House on Haunted Hill

A perennial favorite of the "Shock Theatre" TV circuit, House on Haunted Hill stars Vincent Price as a sinister gent (you're surprised?) who owns a sinister mansion on a sinister hill. He offers several of his enemies $10,000 each--if they agree to spend the night in the crumbling old mansion. Price festively gives each of his guests a tiny coffin containing a handgun, then proceeds to set in motion any number of gadgets and devices designed to frighten the guests into using their weapons. Strange as it seems, old Vinnie isn't the real villain of the proceedings: that honor goes to his scheming wife Carol Ohmart and her lover Alan Marshall. Also on hand is eternal doom-sayer Elisha Cook Jr., who is given the film's famous final line. When originally released to theatres, House on Haunted Hill was accompanied by one of those gimmicks so beloved of producer/director William Castle: the gimmick was "Emergo," and it involved a prop skeleton that "emerged" from the screen at a crucial moment to frighten the audience. Like most of Castle's best films, House didn't really need the gimmick, but its presence added to the fun--especially when second- and third-time viewers responded to "Emergo" by bombarding the skeleton with popcorn and empty soda bottles.