The Legend of Hell House

"For the sake of your sanity, pray it isn't true!"

1973 1h 35m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 294

HorrorMystery

Synopsis

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A team consisting of a physicist, his wife, a young female psychic, and the only survivor of the previous visit are sent to the notorious Hell House to prove or disprove survival after death. Previous visitors have either been killed or gone mad, and it is up to the team to survive a full week in isolation, and solve the mystery of the Hell House.

“For the sake of your sanity, pray it isn't true!”

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Cast

Pamela Franklin
Florence Tanner
Roddy McDowall
Benjamin Franklin Fischer
Clive Revill
Dr. Lionel Barrett
Gayle Hunnicutt
Ann Barrett
Roland Culver
Mr. Rudolph Deutsch
Peter Bowles
Hanley
Michael Gough
Emeric Belasco (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Hough
Writers: Richard Matheson
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Hough, shot by Alan Hume. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Brian Hodgson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Geoffrey Foot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Pamela Franklin and Roddy McDowall and Clive Revill carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "For the sake of your sanity, pray it isn't true!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0070294 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Hough directs. Alan Hume behind the camera. Brian Hodgson scores. Geoffrey Foot cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

153 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by John Hough, shot by Alan Hume. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Brian Hodgson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Geoffrey Foot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Pamela Franklin and Roddy McDowall and Clive Revill carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "For the sake of your sanity, pray it isn't true!".
7IMDB entry: tt0070294 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 8 themes, including "isolation", "afterlife", "medium", "haunted house".

The technical file

Cinematography: Alan Hume
Original score: Brian Hodgson
Editing: Geoffrey Foot
Makeup / hair: Linda DeVetta
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Legend of Hell House (1973)

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John Hough

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What people are saying

John Chard2014-06-28
May you find the answer that you seek. It is here, I promise you. The Legend of Hell House is directed by John Hough and adapted to screenplay by Richard Matheson from his own novel Hell House. It stars Roddy McDowall, Pamela Franklin, Clive Revill and Gayle Hunnicutt. Music is by Electrophon Ltd and cinematography by Alan Hume. The Belasco Mansion, the Mount Everest of Haunted Houses, a place where many have stayed and never made it out alive or escaped with sanity in tact. Now four more people are challenged to enter it and investigate if survival after death exists... In many ways it is a film that has been unlucky over the years, for it has consistently been dogged with association with Robert Wise's similar themed, and excellent, The Haunting from 1963. Not only that but it was also released in the same year as The Exorcist, William Friedkin's behemoth that continues to cast a shadow over many a supernatural based horror movie. While the fact that it was "toned down sexually" from the book has proved to be irksome to some fans of Matheson's page turner. Oh definitely John Hough's film has a sturdy fan base and reputation, but it still comes under fire from first time viewers who will not judge it on its own terms. A shame because although it may indeed not be in the same league as The Haunting, or as sexually charged as the book, it does sit worthily in the top draw of haunted house pictures. The back story to the house sets the scene. It was run as a place of complete debauchery, a sort of Buck Whaley and the Hellfire Club type of place, the master of ceremonies was the owner Emeric Balasco, a man with a fearsome reputation, that of a roaring giant. When one day the sins and violence overspill, all inside are finalised from the planet, only Belasco was never found, and ever since that day the house is believed to be haunted by numerous spirits. Enter our four protagonists (a physicist and his wife, a mental medium and a physical medium who was the sole survivor of the last Hell House carnage), who under a financially dangled carrot set about unearthing the truth. They are opposites in beliefs, and for the next 90 minutes they will be haunted whilst having their respective fears, desires and repressions born out. What unfolds is a lesson in how to get the maximum scary atmosphere with so little to hand. Following the brilliant example set by Robert Wise back in 63, special effects are kept to an absolute minimum as Hough lets our minds eye fill in the blanks. We don't need to see the horror up front, it's better when we can just feel or hear it. Little incidents help fuel the fire, a mad cat, a séance, ectoplasm (put a specimen in the jar please, ooh Matron), suspicious noises, eroticism and a little possession. The mansion itself is suitably eerie (exteriors are the wonderfully Gothic designed Wykehurst Place in Bolney, West Sussex) and drifting in and out of the story is Electrophon Ltd's rumbling sinister score. The direction is tight, the cast work exceptionally well to bear out the interpersonal conflicts before the final battle against the paranormal kills or defines them? Working well as a haunted house spooker of some considerable substance, and intelligent and interesting with its themes of paranormal psychology and investigation of such, The Legend of Hell House is a classical supernatural thriller. 8/10

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