Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

I really enjoyed this movie. I got it because I love "The House on Haunted Hill". Vincent Price is one of my all time favorites!

This movie seems to come in an incredible variety of versions. This version seems to be the only one in widescreen. I generally prefer the widescreen versions because you get to see the movie as the director intended it.

As the movie opens we meet bank president John Fleming (Harvey Stephens, who also appeared in "Sergeant York," "North by Northwest," and nearly 100 more movies and television shows) and Dr. Malcolm Wells (Vincent Price, who has 180 appearances to his credit in a variety of media; two of his more recent appearances were in "Edward Scissorhands" and Michael Jackson's "Thriller"). We learn that Fleming has embezzled a million dollars from his bank and hidden it somewhere around the Oaks.

We next meet Cornelia Van Gorder (Agnes Moorhead, whose first role was in "Citizen Kane" and who had more than 100 movie and television roles to her credit), who has rented "The Oaks," a mansion where a man called the Bat murdered several people many years earlier. Ms. Van Gorder has assistant Lizzie Allen (Lenita Lane in her final role) with her.

This movie is filled with a number of other characters who seem to be in the movie primarily to keep us guessing who the actual murderer is. Other than the real murderer, the one character that stood out is Judy Hollander, played by former Our Gang member Darla Hood in her final film appearance and her next to last film performance.

This movie was filmed in a classic whodunit style. There are numerous mis-directions and overly dramatic moments. There are also moments of over-acting to match. The house is classic, with numerous rooms, large open spaces, secret panels and a hidden room. Though I had a reasonably good idea who the murderer was and though some of the acting was weak, this movie was worth a watch. Actually, I have watched this one twice now and enjoyed it more the second time I watched it.

Fans of radio mysteries, whodunits, "old dark house" mysteries, Vincent Price and Agnes Moorhead will find this movie worth at least one watch, maybe more. Just be sure you get the wide screen version!

Enjoy!