The Haunting (1963) - Excellent Harris performance in haunted psyche chiller

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Something horrible and ghoulish is teased on this effective poster for Robert Wise's The Haunting

A professor wants to find evidence of a parallel world of spirits and therefore invites a pair of relevant women to join him and the owner at the allegedly haunted Hill House manor.

 

The Haunting is written by Nelson Gidding (Lisa (1962)), adapting The Haunting of Hill House (1959)) by Shirley Jackson (The Sundial (1958)), and directed by great Indianan filmmaker Robert Wise (The Curse of the Cat People (1944)).

Julie Harris (Hamlet (1964)) as our afflicted, independence-seeking protagonist is outstanding, and the film is as much a ghost story as a creepy journey into the mind of a person who is getting near to a psychosis.

The remarkable photography (by Davis Boulton (Children of the Damned (1964))) manipulates with perspectives, distances and more, and the set design is excellent. There's a spiral staircase scene that demonstrates how long a suspense scene can be held. And Lois Maxwell (Lost and Found (1979)) is good in the supporting part as Grace Markway, the investigating doctor's cynical wife.

The Haunting is a study in withheld and insinuated horror that piques the subconscious with its eeriness. 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 1.05 mil. $

Box office: In excess of 1.02 mil. $ (North-American rentals in 1963 only) 

= Uncertain but most likely a flop

[The Haunting opened 21 August (USA) and runs 114 minutes. Shooting took place around October 1962 in England, including in London. Harris suffered from depression at the time of shooting, affecting her performance and interaction (and lack thereof) with the cast and crew. With only a 1963 North-American rental figure, (which is unimpressive), the film's theatrical status is impossible to ascertain, - but it seems likely that The Haunting was a flop. It was nominated for a Golden Globe. It was remade as The Haunting (1999), and has inspired Rose Red (2002, miniseries) and The Haunting of Hill House (2018, miniseries VOD). Wise returned with The Sound of Music (1965). Harris returned in Little Moon of Alban (1964, TV movie), Kraft Suspense Theatre (1964, TV-series) and theatrically in Hamlet (1964); Claire Bloom (The King's Speech (2010)) in Il Maestro di Vigevano (1963). The Haunting is certified fresh at 87 % with an 8.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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