The House in Nightmare Park

Bombastic, hack actor Foster Twelvetrees (Frankie Howerd) is invited to perform his one-man show at a mansion in the middle of nowhere. Upon arrival, Foster soon finds himself trapped with a maniacal family of oddballs.

The Henderson clan, headed by Stewart (the inimitable Ray Milland), is having a reunion of sorts. Mr. Twelvetrees has no idea that his role in this is far more than a simple acting job.

Whatever is going on, it's about to get deadly!

THE HOUSE IN NIGHTMARE PARK is a wonderfully looney horror-comedy. Loaded with bizarre characters and insane situations, it's a hilarious trip through a carnival fun house...

Frankie Howard got few chances on film to showcase his comedic talents. Nightmare Park(AKA House of the Laughing Dead) is probably his best effort to do so on film. Like Benny Hill, only not quite as blatant, Howard is walking innuendo. We see through his eyes and speech an almost endless stream of one-liners, albeit rather tame by today's comparisons. Howard is funny in the main role of a third-rate entertainer who loves himself that has been invited to a mysterious mansion in the English countryside. The rest of the cast is comprised of the inhabitants of the house, a strange lot indeed with Ray Milland as the head of the family. The story is whimsical, and utterly absurd, but through the efforts of Howard, Milland, et all, and the fairly atmospheric direction of Peter Sykes, the film comes off quite well as a somewhat gothic comedy.

This would be a fairly ordinary British seventies film but for its two main stars. This is a rare opportunity to see Frankie Howard in a starring role, and he does not disappoint. Ray Milland, too, is at his best, as a less camp (and in my view superior) version of Vincent Price. Direction is good, and tension and atmosphere are maintained well throughout the film. A must for Frankie Howard fans.

Franke Howerd plays Foster Twelvetrees, a second rate performer of the spoken word to barely awake, small audiences in the early 1900s. He thinks his luck is in when he is invited to a wealthy family's home to perform for them, but he is unaware that they have ulterior motives for the invite.

I've always enjoyed watching Frankie Howerd and this film is no exception. There are some classic Howerd moments that fans will revel in, and perhaps the casual observer too. Plenty of one liners, surprised ooohs and comical countenances that only Frankie Howerd could pull. He's ably supported by the rest of the cast, particularly film legend Ray Milland. It did occur to me, on more than one occasion, that this was meant to be a much bigger success than it ended up, for someone of Milland's calibre to take a role.

There are some very odd, quirky moments which add to the overall eeriness of The House In Nightmare Park and help make it unforgettable. This is not in anyway a Carry On movie which is where I normally see Frankie Howerd. It has a similar feel to many a haunted house film instead, with virtually the entire movie being set in the house and its grounds. There is a sense of foreboding from start to finish, and is genuinely scary and unsettling.

Plot holes abound but they are not enough to spoil your enjoyment of this eccentric horror. The title is perfect and the film does exactly what it says on the tin. Underrated in my opinion, this is an enjoyable hour and a half.

In this 1973 British comedy horror film (known as "Crazy House" in the U.S.) directed by Peter Sykes, British comedy legend Frankie Howerd is the victim of sinister shenanigans as he stars as Foster Twelvetrees, a struggling actor who scrapes a living by giving hammy performances from the classics. When he is invited to give a performance at the country home of a well-off family he thinks his luck is in, but his joy soon turns to horror when he discovers dead bodies, foul intentions, lots of snakes and a madwoman in the attic. Ray Milland, Hugh Burden, and Rosalie Crutchley are among the supporting cast who want to kill Foster, and in one classic unsettling scene they dress up as dolls and sing a bone-chillingly odd song. This movie successfully spoofs the Hammer horror movies that were popular in the 1960's and early 1970's, and is generally good fun. Alongside Carry on Screaming it has a fairly decent laugh rate, even if most of the humour will probably be lost on International audiences. Terry Nation (creator of the Daleks from TV's Doctor Who) co-wrote the story alongside Clive Exton. The producers conceived this film as a star vehicle for Howerd, but it didn't exactly propel him to super-stardom.