Directed by Pete Walker, House of the Long Shadows (1983) belongs firmly to the classic
horror genre of the old dark house movie, with special emphasis on the dark. The
1983 incarnation represents only one of many film treatments of Earl Derr
Biggers’ novel, Seven Keys to Baldpate,
which was first adapted for performance as a stage play by none other than
George M. Cohan. Despite its interesting pedigree, the movie’s cast is probably
the real attraction for genre fans. Four great horror icons – John Carradine,
Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee – unite for this entertaining
horror comedy, making it a must-see for serious devotees. It’s not a perfect movie, but the
performances of these stars more than make up for its faults, even the baffling
presence of Desi Arnaz, Jr., as its uninspiring protagonist.
Arnaz plays writer Kenneth Magee, who makes a bet
with his publisher, Sam (Richard Todd), that he can write a Wuthering Heights sort of novel in 24
hours if given the proper atmosphere. The Gothic ambience is duly supplied by a
supposedly abandoned mansion in Wales, where a violent storm becomes the least
of Kenneth’s distractions as a series of unexpected companions arrives. The
ancestral residents of the house, the Grisbanes, are returning to perform a
final act relating to a tragedy that took place some 40 years ago. Their
secrets slowly unfold as the corpses pile up over the course of the night, and
even accidental visitors to the home are not safe from the murderous presence
that stalks the darkened halls. Kenneth might not survive until morning, much
less finish his novel in time to win the bet.
It’s often too dark to see anything as the
characters bump about the house, and one has to wonder why nobody seems to have
thought to pack a flashlight. Desi Arnaz looks out of place in such a film, and
his character falls flat in comparison with the house’s more colorful guests.
Kenneth is neither likable nor really unlikable; he’s just a dull American with
an inflated ego and a habit of offending other people’s sensibilities. We have
to wonder what Mary (Julie Peasgood), the frightened English love interest, sees
in this guy, aside from his being the least creepy thing inhabiting the house.
The horror depends mostly on suspense as the
characters wander through the shadowy house, although the acid burning scene
makes the PG rating questionable. The comedic side remains muted until the
final series of twists, but viewers who know their horror icons will laugh at
Peter Cushing’s lisping, timid Sebastian Grisbane and the marvelous spectacle
of Christopher Lee going after Vincent Price with a battle axe. Cushing, Lee,
Price, and Carradine are the real stars of the film, and the action really picks
up once they have all arrived. Sheila Keith, a veteran of several other Pete
Walker horror pictures, completes the family group as the only daughter, Victoria
Grisbane.
You’ll have to watch the movie for yourself to
decide if the twist endings work, but there’s a final, quick exchange between
Price and Lee that really cracked me up. House
of the Long Shadows is devilishly hard to track down on VHS or DVD, but you
can, as of October 2012, watch it on Amazon Instant Video, and it’s even free
for Prime members. For more horror reunions, try The Comedy of Terrors (1963), Scream
and Scream Again (1970), and Madhouse
(1974), or check out the stars’ earlier appearances in cult classics from Roger
Corman and Hammer Films. Find out more about the 1917, 1925, 1929, 1935, and
1947 film versions of Seven Keys to
Baldpate to get a better sense of the story’s long cinematic history.
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