The Horror of It All

Last updated

The Horror of It All
Directed by Terence Fisher
Written by Ray Russell
Produced byexecutive
Robert L. Lippert
associate
Margia Dean
Starring Pat Boone
Erica Rogers
Dennis Price
Cinematography Arthur Lavis
Edited byRobert Winter
Music by Douglas Gamley
Production
company
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
19 August 1964
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Horror of It All is a 1964 British horror comedy film directed by Terence Fisher and with a screenplay by Ray Russell. It stars Pat Boone and Erica Rogers. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

American encyclopedia salesman Jack Robinson arrives at a dilapidated mansion in the English countryside, which belongs to the Marley family. Robinson has fallen in love with Cynthia and wants to ask permission to marry her.

Cynthia's family includes: her uncle Percival, an inventor; her cousin Natalia, a macabre, vampire-like creature; Cornwallis, a hammy ex-actor; her uncle Reginald; Grandfather, who lies bedridden upstairs; and cousin Muldoon, who is kept locked up in the fear that he will harm someone.

A cousin of Cynthia has just died and Cornwallis dies after drinking a toast. Jack wants to get the police but they are 20 mi (32 km) away and the family have no car (Jack's has broken down).

Several attempts are made on Jack's life. He learns that the family fortune consists of one million dollars, and one of the Marleys intends to end up with all of it. Later, grandpa is killed.

Jack and Cynthia make a dash for freedom and Cynthia reveals that she is the murderer. She conks out Jack.

In hospital, Jack discovered that Cynthia made up the confession to protect him - the real killer is Cornwallis, who was pretending to be dead.

Cast

Production

The film was made at Shepperton Studios in England. The story is essentially a remake of the classic Universal Studios comedy horror film The Old Dark House (1932), which had already been remade a year earlier. The plot also has elements of the horror comedy Murder, He Says (1945).

Reception

The Los Angeles Times thought Terence Fisher "had the right idea playing the silly plot for laughs but his snail's pace spoils the show. He kills much of the humour by holding a scene after he's made his point." [3]

According to Diabolique magazine "The movie is populated by a fine supporting cast of English character actors playing various eccentrics [...] Boone is a solid straight man, and the film is lively. It’s not up to something like The Cat and the Canary (1939) which it was clearly aping, but those films are harder to do than they look. It’s not bad. It could have done with color and songs." [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Boone</span> American singer (born 1934)

Patrick Charles Eugene Boone is an American singer, actor and composer. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in more than 12 Hollywood films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terence Fisher</span> British film director and film editor

Terence Fisher was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films.

<i>The Curse of Frankenstein</i> 1957 horror film by Hammer Film Productions

The Curse of Frankenstein is a 1957 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions, loosely based on the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. It was Hammer's first colour horror film, and the first of their Frankenstein series. Its worldwide success led to several sequels, and it was also followed by new versions of Dracula (1958) and The Mummy (1959), establishing "Hammer Horror" as a distinctive brand of Gothic cinema.

<i>Island of Terror</i> 1966 British film

Island of Terror, also known as Night of the Silicates, is a 1966 British horror film released by Planet Film Productions. The film was released in the United States by Universal Studios on a double bill with The Projected Man (1967).

<i>The Eye Creatures</i> 1967 television film by Larry Buchanan

The Eye Creatures is a 1967 American made-for-television comedy horror science fiction film about an invasion by a flying saucer and its silent, shambling alien occupants.

<i>The Curse of the Mummys Tomb</i> 1964 British horror film

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb is a 1964 British horror film produced, written and directed by Michael Carreras, starring Terence Morgan, Ronald Howard, Fred Clark and introducing Jeanne Roland.

<i>The Revenge of Frankenstein</i> 1958 film by Terence Fisher

The Revenge of Frankenstein is a 1958 Technicolor British horror film made by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film stars Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Michael Gwynn and Eunice Gayson. In the United States, it was released in June, 1958 with Curse of the Demon on the lower half of the double bill.

<i>Sword of Sherwood Forest</i> 1960 British film

Sword of Sherwood Forest is a 1960 British Eastman Color adventure film in MegaScope directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions. Richard Greene reprises the role of Robin Hood, which he played in The Adventures of Robin Hood on TV from 1955 to 1959.

