House of the Long Shadows

This is the only film I can think of that has all four horror greats in the same film at the same time and in the same scenes. Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and John Carradine are the big four, and their presence alone makes seeing this film a must. I don't think any other film had three of these men in the same film, same time, and same scenes(Scream and Scream Again has Lee, Cushing, and Price, but Cushing does not share screen time with either Lee or Price). The men are all still great to see and brought a flood of nostalgia to me as they made their entrances into the film. The film, however, is weak, and there really is no denying that. I like the film because of the four boogeymen, but cannot say in good faith that it is a good film. It is not. The story concerns an author having a bet with his publisher to stay in a creepy place and produce a book in one evening for twenty thousand dollars. It is a very worn plot, and to make matters worse, the scriptwriter butchers his way through the script trying to squeeze out anything that might have been thoughtful and original. The male lead is none other that that master thespian Desi Arnaz Jr. I know hearing his name makes you tingle with anticipation, but this man has no clue how to perform. Plainly put, he is awful, and painful to watch as he delivers hackneyed dialogue with a smug manner. He certainly canot hold his own with the reverent cast or even female character actress Shelia Keith who really shines in her small role. Some of the dialogue is funny, some serious, but there are only four reasons to watch this film: Price, Cushing, Lee, and Carradine. They put in this film what little life this film has. Of the four, watch for Vincent Price playing ever the ham! He is superb.

Desi Arnaz Jr. Plays Kenneth Magee, an American writer who makes a best with his publisher, Sam Allyson (Richard Todd). His ego is great enough that he thinks that he can write something on the level of "Wuthering Heights" (which he doesn't hold in high regard) in 24 hours. At stake is $20,000 of his money. So Sam procures for him a Welsh manor named Baldpate where Kenneth can supposedly write in seclusion. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and Kenneth is interrupted all night long by a family looking to exorcise their old demons and a man looking to purchase the manor.

This effort by the cult filmmaker Pete Walker ("Frightmare", "House of Whipcord") is notable mostly for uniting four legendary horror actors: John Carradine, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee. "House of the Long Shadows" is a must see for their work, if nothing else. Walker and this fine cast does seem to have fun with the material, which was meant to be played with a sense of humor. Certainly some of the tropes of the genre are present and accounted for: the dark, stormy night, the locked room, the old family secret, etc. What this viewer appreciated most about the film was the old school atmosphere of a classic "Old Dark House" type of story, and for the fact that Walker and screenwriter Michael Armstrong so completely manipulate their audience.

While this viewer didn't dislike Arnaz Jr. As much as most people who've seen this, it's still probably better to say as little about his performance as possible. But don't see it for him. See it for Price (who rattles off the exposition in style), Lee, Carradine, Cushing (whose comic performance is simply wonderful), and Walker regular Sheila Keith (who plays Carradines' daughter).

Good fun for fans of the genre.

Seven out of 10.

While Desi Arnaz Jr. may be one of the worst actors I've ever seen, this movie succeeds despite his desperate attempts to ruin every seen he's in. Price, Cushing, Lee and Carradine are, of course, stellar in their various supporting roles, with Cushing's best Elmer Fudd/Peter Cook from The Princess Bride impersonation standing as the comic high watermark of the piece. I'm not one to figure out endings, but I did figure this one out, even through the movie-within-a-movie setup. And still I enjoyed the hell out of the film. It's no Memento, but if you're in the mood for a simple, Old Dark House-style midnight-on-Friday popcorn black horror comedy, here you go. Enjoy! I sure did.

