Classic Ross Amico

Tag: House on Haunted Hill

Leona Anderson Horrible Singer Haunted Hill

As an addendum to Roy and my discussion about the Vincent Price classic, “House on Haunted Hill,” on last Friday’s Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, I submit the strange case of Leona Anderson. Anderson, born in 1885, plays the blind hag who glides through the basement of said house. Not a terribly flattering role to be offered, one would think. But it turns out Anderson had quite the batty sense of humor.

Not quite so cringy as Florence Foster Jenkins, Anderson harbored no illusions about the extent of her vocal talent. I mean, come on, the title of her album is “Music to Suffer By.” A favorite guest of Ernie Kovacs, she billed herself as “the world’s most horrible singer.”

Anderson actually began her career in silent movies. Charlie Chaplin was among her costars. If only she had pioneered silent records!

Habanera from “Carmen”

“Limburger Lover”

Her breakout single, “Fish”

With Chaplin in the silent short “In the Park” (1915). I believe that’s her on the park bench with “the count,” beginning around a minute in.

Her last film, “House on Haunted Hill” (1959).

Anderson died in 1973 at the age of 88.

October 19, 2021
Haunted Hill with Roy & Dracula Next!

Roy and I were locked in a Frank Lloyd Wright house with a gliding hag, a floating skeleton, and a roomful of captive Zoom followers for last night’s discussion of the William Castle-Vincent Price classic “House on Haunted Hill.” View the digression-rich conversation as we collect our $10,000 here:

Then consider joining us next week, as we continue our countdown to Halloween and sink our fangs into “Dracula” (1979). Frank Langella brings his acclaimed Broadway characterization to the big screen, Sir Laurence Olivier is Van Helsing, and John Williams provides an overheated, romantic score.

There will be plenty of “coffin” as we flap our wings for “Dracula,” on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Go bats in the comments section, when we livestream on Facebook, next Friday evening at 7:00 EDT!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

October 16, 2021
House on Haunted Hill Vincent Price Horror

“I am Frederick Loren, and I have rented the house on Haunted Hill tonight so that my wife can give a party. She’s so amusing. There’ll be food and drink and ghosts, and perhaps even a few murders. You’re all invited. If any of you will spend the next twelve hours in this house, I will give you each ten thousand dollars, or your next of kin in case you don’t survive.”

Vincent Price clearly relishes his part as a sociopathic millionaire in “House on Haunted Hill” (1959), oozing disdain for his equally contemptuous spouse and distributing macabre party favors to his guests: tiny coffins with pistols inside! In kind, we’ll savor our discussion of the film, though perhaps with a little less polish, on the next “Roy’s Tie Dye Sci Corner.”

This Halloween camp classic was the brainchild of William Castle. Castle was notorious for spicing up his B-movie entertainments with in-theater gimmickry, like wiring seats for electricity, including breaks so that audiences can pass judgment on a villain or scream away monsters, and issuing $1,000 life insurance policies in case anyone should die of fright. For “House on Haunted Hill,” a skeleton was sent hurtling over the audience at a key moment in a technique he dubbed “Emergo.”

The film’s disproportionate success is said to have caught the notice of Alfred Hitchcock and inspired Hitch to undertake his own low-budget black-and-white thriller, “Psycho.” At a lean 75 minutes, “House on Haunted Hill” never outstays its chilly welcome.

Roy and I will be haunted housesitting and swapping acid remarks on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Lend us a little rope in the comments section, as we livestream on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:00 EDT!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

October 14, 2021
Road Trip with “The Car” & House on Haunted Hill

You might say Roy and I were “men possessed” last night during our road trip with “The Car” (1977).

Of course, as with any road trip, after a while the fatigue begins to set in, you start to get punchy, not all the witticisms land, and by the end you’re just looking for a restroom.

Still, some of the comments were good. As Phil Merkel observed, “If Satan possessed a Car, what he’d do would be to drive at 25 miles per hour in the fast lane with the left blinker on.”

The conversation is archived for posterity here:

Next week, our topic will be William Castle’s camp classic “House on Haunted Hill” (1959), one of Vincent Price’s most entertaining films. Price plays an eccentric millionaire who invites five people to a spooky mansion for a “haunted house party” in honor of his fourth wife’s birthday. Anyone who can make it through the night will receive $10,000.

It’s evident from the start the millionaire and his wife despise one other. Furthermore, the guests are given party favors in the form of tiny coffins with pistols inside. That’s a pretty good indication that you should probably leave.

Even so, the Price is right, when we discuss “House on Haunted Hill,” on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Post your comments in Emergo as we livestream on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:00 EDT!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

Watch the haunting trailer now!

October 9, 2021

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