Monster of the Day #3693

Updated on April 18, 2025 By Ken Begg 13 Comments

Next up was The Black Room (1935), a gothic suspenser revolving around a family curse / prophecy. It stars the great Boris Karloff in a marvelous twin role (literally)–or a triple role, depending on how you look at it. Needless to say, he carries it all off with aplomb. Even better, the running time is 68 minutes! Man, those were the days.

Finally, we wrapped up Friday by watching a true classic (in our crowd, anyway), William Castle’s House on Haunted Hill. We know this is Vincent Price’s movie, but damn, kudos to Elisha Cook Jr for bringing it throughout. Run time inflation is already noticeable, though. HoHH clocks in at a chunkier 75 minutes. Does it really need to be 7 minutes longer than The Black Room, made a mere 25 years earlier?

Pin It



Related Posts

  • The Rev.

    I hadn't seen The Black Room so that was a treat. Karloff was indeed fantastic, so much so that I scarce remember anyone else. Other than the dog, of course. I don't know that I'll ever enjoy a role from Karloff more than John Gray — because, seriously, all-time greatest villain contender right there — but Gregor de Berghman gets within spitting distance, as the kids say. (The kids still say that, right?)

    I doubt I have to hype up House on Haunted Hill to anyone here, but yeah, hard to go wrong with one of Castle's best. It's so much fun, and you're right about how great Cook, Jr. is throughout, but man, Price practically defines "catty" in it and I love him for it.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    "Oh my goodness, I told you last time, you have to floss every day! Now look at you! I'll have to see when I can fit you in."

  • 🐻 bgbear_rnh

    My mother told me she saw House on a Haunted Hill in Hollywood with the Emergo skeleton effect used. She was in balcony and it came right at her. Mom had a lot of fun before I put a damper on everything ;-)

  • 🐻 bgbear_rnh

    This is why the dental staff needs to leave the room when they take your x-ray.

  • Gamera977

    That is so awesome! I'd love to be there for a recreation of 'Emergo'!

  • Gamera977

    Last night's film was 'The Heroic Trio' 1993 a martial arts/superhero movie with Anita Mui, Michelle Yeoh, and Maggie Cheung. Insane non-stop action from beginning to end with three stunning Chinese actresses.

    I picked up the Criterion release which is beautifully cleaned-up. A much lower quality version is on YouTube if anyone wants to see it for free.

    (SPOILER) In the end Yeoh gets possessed by an evil wizard's skellie and lays the smack-down on everyone! So it kinda relates to this skellie theme.

  • Eric Hinkle

    My main memory of Elisha Cook's character from HoHH was my stunned disbelief that Price trusted him with a loaded gun. Giving that rum-soaked lunatic a loaded firearm? We should be surprised that anyone survived a night in that house!

  • 🐻 bgbear_rnh

    He was used to Bogey always taking guns away from him.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    I'm sorry I missed it. I was doing computer maintenance and lost track of the time. I watched "Frau im Mond" instead, which is a great silent film from Fritz Lang. Kino-Lorber's blueray looks great, and even though the film is just shy of three hours (!) there were only a few times where I yelled "Cut! CUT!"
    What's interesting is 1) how outstanding the miniature work is, and more importantly 2) how natural most of the acting is. It's a silent film, so you still get folks milking the giant cow, but a lot less than in "Metropolis" (which was made before this).
    I'm honestly not a big fan of silent films. One of the "must see" films when you decide to look into silents is "Metropolis" and it's big and unrestrained in the acting, and for me, that put me off watching much else. I got the impression that was what silent films were. "Birth of a Nation" is very similar. And honestly I'd include Chaplin as well.
    They all have that "How will the audience know I'm distressed if I don't fling myself to the ground, pound the floor with my fist, then raise my arms and scream to the heavens? Silently scream, of course." Rather than just quietly scowl, look at one's hands, and shake them with determination.
    Anyway, sorry for the rant. I would recommend this one. (KL has it on sale.) It made me reexamine my aversion to silent films, and that can only be a good thing.

  • Ken_Begg

    Tell your mom we get it. We all get it.

  • Ken_Begg

    Lang is much overlooked as one of the great directors. His silents defy all the things we associate with them, such as slow pacing and static direction. And most are quite lengthy. I love (as indicated before) Mabuse the Gambler, and it's five hours long. Never feels like it though. Spies is another great one.

  • Ken_Begg

    Him and Joe Cairo.

  • I remember seeing Black Room, but that's about it. With it having Karloff in it, though, it's a worth-a-watch.

    House on Haunted Hill, though, is great. You can see Price enjoying himself the whole time.