Well yeah, in all honesty, "House of the Long Shadows" is an extremely disappointing and weak film, but I'm convinced that there isn't a single (real) horror fan out there that can bring him/herself to spread an entirely destructive criticism about this unique feature. After all, it is the only movie that ever managed to assemble no less than four of the most legendary genre icons and even show them in the same scenes! Something that stars Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and John Carradine all at once is simply fundamental viewing for horror fans, whether or not the storyline is any good. The plot is a re-working of the famous 'Seven Keys to Baldpate'-novel and introduces Ken Magee as a rather cocky writer who bets his publisher 20.000 Dollars that he can complete a successful novel in the likes of Wuthering Heights in a short period of only 24 hours. To have the required isolation for writing, his publisher gives him the key to an old deserted mansion in Wales. Instead of finding peace and quiet there, the writer is subsequently interrupted by his publisher's attractive secretary and four uncanny members of the Grisbane family that reunite in the house to release their mad youngest brother after an imprisonment of forty years. Writing a novel is completely out of the question when it turns out Roderick Grisbane escaped from his room and started a new killing spree around the house. "House of the Long Shadows" is a heavily flawed and clichéd film that would have been long (and righteously) forgotten by now if it weren't for the top notch cast listing. First and foremost, the film got released at least a decade too late. The early 1980's were an era dominated by raw and blood-soaked slasher movies and an old-fashioned haunted-house chiller simply couldn't fascinate the audiences any longer. Then it also takes far too long before something interesting happens. The story is over halfway by the time all four horror legends are fully introduced and it takes another twenty minutes before anything even mildly horrific occurs. Then there suddenly are too many childish and overly implausible plot-twists going on in the last sequences, resulting in a totally unsatisfying climax. The tone and themes of the film, as well as the murder-scenes, are regretfully tame. It's actually hard to believe that Pete Walker directed this film! He was the British exploitation master during the 70's and made shocking movies about murderous priests ("House of Mortal Sin"), cannibalistic grannies ("Frightmare") and barbaric women prisons ("House of Whipcord"). "The House of Long Shadows" doesn't feature one single shock and hardly any suspense moments, apart from Christopher Lee's gruff facial expressions. It certainly isn't the masterwork I secretly hoped it to be, but if I could make one wish, it would be going back in time and pay a visit to the film set.

This proved to be the last film of British horror director Walker (in the accompanying DVD interview for his THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW [1972], which followed this in short order, he states that this was his only 'assignment' – all his other work he personally financed) as well as the final teaming of that prolific and (for fans, hugely rewarding) iconic duo of Peter Cushing (complete with endearing speech impediment) and Christopher Lee (a complex characterization, albeit characteristically boorish).

Having mentioned the two Hammer stars, some reviewers mistakenly believed the film intended to recapture that studio's Gothic tradition but it actually hearkens back to the comedy-thrillers of the Silent and early Talkie era. In fact, it was the sixth filmization – scripted by Michael Armstrong, whose own directorial career was curtailed following the notoriety of his MARK OF THE DEVIL (1970) – of "Seven Keys To Baldpate", a novel by Earl Derr Biggers (creator of Charlie Chan) that was adapted for the stage by George M. Cohan (yes, the songwriter played by James Cagney in YANKEE DOODLE DANDY [1942]!).

Besides, its plot about a dysfunctional Welsh family that includes a locked-up maniac and whose mansion is 'intruded' upon by innocent strangers is a virtual retread of James Whale's sublime THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932; one of my absolute favorites) – though with little of that film's style or wit. Another direct link to it is the fact that there is a Roderick involved – and let's not forget that Vincent Price (who co-stars here) had played a character by that name in Roger Corman's seminal Poe adaptation HOUSE OF USHER (1960)! The final revelation (which wasn't at all surprising nor, come to think of it, was the identity of the mysterious killer), then, is straight out of SEVEN FOOTPRINTS TO Satan (1929)…

The cast also highlights two other lesser horror stars – John Carradine (who's supposed to be the patriarch of the family when the difference in age from, at least, Price and Cushing is minimal!) and Walker regular Sheila Keith (replacing the ailing Elsa Lanchester). The young cast isn't in any way comparable obviously – however, both Desi Arnaz Jr. (from childhood sci-fi TV show AUTOMAN [1983]!) and Julie Peasgood prove reasonably engaging nonetheless. By the way, Richard Todd appears as novelist Arnaz's genial publisher – who makes a bet with his client that he won't stay the full-length of 24 hours in an ostensibly haunted house (which is the exact same premise of the Abel Gance/Max Linder short AU SECOURS! [1924] I've just watched and, I see, Michael Elliott did too!).

At the end of the day, the film is clearly old fashioned (despite the occasional gore) but undeniably fun – which makes the Leonard Maltin guide's *1/2 rating a genuine head-scratcher!