The House That Dripped Blood

For the Mountain Goats song, see Tallahassee (album).
Not to be confused with The House That Drips Blood on Alex.
The House That Dripped Blood

Original theatrical poster
Directed by Peter Duffell
Produced by Milton Subotsky
Max Rosenberg
Written by Robert Bloch
Russ Jones
Starring Christopher Lee
Peter Cushing
Nyree Dawn Porter
Denholm Elliott
Jon Pertwee
Music by Michael Dress
Cinematography Ray Parslow
Edited by Peter Tanner
Production
company
Distributed by Cinerama Releasing Corporation
Release dates
  • February 1971 (1971-02)
Running time
 102 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $500,000

The House That Dripped Blood is a 1971 British horror anthology film directed by Peter Duffell and distributed by Amicus Productions. It stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Nyree Dawn Porter, Denholm Elliott, and Jon Pertwee. The film is a collection of four short stories, all originally written and subsequently scripted by Robert Bloch, linked by the protagonist of each story's association with the eponymous building. The film carries the tagline "TERROR waits for you in every room in The House That Dripped Blood."

Plot

Poster for Italian version

Shortly after renting an old country house, film star Paul Henderson mysteriously disappears and Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) from Scotland Yard is called to investigate. Inquiring at the local police station, Holloway is told some of the house's history. He then contacts the estate agent (John Bryans) renting the house, who elaborates further by telling Holloway about its previous tenants.

Segments

"Method For Murder"

A hack writer of horror stories (Denholm Elliott) moves into the house with his wife (Joanna Dunham) and is haunted by visions of Dominic (Tom Adams), the murderous, psychopathic central character of his latest novel.

"Waxworks"

Two friends (Peter Cushing and Joss Ackland) become fixated with a macabre waxwork museum that appears to contain a model of a lady they both knew.

"Sweets to the Sweet"

A private teacher (Nyree Dawn Porter) is perturbed by the cold and severe way a widower (Christopher Lee) treats his young daughter (Chloe Franks), even forbidding her to have a doll.

"The Cloak"

Temperamental horror film actor Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee) moves into the house while starring in a vampire film being shot nearby. He buys a black cloak from a peculiar shopkeeper (Geoffrey Bayldon) to use as his film character's costume. The cloak seems to instill in its wearer strange powers, something Paul's co-star (Ingrid Pitt) quickly discovers.

Cast (by segment)

"Framework"

"Method For Murder"

"Waxworks"

"Sweets to the Sweet"

"The Cloak"

Production

Vincent Price was first offered the part of Paul Henderson. He liked the script but was unable to accept because American International Pictures held an exclusive contract with him for horror films.

Originally, director Peter Duffell wanted to have the title Death and the Maiden. Producer Milton Subotsky decided on the more dramatic The House That Dripped Blood. Not one drop of blood appears in the actual film.

When Peter Duffell was engaged the participation of actors Lee, Cushing and Pitt had already been decided by the producers. All other actors were cast by Duffell.

Critical reception

Allmovie's review of the film was positive, calling it "a solid example of the Amicus horror anthology."[1] Halliwell's Film Guide described the film as "neatly made and generally pleasing despite a low level of originality in the writing."[2]

Box Office

The film was a minor success in the UK but did very well in the US.[3]

Home media

Format Audio Subtitles Region Aspect Ratio Studio Release Date
DVD-Video, NTSC English:
Stereo		 English,
Spanish		 Region 1 1.85:1 Lions Gate Home Entertainment 28 October 2003
DVD-Video, PAL English:
Dolby Stereo,
5.1 Dolby Surround,
DTS 5.1 Surround		 none Region 2 1.85:1 Anchor Bay Entertainment 27 October 2003

References

  1. ↑ Donald Guarisco. "The House That Dripped Blood (1971)". Allmovie. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  2. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1997). Halliwell's film & video guide (1998 ed., Rev. and updated 13th ed.). London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-638868-X.
  3. ↑ Allan Bryce (ed.), Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood, Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 pp. 62-70 ISBN 9780953326136
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