via the voicework. There's also a nod to Rankin Bass in the character of Mr. Bergermeister. The voicework is excellent, with such actors as Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short, who voice multiple characters, and Winona Ryder, Conchata Ferrell, and Martin Landau, among others.

Victor's classmate Weird Girl has a psychic cat, Mr. Whiskers

Young Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) loves his dog Sparky. They do everything together. Victor is essentially a loner, and doesn't interact much with the other kids in his class. But that all changes after Sparky dies after being hit by a car. A heartbroken Victor is unconsolable ntil the new science teacher, Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau, channeling Vincent Price) gives Victor the idea of how science and electricity might help bring Sparky back to life. His experiment is a success, but once people start to find out about Sparky life and science become more complicated — and dangerous.

The essential story of a boy and his dog remains touching, but what puts the movie over the top are the incredible puppets and visuals. Period cars and sets with amazing details will make for repeated viewings. Much of the movie is told from Sparky's eye-view. The look of the characters are similar in style to much of Burton's other work, like The Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and even Edward Scissorhands. In Frankenweenie that signature style has been tweaked a bit, exaggerated almost to the point of the grotesque. But somehow it all works. I can't remember enjoying a Tim Burton movie as much in a really long time. And if you're lucky enough to go to a theater that is giving away an exclusive IMAX print with Burton's original sketch of Sparky, be sure to grab one. I sure did.

seven gables

After our road trip to New England I am awash in all the genealogical data that I collected - talk about a big project - and am reading Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables to continue the mood as long as I can.

Yes, I'm in complete denial about Tuesday.

I am really enjoying Hawthorne's complicated prose, which is really making me take my time in the reading of it. The atmosphere is starting to creep...

Now if only I could find a copy of the Vincent Price movie, the mood would be complete.

p.s. I bought a cross-stitch kit of the house, but that's a really long-term project...