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House on Haunted Hill (1959)

A millionaire offers $10,000 to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him and his wife.

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
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Watson Pritchard (as Elisha Cook)
Julie Mitchum ...
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Howard Hoffman ...
...
Himself
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Storyline

Eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren and his 4th wife, Annabelle, have invited 5 people to the house on Haunted Hill for a "haunted House" party. Whoever will stay in the house for one night will earn ten thousand dollars each. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors. Written by Tony Mayer <[email protected]>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Acclaimed The Super-Shocker Of The Century! See more »

Genres:

Horror | Mystery

Certificate:

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Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

17 February 1959 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Das Haus auf dem Geisterhügel  »

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Westrex Recording System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The $10,000 offered to each of the guests in 1959 would be equal to about $83,450 in 2017. See more »

Goofs

Recognizably the following was intended to be a spooky special effect, but delivered rather awkwardly... Annabelle had faked her hanging death to fool her husband and the guests, and to obviously scare Nora to the point of hysteria. Which explains why "ghost" Annabel 'floats' to Nora's window, but doesn't materialize inside the room, as an actual ghost would. However, that sequence does not explain how the rope managed to creep through the window and *wrap* itself around Nora's ankles, and then retract out the window again. It may have worked better, if the rope had physically pulled on Nora's ankles, leaving her screaming as she grabbed onto to something, and then simply retracted back out the window again. See more »

Quotes

Nora Manning: [comes around corner, whispering] Lance, hide me, please, hide me!
Lance Schroeder: What?
Nora Manning: Hide me!
[they go to his room and lock the door, she regains her voice]
Nora Manning: He tried to kill me! He grabbed me and choked me and put me in that room, and then he went away and left me!
Lance Schroeder: Who?
Nora Manning: He thought I was dead!
Lance Schroeder: Who?
Nora Manning: Mr. Loren.
Lance Schroeder: Are you sure about this?
[...]
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Crazy Credits

The end title credits list "Skeleton - By Himself" See more »

Connections

Featured in Night Visions: The Occupant (2001) See more »

Soundtracks

House on Haunted Hill
Theme
by Richard Kayne and Richard Loring
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Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Nearly Forgotten If Not Saved
5 January 2001 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

William Castle has made several wonderful horror films; some obviously better than others, but at the top of the list are "Thirteen Ghosts" and "House on Haunted Hill." This movie might though have been all but forgotten if not one plucky guy recently remade this movie in to a much more gory movie. That movie is a remake in name only, but this one is obviously more superior because it has the incredibly creepy presence of Vincent Price and the nervous tick of Elisha Cook. The ghosts aren't very scary, nor do we see anything really supernatural, but the atmosphere and uneasiness of this film makes for an incredible who done it story as you wonder who will get it. The set is intoxicating inasmuch as you never really see all of it, nor is it really explained what such a dangerous pit is doing in such a precarious spot in the basement. Such a matter isn't important. On the other side of the coin, the music and the special effects are rather hokey, but then when this was in the theaters, a lot of the teenagers would have been making out to have really bothered to pick this movie apart. It is only in recent years that movies have turned away from gore and back to movies with style and substance that we appreciate films like this.


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