The House That Would Not Die (1970)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Overrated and overhyped

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Within the context of 1970s made for TV horror (a category unto itself among horror fans), The House That Would Not Die has never attained the status of "classic," as have Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark (a classic among horror movies as a whole, whether TV or theatrical) and The Night Stalker; nor the cult following of Gargoyles (1972); nor even the minimal honor of a DVD release, as bestowed upon of one of the lesser-known 70s TV supernatural thrillers, Horror At 30,000 Feet (a comparably good, overlooked TB horror in its own right). Nonetheless, House That Would Not Die is a decent little TV ghost story which happened to air before any of the aforementioned. It does not pretend to have a complex plot, and the story is anything but original. That's not the point, though. The movies goes for a comfortable, familiar kind of supernatural suspense and achieves it. The actors are solid and earnest, all of them taking their tasks seriously, and the production design includes liberal use of ghost- induced wind effects, all of which elevates the simple story. But because it is not as compelling as the other movies noted above, nor the 1981 made for TV classic, The Dark Night Of The Scarecrow, which perhaps marked the end of the cycle of greats TV horrors of the decade prior, House That Would Not Die usually goes unmentioned even among fans of that period. You can find House That Would Not Die streaming online, or as of 2015, included in DVD multi-paks of otherwise sub-par horror movies sold on Amazon.

Okay, first off, it's a very scary name for a very mediocre movie. Originally a TV-movie created by TV legend Aaron Spelling, who was known for much better stuff that this, the movie is one of eight haunted house films on a single DVD under the title, "Haunted Hollows," and is the oldest movie in the set, the rest having been made in the years of 2000 to 2010. It's not scary, nor is it very suspenseful, but then it was made as a television movie. Actress Barbara Stanwyck was a prominent leading lady through the Fifties and the Sixties and is possibly best known as the matriarch from the series, "The Big Valley." She plays a woman who inherits a home from a distant relative and moves into it with her niece. There are some strange occurrences, some weak séance scenes and a lot of mystery concerning the house, but we never see any ghosts. The activity is basically limited to voices in the night, gusts of wind and a door opening and closing by itself. The rest of the supposed paranormal are left to what the actors can do to pretend to be possessed. Richard Egan gets to act mean and nasty, but the rest of Katherine Winn's acting abilities seem to be limited to how fast or weird she can manipulate her eyebrows or how loud she can scream. Michael Anderson rounds out the cast as the next rational mind to not let the supposed hauntings get to him. One of the most noticeable parts is just how fast the movie zips along through the scene changes. In one scene, a portrait falls and gets ripped, but jump to the next morning, and its fixed! Another thing, I'm not sure where the movie is filmed, but the exterior of the house looks like it could be the same house from "The Waltons." It's a little campy, but Stanwyck plays it very seriously. Overall, it's worth a look just out of curiosity, but it is not very memorable.

As any fan of classic film and cheeseball TV knows, Barbara Stanwyck was one durable dame. The woman who conquered the corporate world in 1933's "Baby Face" and blasted gun-toting outlaws on "The Big Valley" is more than a match for the wind machines and bad actors who challenge her in this cheapo 1970 made-for, which is why it's ultimately not that scary or suspenseful. It's also hampered by a cobwebbed ghost story plot -- a maiden aunt and her dewy young niece move into an old house only to learn (oh no!) that it's haunted. Still, it's always fun to hang out with Babs, so "The House that Wouldn't Die" isn't a complete waste of time. It's like decaffeinated coffee, a short, mild indulgence that won't keep you awake at night.Miss Stanwyck plays Ruth, a career Washington bureaucrat who takes a sabbatical (Civil Service rules must have been a lot more relaxed during the Nixon administration) and moves to a late distant relative's house near where her fluttery niece Sarah, played by Kitty Wynn, plans to attend college. If Stanwyck is above this sort of downmarket Gothic, Wynn is perfect for it since she seems born to play wide-eyed, helpless young ingénues -- the only time her voice rises above a quivering whisper is when she screams, which she does enough to wake the dead. The dead, however, don't seem to appreciate the intrusion so they start possessing various characters and making them act homicidal. Having apparently exhausted the budget on Babs' salary and nifty wardrobe (the cranberry pantsuit she dons toward the end of the flick is particularly chic), the producers could only afford a single special effect -- a megawatt wind machine which gets switched onto high every time one of the undead makes an appearance. This motif is a bit too indicative, but it's also the only way you'll know that Richard Egan, who plays Babs' romantic interest, has transformed from gentlemanly anthropology professor next door to malevolent spirit. His facial expression doesn't change otherwise. Rounding out this intrepid quartet is someone named Michael Anderson Jr. as Professor Egan's swishy grad student and Kitty's chaste love interest. The movie could be unwatchably dull but isn't, thanks to Babs' stalwart presence. However, it could be atmospherically creepy but isn't, thanks to Egan's granite stiffness and a script that sounds like it was penned by the "Scooby Doo" staff during a prime time writers' strike ("try and open up this old writing desk . . . these things are usually crammed with old letters and papers" declares Babs, perhaps unaware that she's channeling Velma Dinkley). Still, Miss Barbara Stanwyck offers a primer on how to maintain your dignity during the twilight of your career. Someone should have forced Bette Davis to watch this movie.

The House That Would Not Die (1970) ** (out of 4)Made-for-TV possession film about a woman (Barbara Stanwyck) and her young niece (Kitty Winn) who move into an old house in Amish country and soon realize something is wrong. While at a party a group decides to hold a séance and sure enough the young girl ends up possessed so that same party must try and figure out by who and why. THE HOUSE THAT WOULD NOT DIE features a few interesting things but for the most part your entertainment level is certainly going to depend on whether or not the story sucks you in. It didn't suck me in. The film itself really doesn't have too much happening in it. The horror elements are all rather light and for the most part the possession really isn't all that noticeable except during certain scenes when the girl has extra power. The majority of the 73-minute running time has the older woman and her partner (Richard Egan) running around trying to find out the history of the house and those who lived there before them. Again, if the story grabs you then perhaps you'll find it interesting but I found it to be rather boring and the ending plays out more like a Scooby-Doo episode. Both Stanwyck (looking very good and strong) and Egan are very good in their parts but I thought Winn was a little too bland in hers. The director manages to build up some nice atmosphere but it's pretty much wasted.