House of Mystery (also known as Das Landhaus des Dr. Lemming) is a 1961 British supernatural mystery film direcred by Vernon Sewell and starring Jane Hylton, Peter Dyneley and Nanette Newman.[1] It was based on the play The Medium which Sewell had filmed three times before.[2][3] It aired in the U.S. as an episode of the TV series Kraft Mystery Theatre.[4]
| House of Mystery | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Vernon Sewell |
| Screenplay by | Vernon Sewell |
| Based on | play L'Angoisse by Celia de Vilyars and Pierre Mills |
| Produced by | Leslie Parkyn Julian Wintle |
| Starring | Nanette Newman |
| Cinematography | Ernest Steward |
| Edited by | John Trumper |
| Music by | Stanley Black |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 56 minutes |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
Plot
editA pair of newlyweds visit an old cottage for sale in the country, and hear the housekeeper's account of its macabre history. The previous owners had been disturbed by paranormal activity, and on calling in a medium, the ghost was identified as an eccentric and vengeful scientist, once resident in the cottage. The scientist was obsessed with electricity, and when his unfaithful wife and her lover attempted to murder him, he responded by electrifying the living room floor and fixtures, and challenging the couple to escape.[5]
Cast
edit- Jane Hylton as Stella Lemming
- Peter Dyneley as Mark Lemming
- Nanette Newman as Joan Trevor
- Maurice Kaufmann as Henry Trevor
- Colin Gordon as Burdon
- John Merivale as Clive
- Ronald Hines as young husband
- Colette Wilde as wife
- Molly Urquhart as Mrs Bucknall
- George Selway as constable
- John Abineri as milkman
Critical reception
editThe Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Though far less stylish in presentation than another of Vernon Sewell's grand guignol exercises, Latin Quarter, this is nonetheless a gripping little film, with a fairly unusual plot and some good touches – mainly in the séance, nicely underplayed by Colin Gordon and Molly Urquhart, and in its revelation, made visual, of the murders. Not all the pitfalls of the flashback device have been avoided, so that there are occasional longueurs, and one or two of the supporting performances are weak. But in the main the narrative is ingeniously worked out, giving full credit to the supernatural, and is full of satisfying yet unsensational surprises."[6]
The Radio Times gave the film three out of five stars, saying, "this is a neat little spine-tingler from writer/director Vernon Sewell, who was something of a dab hand at summoning up demons from beyond, whether benign as in The Ghosts of Berkeley Square or downright menacing as in The Blood Beast Terror. Some aficionados would insist that if it ain't Hammer it ain't horror, but there are plenty of uneasy moments in this haunting story, in which a couple of newlyweds learn the grim secret of their dream house."[7]
Britmovie called the film an "effectively macabre little b-movie narrated in several multi-layered flashbacks."[5]
References
edit- ^ "House of Mystery". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ Fowler, Roy (8 July 1994). "Vernon Sewell". British Entertainment History Project.
- ^ John Hamilton, The British Independent Horror Film 1951-70 Hemlock Books 2013 p 96-98
- ^ The Bloody Pit of Horror (11 January 2014). "The Bloody Pit of Horror: House of Mystery (1961)". Thebloodypitofhorror.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ a b "House of Mystery 1961 | Britmovie | Home of British Films". Britmovie. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ "House of Mystery". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 28 (324): 82. 1 January 1961 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "House of Mystery | Film review and movie reviews". Radio Times. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
External links
edit- House of Mystery at IMDb
- Review at The Bloody Pit of Horror
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