The Haunting (1963)

USA, UK, 1963
112m
35mm film, Panavision (anamorphic), black and white, 2.35:1
mono, English

An American/British horror film directed by Robert Wise. Production began on 4 October 1962 and the film was released in the UK on 10 January 1964 in London’s West End and on 19 January 1964 in North London.

Plot Summary

Three young people join Dr John Markway in investigating the supposedly haunted Hill House. One of them, the insecure and neurotic Eleanor, forms a psychic bond with the house that leaves her open to the forces that stalk the musty corridors. It soon becomes clear that none of them had any idea what they were dealing with as the haunting forces begin to make themselves felt and heard…

Credits

* = uncredited

Crew
Directed by: Robert Wise
© MCMLXIII [1963] by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and Argyle Enterprises Inc.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer presents a Robert Wise production. An Argyle Enterprises picture
Producer: Robert Wise *
Associate Producer: Denis Johnson
Screenplay by: Nelson Gidding
Based on the Novel “The Haunting of Hill House” by: Shirley Jackson
Assistant Director: David Tomblin
Continuity: Hazel Swift
Director of Photography: Davis Boulton
Camera Operator: Alan McCabe
Editor: Ernest Walter
Music Composed and Conducted by: Humphrey Searle
Recording Supervisor: A.W. Watkins
Sound Recordist: Gerry Turner
Dubbing Mixer: J.B. Smith
Dubbing Editor: Allan Sones
Wardrobe Supervisor: Maude Churchill
Claire Bloom’s Clothes by: Mary Quant
Make-up: Tom Smith
Hairdresser: Joan Johnstone
Special Effects: Tom Howard
Production Designer: Elliot Scott
Set Decorator: John Jarvis
Sketch Artist: Ivor Beddoes
Locations: Ettington Park, England, UK *
Studio: Borehamwood Studios, UK *
Casting Director: Irene Howard

Cast
Julie Harris (Eleanor Lance)
Claire Bloom (Theodora)
Richard Johnson (Dr John Markway)
Russ Tamblyn (Luke Sanderson)
Fay Compton (Mrs Sanderson)
Rosalie Crutchley (Mrs Dudley)
Lois Maxwell (Grace Markway)
Valentine Dyall (Mr Dudley)
Diane Clare (Carrie Fredericks)
Ronald Adam (Eldridge Harper)
Pamela Buckley [1st Mrs Crain] *
Amy Dalby [Abigail at age 80] *
Rosemary Dorken [companion] *
Verina Greenlaw [Dora Fredericks] *
Claude Jones [garage attendant] *
Freda Knorr [second Mrs Crain] *
Howard Lang [Hugh Crain] *
Janet Mansell [Abgail at age 6] *
Paul Maxwell [Bud Fredericks] *
Susan Richard [nurse] *
Mavis Villiers [landlady] *

Links

Remake
The Haunting (1999)

See also
Event Horizon (1997)
Evil Dead II (1987)
Fallen (1998)
Invisible Mom II (1999)
Psycho (1960)
Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992)

