House on Haunted Hill

Directed in 1958 by 50s B-grade horror maestro William Castle, “House on Haunted Hill” boasted the arrival of “Emergo”, a fluorescent skeleton that swept across the head of audience members in the cinema. Widowed playboy millionaire Frederick Loren (Vincent Price) invites 5 guests: a race driver, a columnist, the previous owner, a psychiatrist, and a typist to spend a night with Loren and his fourth wife, Annabelle, in the haunted house. At the strike of midnight the doors will close, the electricity will be out, and 12 hours lie ahead in a tenement in which there have been several mysterious deaths, including those of Loren’s previous 3 wives. The 4 men and 3 women have nothing in common, other than their need for money, and Loren has posted a reward of $10,000 for anyone who lasts the night. Low in budget, the film boasts several frightening scenes, including an acid bath and dismembered head, earning the film an M rating. Cast includes: Vincent Price, Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Carolyn Craig. Music composed and conducted by Castle collaborator Von Dexter. Remade in 1999 by William Malone.