Hillbillys in a Haunted House

It is easy to dismiss this movie as something that belongs on the bottom half of a double bill or late night television; but I happen to enjoy it. Lon Chaney, John Carradine and Basil Rathbone together again for the first time since THE BLACK SLEEP (1956) and on far more equal terms than they were in the earlier film. Okay so they leave no cliche untouched, from the Oriental "Dragon Lady" top spy to the gorilla in a cage but there are good moments in the film too. Just watch the scene where Lon Chaney takes the secret plans away from the traitorous government worker. Lon waits for just a heartbeat before turning back into the room, pulling his gun and declaring "If you'd betray your country you'd also betray us." and shoots the man dead. A great dramatic moment and not what you would expect from a musical comedy. Unfortunately the movie is very patronising of Southerners. Woody and Jeepers are your basic "scared of everything" backwoods boys. Boots (Joi Lansing) does not have a Southern drawl and at one point declares "Well I for one do not believe in ghosts." making her the most level headed one in the group. As for the music, there is plenty. All Boots has to do is say "Hey Woody, sing a song." for the plot to stop dead in its tracks so Ferlin Husky can warble another country tune. My biggest argument is that the movie goes on for another 20 minutes AFTER it should end! After the bad guys have been rounded up and the spies are in custody we get one whole REEL of country western singers performing their specialties at what is supposed to be a big Nashville Jamboree but looks like a high school auditorium. Granted this is probably the only chance many viewers will get to see old time singers like Molly Bee and Marcella Wright so just relax and enjoy the music.

It is a sad sight indeed watching three veteran stars of the silver screen, and in particular the horror genre, be reduced to nothing more than scenery in an otherwise drab, dreary, dull film about a trio of country western singers holed up in a haunted house for the night. Ferlin Husky and Joi Lansing(as Boots Malone) and Don Hall inadvertantly stumble upon a haunted house being used by agents against an organization(MOTHER). When they are not running from being scared, each one 'entertains' us with a good ole country classic. All in all I counted no fewer than 14...yes count 'em....14 songs sung by the trio, a band of passers-by that just happen to sing as a group, two people on television sing for the Country Western Hour, and at the end of the film, when the story about the agents and the house has all been cleared up...at least six songs that go one after the other and the picture abruptly ends. This is not a horror picture. It is not even a picture with a real story. It is just an excuse to showcase what little talent the singers have. Now to be fair, Merle Haggard does a couple numbers, and a few of the songs aren't too terrible. But why make a movie like this....why star three of the genre greats and then give them little to do? Basil Rathbone certainly deserved better than this for his last(or next to last film). He is good in his small role and his scenes with John Carradine are fun to watch as they wade through the atrocious dialogue given to them. And what about poor Lon? It looks like he just woke up from a weekend bender. Again a shame for such a good actor! Despite these many...many shortcomings(and as I stated earlier there were at least 14)...Hillbillys in a Haunted House should be required viewing for serious genre fans just to have a few good real hearty laughs and to see those great men..even though not at their best...one last time. Other than that, the only other saving grace is easily Ms. Lansing and her stiffening blouse...a real treat for the eyes!

Of the 13 feature films in which John Carradine and Lon Chaney both appeared, 1967's "Hillbillys in a Haunted House" was not only the last, it was one of the few where they actually shared any scenes (shot under the working title "Ghost Party"). Joined in villainy by a game, 74 year old Basil Rathbone, the three actors offer the only real novelty to this tired rehash of old dark house clichés, dragged down by its abundance of country music. A sequel to the successful "Las Vegas Hillbillys" (note the spelling!), retaining stars Ferlin Husky and Don Bowman, but replacing the absent Jayne Mansfield with the equally photogenic Joi Lansing. En route to Nashville for a good old fashioned jamboree, the trio break down and have to spend the night in a house that's not really haunted; its actually the home base for spies trying to steal a top secret formula from a local rocket base. John Carradine alternately scowls and grimaces as Dr. Himmil, when he's not mercilessly teasing the gorilla Anatole belonging to Lon Chaney's Maximillian, who goes undercover by getting past an unsuspecting janitor (all he gets for his trouble is a formula combining nitroglycerin and antihistamine!). As Gregor, Basil Rathbone shares most of his scenes with Carradine, using phony ghosts and noises to try to scare off their dimwitted intruders, whom they mistake for agents from M.O.T.H.E.R. (Master Organization to Halt Enemy Resistance). A genuine ghost closes out the spy stuff at 67 minutes, leaving the final two reels open for yet more musical numbers. Chaney is clearly having a grand time, and Rathbone too, while poor Carradine has to remain sullen for the most part, fewer opportunities to be funny (he did enjoy stealing Anatole's banana!). As bad as the film's reputation is, consider how much worse it would have been without its heavyweight cast of screen villains.

Frankenstein met the Wolfman, and they both met Abbott and Costello, so why shouldn't country music greats Ferlin Husky and Merle Haggard meet Basil Rathbone and Lon Chaney, Jr? No reason a'tall. I was hoping for a real hoedown here, even though I'm not sure what a hoedown is. Well, actually, a hoedown seems to be a "square dance." At least that's what the Merriam Webster link on my toolbar came up with, in which case a hoedown isn't what I was hoping for, after all. A Ferlin Husky-Lon Chaney, Jr. duet on a country classic, perhaps "Your Cheatin' Heart," or something else from the pen of Hank Williams, would have been nice, but, alas, it was not to be. As a result, "Hillbillies in a Haunted House" fails to live up to its considerable potential. I suppose that for Basil Rathbone, who would die in the year of this film's release, appearing in this movie is no worse than doing an infomercial for a Helsinki baldness cure, which is what aged, down on their luck actors seem to do these days, although it would have been nice to see the screen's greatest Sherlock Holmes go out with more style than is evident here.

In his day, Director Jean Yarborough worked with all the big names in bad movies (Abbott & Costello, The Bowery Boys, Rondo Hatton and Bela Lugosi.) He even did an unacknowledged adventure series with Mantan Moreland battling Nazis in the tropics (KING OF THE ZOMBIES, LAW OF THE JUNGLE.)Capping off his film career with the ignominious twilight of performers like Carradine, Rathbone and Chaney Jr. seems like a destiny chosen for him by the gods of the B-Movies. Is there something of Greek tragedy in this ending, or is it merely poetic justice? At any rate, it was good to see three actors who had all seen much better days putting in one more turn as despicable villains, and it was a fitting coda for a director whose career was always more remarkable for determination than artistry.