I want to live in "The House that Dripped Blood"

The House the Dripped Blood is a typical Amicus Production from 1970.  The tie that binds these 4 stories together is the wicked house that, although it drops no blood this film, has some evil mojo and makes people do wicked things. 

A cop visits a small village to investigate the disappearance of a famous horror actor (Jon Pertwee.)  Both the village cop and the leasing agent of the house warn him that bad things happen to people that reside there.  In the first story, Denholm Elliot plays a horror writer who hopes that the ambiance of the house will cure him of his writer's block.  In the second story, retired businessman Peter Cushing becomes obsessed with a wax figure in a local horror museum. 

In the third story, Chloe Franks (an amazing child actress) has a terrible secret.  Her Father (Christopher Lee) tries to hide her from the world, but that may lead to his undoing.  Finally, in the fourth story, the aforementioned actor gets a serious lesson in "keeping it real."

This was a very enjoyable anthology.  I really can't pick my favorite story.  They are all good.  I guess my favorite is the one about the writer who begins "seeing" things.  Robert Bloch (he of Psycho) wrote the screenplay and I am sure he had fun with that particular tidbit.  The house itself is beautiful and creepy, as any house that drips blood should be.  The Tagline is "Vampires,Voodoo,Vixens, Victims!" The film does not disapoint.

The Hound of the Baskervilles 1959

For the most part I love Hammer films, but I have to admit there have been a few I have been disappointed by.  This was not the case with The Hound of the Baskervilles from 1959.  Starring Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes, Andre Morell as Dr. Watson, and the young, incredibly handsome Christopher Lee as Sir. Henry Baskerville, Hound is in many ways a perfect Hammer film.  Directed by Terence Fisher, Hound features misty moors, crumbling castles, murder, intrigue, mystery, and a dangerous beauty with the requisite heaving bosom. 

The screenplay follows Doyle's story pretty closely, with a few minor changes and a greater emphasis on the "horror" of the Hound.  Cushing makes a great Holmes, but I have to admit I am not altogether familiar with Basil Rathbone's interpretation.  Cushing captures Holmes enormous ego perfectly.  He is kind of an A-hole but we still admire him. He is courageous, snobby, brilliant, and down-right rude.   

Christopher Lee hits the right notes as Sir Henry, new to the legend of the Baskervilles.  Sir Henry doesn't buy the legend, but he will soon become directly threatened by it.  Cushing and Lee have great chemistry, and if your rent or buy the DVD, be sure to watch the extras.  In Lee's "Actor's Notebook" he speaks quite fondly of Cushing and the depths of their friendship.  It is quite moving. 

The Hound of the Baskervilles is a great movie to watch on a dark and stormy night.  Of course, watching it in the middle of summer works as well.

Coming Soon: The Hound of the Baskervilles 1959