''House of the Damned'' is a 1963

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

, shot in

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

. It was produced and directed by

Maury Dexter Maury Dexter (born Morris Gene Poindexter; June 12, 1927 – May 28, 2017) was an American producer and director of film and TV. He worked several times for Robert Lippert and American International Pictures. Life and career Dexter was born in P ...

, and stars Ron Foster,

Merry Anders Merry Anders (born Mary Helen Anderson; May 22, 1934 – October 28, 2012) was an American actress and model who appeared in a number of television programs and films from the 1950s until her retirement from the screen in 1972. Early life Ander ...

, Richard Crane, Erika Peters and

Richard Kiel Richard Dawson Kiel (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014) was an American actor. Standing tall, he was known for portraying Jaws in '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) and '' Moonraker'' (1979). Kiel's next-most-recognized role is the t ...

Plot

Architect Scott Campbell ( Ron Foster) and his wife (

) survey an old mansion where the previous tenant disappeared. Strange noises, eerie sights and vanishing keys ruin their attempt at a wedding anniversary. Things get worse after Scott's employer ( Richard Crane) and his wife arrive, and his employer's wife is kidnapped.

Cast

* Ron Foster as Scott Campbell (credited as Ronald Foster) *

as Nancy Campbell * Richard Crane as Joseph Schiller * Erika Peters as Loy Schiller *

Dal McKennon Dallas Raymond McKennon (July 19, 1919 – July 14, 2009), sometimes credited as Dal McKennon, was an American film, television and voice actor, who had a career lasting over 50 years. During World War II he served in the Army Signal Corps and wa ...

as Mr. Quinby *

Georgia Schmidt Georgia Schmidt was an American actress of German descent. Schmidt was the original voice of the Mrs. Beasley doll made by Mattel. She is probably best known as playing the first Talosian alien in the first episode of the original Star Trek serie ...

as Priscilla Rochester * Stacey Winters as Nurse *

as The Giant * Ayllene Gibbons as The Fat Woman * John Gilmore as The Legless Man * Frieda Pushnik as The Legless Girl

Production

Harry Spalding Harry Spalding (1913-2008) was an American writer best known for the films he wrote for Robert L. Lippert and director Maury Dexter. He later worked for the Walt Disney Company. He sometimes wrote under the name "Henry Cross". Select Credits * ...

said he was inspired to write the film by the movie ''

Freaks Freak has several meanings: a person who is physically deformed or suffers from an extraordinary disease and condition, a genetic mutation in a plant or animal, etc. Freak, freaks or The Freak may also refer to: Fictional characters * Freak (Ima ...

'' and wondering what happened to the sort of characters who used to work in freak shows in circuses. Exteriors are filmed at the former Bugsy Siegel Mansion (later owned by Madonna) in the Hollywood Hills overlooking Lake Hollywood reservoir. The movie was shot over seven days.

Release

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

on September 5, 2006. The company would release the film again in 2010 as a part of its 4-disk 75th Anniversary Studio Classics collection. It was later released by Fox on June 27, 2017.

Reception

''House of the Damned'' has received mixed reviews from critics. Author and film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

awarded the film two out of four stars, calling it "Modestly suspenseful" but criticized the film's ending as being "surprisingly wistful". Brett Gallman from ''Oh, the Horror!'' gave the film a mixed review, commending the film's moody cinematography, atmosphere, and occasional chills generated by the title house's tenants, but criticized the film's underwhelming revelation, and "failure to deliver on its intrigue". Craig Butler from

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

called the film "dull", criticizing the film's cheapness, script and cardboard characters, while also complimenting Nickolaus' cinematography as "above-average"

References

External links

* * * * 1963 films 1963 horror films 1960s horror thriller films CinemaScope films American horror thriller films American black-and-white films American monster movies Films set in country houses 1960s monster movies 1960s science fiction horror films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Maury Dexter 1960s American films {{1960s-horror-film-stub