Wikipedia

House of Horrors

For other uses, seeHouse of Horror (disambiguation).

House of Horrors(also known asMurder MansionandJoan Bedford Is Missing[3]) is a 1946 Americanhorror filmreleased byUniversal Pictures,starringRondo Hatton,Martin KosleckandRobert Lowery.[3]The screenplay was byGeorge Brickerfrom an original story by Dwight V. Babcock. A sculptor enlists the assistance of a madman to kill his critics.

House of Horrors
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJean Yarbrough
Screenplay byGeorge Bricker[1]
Story byDwight V. Babcock[1]
Produced byBen Pivar[1]
Starring
CinematographyMaury Gertsman[1]
Edited byPhilip Cahn[1]
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures Company, Inc.
Release dates
  • 22 February 1946(1946-02-22)(New York)
  • 29 March 1946(1946-03-29)
Running time
66 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States[2]
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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Struggling sculptor Marcel de Lange is depressed about events in his life, and decides to commit suicide. Just as he is about to kill himself, he sees a madman known as "the Creeper" in the process of drowning and saves him. Taking the disfigured man into his care, he makes him the subject of his next sculpture and calls it his best creation. When critics denigrate Marcel's work, he has the Creeper start killing them. Marcel becomes obsessed with Joan, a beautiful female art critic. When Marcel invites her over and she sees Marcel's sculpture of the Creeper, she suspects that Marcel knows the killer. Later, Marcel decides that Joan knows too much and commands the Creeper to kill her. The Creeper is reluctant to do so; however, when he discovers that Marcel plans to turn him over to the police, the Creeper kills Marcel, and is about to kill Joan when he is shot by the police.

Cast

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Production

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On November 8, 1944, an article inThe Hollywood Reporterstated that producer Ben Pivar was relieved of all his lower-budget films on his shooting schedule and was going to focus on a larger budget film featuring new horror characters.[1]This included a series featuring actor Rondo Hatton as "the Creeper".[1]The authors ofUniversal Horrorssuggested this report of a higher budget was either fabricated or the state of the production changed whenHouse of Horrorswas developed, it did not have a larger budget than the average Universal B-film production.[1]

Initial shooting forHouse of Horrorsbegan on September 11.[4]InitiallyKent Taylorwas selected to play the part of Police Lt. Larry Brooks, but on the fourth day of production, before he was shot in any scenes, he was replaced byBill Goodwin.[4]Taylor stated years later that he did play the role in the film, but disliked how the picture exploited actor Rondo Hatton, and demanded to be taken off the film.[4]The assistant director's daily reports suggest that this story was a lie, stating that Goodwin was the only person to play Brooks on set.[4]Actress Virginia Christine recalled her brief role in the film, stating "I needed the money [laughs] – all actors need money!". Her only other recollection of the film was that to get a cat to follow her, they put anchovies or sardines on the back of her heel.[4]The scene with the cat is not in the final film.[4]Martin Kosleck was asked to audition for the role while on the Universal lot.[5]He received the script to study during the lunch hour for an audition, and was offered the part immediately after.[5]Kosleck was particularly proud of his performance in the film, stating he received fan mail for it and he "loved that part".[5]Filming ended on September 25, 1945.[5]

Release

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House of Horrorswas shown in New York on February 22, 1946[2]and received wider release byUniversal Pictureson March 29.[1][2]A series of Creeper films was planned, and the second one,The Brute Man,was filmed in 1946. Hatton died of complications fromacr Omega lybefore either film was released.[6]House of Horrorswas released on DVD by the Willette Acquisition Corp. on Sep 27, 2013.[7]It was released on Blu-ray byShout! Factoryon March 17, 2020, as the fourth volume in theirUniversal Horror Collection.[8]The set also includedNight Key(1937),Night Monster(1942) andThe Climax(1944).[8]

Reception

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From contemporary reviews, many critics commented onRondo Hatton,with George H. Spires stating that his "Neanderthal features suffice without the aid of make up [...] and his ape-like appearance on the screen brings a gasp to the audience", while Edmond J. Bartnett ofThe New York Timessaid Hatton was "properly scary".[9]Otis L. Guernsey Jr. ofThe New York Herald-Tribunefound the Creeper to be "not in the best of taste".[9]

As for the picture overall, a reviewer inHarrison's Reportswrote that "little about the proceedings to horrify one unless the fact that murders are committed by a half-witted giant can be considered horrendous rather than unpleasant".[9]

The Monthly Film Bulletinwrote: "The plot is fantastic, but not so fantastic as to be completely impossible, and the cast act convincingly enough. Rondo Hatton is grotesque and gorilla-like in his portrayal of the Creeper. Martin Kosleck is good as de Lange, his moments of insane hatred contrasting well with his more gentle moods."[10]

From retrospective reviews, the authors of the bookUniversal Horrorsfound that, despite Rondo Hatton's acting and characters in the film being cliches,House of Horrors"rates as the best shocker in this last grap of Universal Horrors. It boasts creepy, atmospheric, film-noirish settings, evocative camerawork and is seldom dull".[11]

InLeonard Maltin's film guide, the film was awarded two out of four stars, criticizing the script as "laughable" and moderate acting, calling it "[a] slightly below average horror meller".[12]

Prequel

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A prequel calledThe Brute Manwas released on October 1, 1946.

See also

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References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^abcdefghijWeaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007,p. 525.
  2. ^abcd"House of Horrors (1946)".American Film Institute.RetrievedJuly 4,2020.
  3. ^ab"House of Horrors".British Film Institute Collections Search.RetrievedSeptember 21,2024.
  4. ^abcdefWeaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007,p. 526.
  5. ^abcdWeaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007,p. 529.
  6. ^Vieira 2003,p. 102.
  7. ^"House of Horrors (1946)".AllMovie.RetrievedJuly 4,2020.
  8. ^ab"Universal Horror Collection: Vol. 4".Shout! Factory.RetrievedJuly 4,2020.
  9. ^abcWeaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007,p. 530.
  10. ^"House of Horrors".The Monthly Film Bulletin.14(157): 116. January 1, 1947 – via ProQuest.
  11. ^Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007,p. 528.
  12. ^Leonard Maltin; Spencer Green; Rob Edelman (January 2010).Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide.Plume. p. 299.ISBN978-0-452-29577-3.

Sources

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