House On Haunted Hill (1958) in '50s Horror and Sci-Fi Forum

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House On Haunted Hill (1958)

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jplibby		#61	[-]
Oct 19 10 10:44 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	For those who might not be aware, Rifftrax Live will be presenting House on Haunted Hill on October 28: http://www.fathomevents.c...t/rifftraxlive_hohh.aspx Gotta get me some Necco wafers!
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Monsterpal		#62	[-]
Oct 19 10 11:42 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The usher ran down the aisle and inquired, "Is there a Necco in hair?"
David Sechrest		#63	[-]
Oct 21 10 12:59 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts
delgadosaur		#64	[-]
Nov 12 10 5:36 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Really strange contrast between the architecture of the exterior, which is a Lloyd Wright, I am guessing, and the hum-drum typical Victorian interiors.
Godziwolf		#65	[-]
Nov 15 10 1:06 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	delgadosaur wrote: Really strange contrast between the architecture of the exterior, which is a Lloyd Wright, I am guessing, and the hum-drum typical Victorian interiors. Vincent Price would have murdered himself on the lintels of an actual Wright interior.
opticalguy	A Philistine Chimes In	#66	[-]
Nov 16 10 12:37 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	On 11-12-10 delgadosaur wrote: Really strange contrast between the architecture of the exterior, which is a Lloyd Wright, and the hum-drum typical Victorian interiors On Godziwolf 11-15-10 wrote: Vincent Price would have murdered himself on the lintels of an actual Wright interior. Good call gang … the exterior is the famous Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Ennis house and the interiors are whatever was in the scene dock where-ever Castle shot the film. I know Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the great visionary architects but I have a very low opinion of him as a builder. The Ennis house was built of cast concrete bricks of a pseudo-Mayan style that was popular in the 1920s. Unlike virtually every other concrete structure built in the 1920s (check out the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles) the bricks of the Ennis house started crumbling almost immediately. As to interiors … well … Wright was under 5'8" tall and all doorways in his houses would catch someone my, or Vincent Price's, height (6'4") smack dab in the middle of the forehead. In his compound at Taliesin West not only was I slinking under the door openings but in his private screening room (this was built prior to TV) the only spot with an acceptable viewing angle was Wright's spot. I was grumbling about "form precludes function" all through the tour of Taliesin West and my wife feared I would be stoned as an unbeliever if I didn't shut the f**k up. The House on Haunted Hill and the Ennis House today. Here in the Philadelphia area there is Temple Beth Shalom which is one of the last things he designed and one of the few Wright structures that was built properly in that it's holding up just fine and the building materials were up to code. Wright had little to do with the actual choice of building materials or the construction. It is a lovely congregation (Conservative Jewish and very friendly bunch of folks) but the sanctuary suggests a Myan Temple and is totally free of any indications that it is a Jewish place of worship. Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona (duck you suckers) and Temple Beth Shalom in Elkins Park (northern suburb of Philadelphia) in Pennsylvania. opticalguy1954@yahoo.com (Spencer Gill) Last Edited By: opticalguy Nov 16 10 12:41 PM. Edited 2 times.
ryanbrennan		#67	[-]
Nov 18 10 12:25 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I believe the movie SNIDE AND PREJUDICE (1997) also shot at the Wright house. I seem to recall that we get to see some of the real interior.
DocMoreau		#68	[-]
Nov 18 10 10:20 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I confess I like the Wright synagogue. Since ancient times people have complained that Jewish houses of worship lacked overt symbols of who or what is being worshipped there. Stars of David leave me cold (I am Jewish, btw) and if I had my way we'd build pyramids! >> H. R. Sauertieg Get away from those cages! Facebook
opticalguy	A Philistine Keeps on Going	#69	[-]
Nov 18 10 11:50 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	On 11/18/10 DocMoreau confessed to liking the Frank Lloyd Wright Synagogue and I can see why he might but as you can tell I'm one of those benighted souls who questions some of his choices. Happily since he was not in charge of materials nor the construction (hey … he was about 92 at the time) I snidely mentioned that it's one of his few structures to not be falling down and its form doesn't preclude its function. The synagogue is also a very nice place for services. Back to movies however … there was no attempt to match the interior sets to the exterior location in House on Haunted Hill but in the Rocketeer they did try to do it (for Nigel Sinclair/Errol Flynn's house) but I liked the Hollywood version more than the Wright version. Boy am I a Philistine … aren't I? The interiors created for The Rocketeer and on the right a still of the actual interior. Not a bad job of matching set to exterior location. opticalguy1954@yahoo.com (Spencer Gill) Last Edited By: opticalguy Nov 18 10 12:01 PM. Edited 2 times.