<i>Bernardine</i> (film) 1957 film by Henry Levin

Bernardine is a 1957 American musical film directed by Henry Levin and starring Pat Boone, Terry Moore, Dean Jagger, Dick Sargent, and Janet Gaynor. The 1952 play upon which the movie is based was written by Mary Coyle Chase, the Denver playwright who also wrote the popular 1944 Broadway play Harvey. The title song, with words and music by Johnny Mercer, became a hit record for Boone.

<i>Here Come the Munsters</i> 1995 television film by Robert Ginty

Here Come the Munsters is a science fiction comedy television film based on the 1960s CBS television series, The Munsters and was directed by Robert Ginty and written by Bill Prady, Jim Fisher, and Jim Staahl. The film stars Edward Herrmann, Christine Taylor, Veronica Hamel and Mathew Botuchis as the Munster family and tells the story of their arrival in the US from Transylvania. It aired on Fox on October 31, 1995.

<i>Goodbye Charlie</i> 1964 film by Vincente Minnelli

Goodbye Charlie is a 1964 American comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds and Pat Boone. The film is about a callous womanizer who gets his just reward after a jealous husband kills him. It was adapted from George Axelrod's 1959 play Goodbye, Charlie. The play also provided the basis for the 1991 film Switch, with Ellen Barkin and Jimmy Smits.

<i>The Perils of Pauline</i> (1967 film) 1967 film

The Perils of Pauline is a 1967 American comedy film based on the movie serial of the same name.

<i>The Big Job</i> (film) 1965 film by Gerald Thomas

The Big Job is a 1965 British comedy film. It starred Sid James, Dick Emery, Joan Sims, Sylvia Syms, Jim Dale and Lance Percival.

<i>The Main Attraction</i> (film) 1962 film

The Main Attraction is a 1962 British-American drama film directed by Daniel Petrie, written by John Patrick, and starring Pat Boone, Nancy Kwan and Mai Zetterling. The music soundtrack was written by Pat Boone and Jeff Corey and performed by Boone. A young drifter causes problems for a small European circus.

<i>The Yellow Canary</i> 1963 film by Buzz Kulik

The Yellow Canary is a 1963 American thriller film directed by Buzz Kulik and starring Pat Boone and Barbara Eden. It was adapted by Rod Serling from a novel by Whit Masterson, who also wrote the novel that was the basis for Orson Welles' Touch of Evil. The film was photographed by veteran Floyd Crosby and scored by jazz composer Kenyon Hopkins.

<i>Mardi Gras</i> (1958 film) 1958 film by Edmund Goulding

Mardi Gras is a 1958 American musical comedy film directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Pat Boone and Christine Carère.

<i>Never Put It in Writing</i> 1964 British film

Never Put It in Writing is a 1964 British comedy film directed by Andrew L. Stone and starring Pat Boone, Milo O'Shea, Fidelma Murphy and Reginald Beckwith.

<i>Joe Palooka in the Big Fight</i> 1949 film by Cy Endfield

Joe Palooka in the Big Fight is a 1949 comedy film directed by Cy Endfield, based on the comic strip by Ham Fisher. It is an entry in Monogram's Joe Palooka series.

<i>Sally and Saint Anne</i> 1952 film by Rudolph Maté

Sally and Saint Anne is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Rudolph Maté and starring Ann Blyth, Edmund Gwenn and John McIntire.

<i>Percy</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

Percy is a lost 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Charles Ray, Louise Dresser and Victor McLaglen. The film is based upon the novel The Desert Fiddler by William Henry Hamby.

References

  1. "The Horror of It All (1964) - Terence Fisher | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  2. "HORROR OF IT ALL, The". Monthly Film Bulletin. London. 33 (384): 124. 1 January 1966. ProQuest   1305828238.
  3. Creaky Plots Mark New 'Horror' Program Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times 11 Sep 1964: F12.
  4. Vagg, Stephen (10 September 2019). "The Surprisingly Interesting Cinema of Pat Boone". Diabolique Magazine.