References

Periodicals

• Amateur Cine World vol.7 no.6 (6 February 1964) p.177 – review
• American Cinematographer vol.80 no.8 (August 1999) pp.82-88 – illustrated credits, article
• British National Film Catalogue vol.2 (1964) – credits, synopsis
• Castle of Frankenstein no.2 p.46
• Castle of Frankenstein no.4 p.4 pp.18-21
• Castle of Frankenstein no.10 p.41
• Cinefantastique vol.29 no.4/5 (October 1997) pp.72-79, 125 – illustrated article
• Creative Screenwriting vol.6 no.4 (July / August 1999) pp.32-37 – illustrated article
• The Daily Cinema no.8849 (9 December 1963) p.6 – review
• The Daily Cinema no.8859 (6-7 January 1964) p.6 – note (General Releases – North London); note (Trade Shows)
• The Daily Cinema no.8860 (8-9 January 1964) pp.3, 9 – note (Trade Shows)
• The Daily Cinema no.8862 (13-14 January 1964) pp.4; 15 – illustrated note (Commentary by Observer); note (General Releases – North London)
• The Daily Cinema no.8863 (15-16 January 1964) p.8 – note (“The Haunting” release Sunday)
• The Daily Cinema no.8867 (24-25 January 1964) p.11 – note (“Haunting” in record style)
• The Daily Cinema no.8868 (27-28 January 1964) p.6 – note (Ideas Unlimited)
• The Daily Cinema no.8872 (5-6 February 1964) p.10 – note (‘Haunting’ on record note)
• The Daily Cinema no.8874 (10-11 February 1964) p.4 -note (Ideas Unlimited)
• Fangoria no.185 (August 1999) pp.12-17, 82 – illustrated interview with Nelson Gidding (The original ghostwriter by Tom Weaver)
• Film and TV Technician vol.29 no.227 (December 1963) – credits
• Film Daily vol.123 no.37 (22 August 1963) p.7 – review
• Film Quarterly Winter 1963/1964 p.44 – review
• Filmfax no.49 (March/April 1995) pp.30, 32 – illustrated article
• Films and Filming no.397 (October 1987) p.11 – review
• Flesh and Blood no.5 (September 1995) p.10 – illustrated article
• The Hollywood Reporter vol.176 no.38 (21 August 1963) p.3 – review
• Journal of Human Relations vol.19 no.1 (1971) pp. 4–17 – article (‘Even a Man Who is Pure of Heart’: The Horror Film as an American Folk-Art by Robert Anton Wilson
• Journal of Popular Film and Television vol.30 no.3 (Autumn 2002) pp.166-176 – illustrated article
• Kine Weekly no.2876 (15 November 1962) p.18 – note
• Kine Weekly no.2878 (29 November 1962) p.4 – credits
• Kine Weekly no.2932 (12 December 1963) p.8 – review
• Monthly Film Bulletin vol.31 no.360 (January 1964) p.5 – credits, synopsis, review
• Motion Picture Herald vol.230 no.9 (2 October 1963) p.898 – review
• Sight & Sound vol.4 no.2 (February 1994) p.43 – illustrated article
• Starburst no.58 (June 1983) pp.44-46 – illustrated article
• Variety 21 August 1963 – credits, synopsis, review

Books

• 500 Essential Cult Movies: The Ultimate Guide by Jennifer Eiss with J.P. Rutter and Steve White p.220 – illustrated credits, synopsis, review
• Armchair Cinema: A History of Feature Films on British Television, 1929-1981 by Sheldon Hall p.350
• The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror by Phil Hardy (ed.) p.155
• The Book of Horror: The Anatomy of Fear in Film by Matt Glasby pp.23-26 – illustrated credits, review
• British Gothic Cinema by Barry Forshaw pp.6, 106, 122, 190
• Caligari’s Children: The Film as Tale of Terror by Siegbert Solomon Prawer p.3, 36, 43, 45, 76, 123, 184, 250
• Classic Horror Films and the Literature That Inspired Them by Ron Backer pp.281-286
• Cult Horror: Dark Fantasy, Horror and Supernatural Movies by Russ Thorne p.29
• The Encyclopedia of Novels Into Films second edition by John C. Tibbetts and James M. Welsh pp.176-178 – credits, review (by B.M. and J.C.T. [John C. Tibbetts])
• English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby pp.6, 46, 120-22, 121, 147, 242, 294, 358
• Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby p.158
• Feature Films, 1960-1969: A Filmography of English-language and Major Foreign-language United States Releases by Harris M. Lentz III p.189
• Frightfest Guide to Ghost Movies by Axelle Carolyn p.83
• The Ghost of One’s Self: Doppelgangers in Mystery, Horror and Science Fiction Films by Paul Meehan p.123
• Ghosts and Angels in Hollywood Films by James Robert Parish pp.166-168 – illustrated credits, synopsis, review
• The Highway Horror Film by Bernice M. Murphy p.45
• Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death by James Marriott & Kim Newman pp.110-111
• Horror and Science Fiction Films IV by Donald C. Willis p.224
• Horrorshows: The A-Z of Horror in Film, TV, Radio and Theatre by Gene Wright pp.150-151 – credits, review
• House of Psychotic Women by Kier-La Janisse pp.181, 256, 309
• Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.186 – credits
• Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Film Sequels, Series, and Remakes Volume 2 by Kim R. Holston and Tom Winchester p.124-125
• Sixties Shockers by Mark Clark and Bryan Senn pp.204-206
• Terence Fisher: Horror, Myth and Religion by Paul Leggett p.188
• Terror Tracks: Music, Sound and Horror Cinema by Philip Hayward (ed) p.254
• Top 100 Horror Movies by Gary Gerani pp.134-135 – illustrated credits, synopsis, review
• Uneasy Dreams: The Golden Age of British Horror Films, 1956-1976 by Gary A. Smith pp.122-123
• The World of Fantasy Films by Richard Myers p.29