None of us here have ever seen this one. I guess, after the success of his 1959 haunted house classic, "House On Haunted Hill," William Castle wanted to go one step further. So, he assembled a real Sixties cast--Rosemary De Camp and Martin Milner, for heaven's sake! --and put them through their paces in a house filled with the titular amount of ghosts. The gimmick here is Illusion-O. Whatever that is.
There is a surprise star in the film, who shall be revealed eventually, but I am looking forward to an evening of camp. I have never been disappointed yet, by a William Castle film, (save for 1964's "The Night Walker") so I cannot wait to see this movie. Be there or be square, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So join us at 8PM for "13 Ghosts," darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is sure to be haunting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Illusion-O was one of the weaker gimmicks: when prompted, you had to hold a red cellophane "ghost window" to your face in order to see the ghosts. Didn't really work that well, and would have been a disaster in TV syndication, so most later prints were reworked to make the ghosts more prominent and visible in the usual way.
ReplyDeleteAnd Margaret Hamilton looks just as sinister here as she did the Wicked Witch. On a side note, I'm sorry I missed this because the modern-day remake wasn't half bad.
ReplyDeleteMistress Maddie,
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I did not know until the broadcast that there was a remake. Interesting you thought it not bad. I mean, how does one top Margaret Hamilton? Maybe you were drinking a Gibson, dear!