''Haunts of the Very Rich'' is a 1972

made-for-TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

thriller, broadcast as an ''

ABC Movie of the Week ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

''.

Plot

A group of rich tourists and business people fly to a mysterious tropical resort, the Portals of Eden, hosted by Seacrist. There, they spend their time relaxing and being pampered in paradise. Following a powerful storm after their first night, the guests suddenly find themselves all alone, with dwindling food and water, without communication with the outside world, and abandoned by the resort staff. The guests discover they have each recently experienced a brush with death, and they try to determine what it means. Dave had had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. Ellen a fatal reaction to a

rabies vaccine The rabies vaccine is a vaccine used to prevent rabies. There are a number of rabies vaccines available that are both safe and effective. They can be used to prevent rabies before, and, for a period of time, after exposure to the rabies virus, ...

. Annette was given unfamiliar

sleeping pills Hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of (and umbrella term for) psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep (or surgical anesthesiaWhen used in anesthesia ...

by her husband. Lyle and Laurie had been in a car accident. Reverend Fellows had drowned. Al reluctantly realizes he may have fallen down some stairs while drunk. Conditions continue to deteriorate and some come to believe that they are in Hell. As time passes, they receive clues about their fate. First, a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

lands to answer their distress call and the pilot assures them he will send help, although he cannot take any of them to safety. The group is elated but Laurie is depressed because she recognizes the pilot as Johnny Delmonico, a singer who had been recently reported in the news as having died in a plane crash. A second seaplane arrives later and the pilot explains that the storm was a hurricane and he had been held up with urgent relief efforts. The guests happily pack their bags to leave but return to find the plane gone, although there had been no engine noise. They realize that in this Hell, they are repeatedly given hope then have it taken away. Dave finds his own hopes of life with Ellen dashed when his clingy wife appears, apparently having committed suicide because she couldn't bear to be without him.

Cast

Production notes

''Haunts of the Very Rich'' was filmed around the

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

area, with the resort scenes filmed at

Villa Vizcaya The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, is the former villa and estate of businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick-International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in the present-day Coconut Grove neighborho ...

External links

*
Film Threat Bootleg Files: "Haunts of the Very Rich"

Film summary at Fandango.com
1972 television films 1972 films 1970s psychological thriller films ABC Movie of the Week ABC Motion Pictures films Films shot in Miami Films directed by Paul Wendkos American psychological thriller films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films {{psychological-thriller-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Production notes

See also

External links