I SAW THIS AT 15, AT A SNEAK PREVIEW IN NORTH HOLLYWOOD...

My parents would search the movie section of the newspaper, in the fifties and early sixties, in order to find 'sneak previews.' These were movies that the studios played in a theater prior to its release, to see what audiences liked or didn't like about the film. The newspaper ad would only state that there was a sneak preview playing that night at a certain theater, and sometimes they would note that it was a comedy, or ?. There would be cards in the lobby after the show, and you could fill them out and let the studios know what you thought. After they were collected and analyzed, the studio could cut scenes, change the ending, reshoot scenes, etc.; or release it as is, or keep it in the can.

I saw this movie when I was 15 years old at a sneak preview. I would say that I enjoyed every sneak preview movie we went to during those years...except this one. I hated this movie. I couldn't stand Julie Harris, who I liked in other movies. Ms. Harris, a marvelous actress in most cases, was laughably silly in this one. I thought the special effects were just plain stupid, and so 'not scary,' that Disney used some of them in their Haunted Mansion, to be enjoyed more by laughing than any other emotion. I didn't have even one hair stand up on my neck. I was so restless in my seat, and I couldn't wait for this turkey to end.

Bulging doors and walls, very contrasty lighting, a creaky, wobbly, spiral staircase, WOW, how frightening...NOT. There was NOTHING scary about this movie other than my father having to pay for the tickets to see it.

This movie should have borrowed a title from Shakespeare, "Much Ado About Nothing."