TomWeaver999		#70	[-]
Nov 18 10 12:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	<< there was no attempt to match the interior sets to the exterior location << It seems to me that at some point you do see, on the interior sets, a coupla blocks with the same pattern on the blocks on the Wright house. My memory is that they were fleetingly seen, and the only time I noticed 'em was the time I watched the movie consciously looking for 'em. My memory is that they turn up, just as fleetingly, on one set in Allied Artists' THE BAT.
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Monsterpal		#71	[-]
Nov 18 10 1:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yes, there was a wall or two decorated with the same pseudo-Mayan style to give it some continuity with the exterior. Kind of a half-hearted attempt.
delgadosaur		#72	[-]
Nov 26 10 3:19 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Still, a weird contrast between the interiors and exterior. Wonder if they built the sets first, then decided on the location afterward.
acker j forestman		#73	[-]
Dec 29 10 1:53 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Ennis house was also featured in BLADE RUNNER, with a scene in the courtyard, and the Mayan tile design used extensively in the sets for Deckard's apartment.
telegonus		#74	[-]
Dec 29 10 2:21 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I haven't seen House On Haunted Hill for some time but aren't the opening scenes outside the Ennis house the only time we see the exterior? The remainder of the picture is, as I recall, set indoors, with the window trick being the only time we really get a glimpse "outside", and that's in the dead of night. I don't find the art direction for this one particularly impressive. It just looks like cheap indoor sets and not particularly Gothic or Victorian ones, either. A chair here, a table there, maybe, but it to me it looks like the inside of a Hilton hotel built in 1927. It's an enjoyable movie but I don't find it visually impressive or the least bit evocative.
TomWeaver999		#75	[-]
Dec 29 10 12:10 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Here and there throughout the movie, as bridges between scenes, we get shots of the outside of the house. This is probably mentioned earlier in this thread, but it may have been first seen in FEMALE (1933).
telegonus		#76	[-]
Dec 30 10 1:42 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks for the response, Tom. Did Castle film his AA horrors on the Allied lot? I don't think they had much of one. Some years back I caught The Bat on some cable channel and the interiors of the house Agnes Moorehead's character lives in look identical to those of House On Haunted Hill. My guess is that the studio had just one big all-purpose interior with long halls and a staircase that could be used for anything from the governor's mansion to a big city hotel. Castle's production values improved when he moved back to Columbia (where he got his start). He was never a big spender but his Columbia (and later Universal) pictures have a certain polish. They're low budget but not plug ugly.
Shadow Chaser		#77	[-]
Jan 31 11 12:38 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	House on Haunted Hill colorized
Sid Terror		#78	[-]
Jan 31 11 6:47 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	opticalguy wrote: Back to movies however … there was no attempt to match the interior sets to the exterior location in House on Haunted Hill... There are the other examples people have listed here, but there was also a doorway and surrounding area at the beginning of the film as they enter the house, that was specifically built to try and match the interior to the exterior as we enter the house in a slow dolly shot. One feature of the real house that surprisingly is seldom featured or made note of in films is the long swimming pool. I think it may have been shown in only one of the dozens of films shot there. If I recall correctly it was maybe DAY OF THE LOCUST. "It's better to have accomplishments remarkable enough to be put in question, than to have no accomplishments at all." Last Edited By: Sid Terror Jan 31 11 6:51 PM. Edited 2 times.
monochrome		#79	[-]
Feb 4 11 4:45 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	>>> I know Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the great visionary architects but I have a very low opinion of him as a builder. The Ennis house was built of cast concrete bricks of a pseudo-Mayan style that was popular in the 1920s. Unlike virtually every other concrete structure built in the 1920s (check out the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles) the bricks of the Ennis house started crumbling almost immediately. <<< FLW was maybe everthing you think but more artist than manager, since bad QC from the block maker made him look bad. Crumbling concrete is typically from bad quality rather than design.
Sid Terror	Time out for fun....	#80	[-]
Feb 11 11 1:19 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I thought it appropriate considering some peoples opinion of the house itself. "It's better to have accomplishments remarkable enough to be put in question, than to have no accomplishments at all."
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House On Haunted Hill (1958)