Cat and the Canary, and The Ghost Breakers are two of my favourite films. Just love those old haunted house movies.
Can you guys recommend any others (apart from Scared Stiff and, at a pinch, Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer)?
Another good one is SCARED STIFF with Martin and Lewis - it's one of their best and even has Carmen Miranda in it. It came out recently in the box set vol. 1 of their films.
shareAnother worth considering might be the original 'Thirteen Ghosts'. Might be woth giving it a try, was in the same style as 'Cat and the Canary' in the sense that it is very humourous.
Borderline obsessive
Thanks for the recommendations guys.
Any others? Particularly ones from the 30s and 40s.
I once heard that Red Skelton had done a few haunted house movies, but I'm not sure I've ever seen one.
The two Red Skeleton "Old House" type movies are "Whistling in the Dark" and "Whistling in Dixie". He plays the same character in both and both involve murder mysteries in spooky settings. A third, "Whistling in Brooklyn" is not as good.
May I also suggest the "Black Cat" (aka "Black Cat Murders") starring Gale Sondergaard, Bela Lugosi, Basil Rathbone, Broderick Crawford and funnyman Hugh Herbert (who has some great lines). This is the 1941 Universal movie, do not confuse it with the Karloff & Lugosi flick of the same name made earlier.
THANK YOU! All I could remember was Red's name and 'Whistling'.
shareYes, there are a few haunted house films I couyld recommend. THE UNINVITED, now on DVD, THE UNSEEN (about a house next door supposedly closed up and strange things going on) which I don't think is available on VHS or DVD. I got a bad copy DVD on eBay. NIGHT WATCH is good with Liz Taylor about a house across the way with bodies in it.
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How about "Henry Aldrich Haunts a House" (1943), "The Gorilla" (1939), or "You'll Find Out" (1940)? All 3 are set in "haunted houses." You could also check out Universal's "Blue Room" mysteries, "Secret of the Blue Room" (1933) or "Murder in the Blue Room" (1944). The Aldrich movies have been long-neglected with no TV showings in years or any hint of an official DVD release. I found a copy of "Haunts a House" at a movie poster convention. Same for Universal's "Blue Room" titles. "The Gorilla" can be found easily (I believe the title is public domain). "You'll Find Out" had a laserdisc and VHS release, but so far nothing official on DVD. Bootleg copies are around, however.
shareThe Ghost Walks (1934) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025169/
The Old Dark House (1932) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023293/
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"I never drink...wine."
I love these kind of movies too and have been collecting them lately. There is a mix of horror, mystery and comedy but all the ones below are at least decent. I doubt any are as good as The Cat and the Canary though.
-The Ghost Walks - free and legal download at www.archive.org
-The Dark Hour (1936)
-And Then There Were None (1945)
-The Old Dark House (1932)
-The Ghost Train (1941)
-What a Carve Up (1961)
-Hold That Ghost (1941)
-The House on Haunted Hill (1959)
-The Haunting (1963)
And a few more recent...
-Murder by Death (1976)
-The Beast Must Die (1975ish)
-The House of Long Shadows (1983)
-Clue (1985)
"youll find out" ( RKO ) IS a very good "old house" film with Karloff ,Lugosi and the great Peter Lorre in it.The seance scenes are pretty spooky cosidering the film was a comedy vehicle for Kay Kyser . You see it occasionally up for sale on Ebay
shareThe Haunting(1963) may be the best of its kind ever made.
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Don't forget Topper Returns! It is a really classy old black & white "Old House Mystery" from the very early 1940's. It is the third of the Topper movies and stars Joan Blondell, Roland Young, Billie Burke, Eddy 'Rochester' Anderson, Patsy Kelly and many more wonderful character actors. You won't be disappointed.
Topper Returns is hilarious. I can watch it anytime. Billie Burke is a scream.
shareI saw this when I was eight years old, and it not only scared the crap out of me, but every kid on the block. We played our own hide and chase game based on it for months.
"The Old Dark House" would satisfy your appetite for these clunky, old, but wildly entertaining classic creepies.
But you ARE Blanche ... and I AM.