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The Haunting

United Kingdom, United States

1963

112 Min
Black and White
2.35:1
English
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
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DIR Robert Wise

PROD Robert Wise

SCR Nelson Gidding, Shirley Jackson

DP Davis Boulton

CAST Julie Harris, Richard Johnson, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn, Lois Maxwell

ED Ernest Walter

PROD DES Elliot Scott

MUSIC Humphrey Searle

Berlinale (Retrospective)

Synopsis

Hill House has an evil history with tragic accidents, suicide, and human misjudgement. Dr. Markway (Richard Johnson) is a pyschic researcher who assembles a group with histories linked to the paranormal. Eleanor (Julie Harris) was the subject of unexplained poltergeist activities as a child. She also is riddled with guilt over her mother’s death. Theadora (Claire Bloom) is a clairvoyant who befriends Eleanor at Hill House. Russ Tamblyn plays the cynical scion of the owners sent to make sure that the property is not affected by the researchers. Together the group explore Hill House and their own insecurities. —IMDb

Director

Original

Robert Wise

One of the most successful directors of the 1960s, when he became an efficient maker of epic-length pictures, Robert Wise is one of Hollywood’s few popularly recognized filmmakers. He joined RKO in the 1930s as a cutter and eventually became one of the studio’s top editors, working in this capacity on classics such as The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), Citizen Kane (1941), and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). He became a director with help from producer Val Lewton, who assigned Wise to finish Curse of the Cat People (1944), a B-movie that had fallen behind schedule, and the resulting picture proved extremely haunting and enduring. Wise later directed The Body Snatcher (1945) for Lewton, but after the producer left RKO, he found himself locked into B-movies. His 1948 psychological Western Blood on The Moon, starring Robert Mitchum, and the acclaimed boxing drama The Set-Up (1949) were the only two important pictures that Wise got to do during his last four years at the studio. Wise… read more

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Picture of cinema4ever

cinema4ever

3Apr13

so weird & scary for that time.boulton did a fine job.

Picture of Classroom Battles

Classroom Battles

23Jan13

Claire Bloom. Boy, was she sexy.

chanandre likes this

Picture of João Romeiro

João Romeiro

23Dec12

Visually unexceptionable and the ending is so meaningful and beautiful (the ideia of calling for something bigger than us, humans), howsoever the writing as for some scenes left me insatiate.

Picture of Nikola

Nikola

7May12

Sure it's dated (in the sense that it's so far removed from today's concepts of horror), but it is such a skillful, well-executed exercise in suspense. Julie Harris and Claire Bloom are exceptional.

João Romeiro likes this

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Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

Scary Monsters and Super Creeps

By David Hudson on October 31, 2010

Each year, by the time October 31 rolls around, much of the horror film blogging and listing has been going on for a full month, building

read article

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Reviews

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The Haunting

By meancre​ek on October 26, 2012

The greatest horrors strip the genre down to its very core; working on intensity, chilling visuals and a stark atmosphere that leaves behind any conventions you’ve ever seen. Robert Wises’ 1963 horror…  read review

Boo!

By Chuck Vollers on February 26, 2011

If you ask me, not as wonderful as its reputation, but certainly a highly enjoyable spook show. I think Julie Harris is too stagy in the role of Eleanor, but Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson and Russ…  read review

whiny heroines are fortunately doomed

By bojkows​ki on January 26, 2010

It’s amazing how effective a creaky door, some slightly odd camera angles and a few well places statues can be. This is another classic ‘haunted house’ story with yet another demonic presence at play…  read review

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