HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS [1983 / 2022] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
A Murderously Funny Mystery With A Wonderful Unexpected Twist!
The four masters of horror, Vincent Price, Christopher Lee Peter Cushing and John Carradine are back in the return of the classic gothic thriller. In a deserted house, a desperate writer comes seeking a story. When a beautiful girl comes to the rescue, he almost loses a wager, and his life. In this house there is a room for every nightmare and a nightmare in every room.
Now Remastered in High Definition, and now enjoy this top-notch horror film from cult-film maker Peter Walker featuring the three greatest horror stars of all time.
FILM FACT: The film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ was shot at Rotherfield Court Park, is a country manor house and estate located in East Tisted, East Hampshire in England. It was suggested that the novel “Seven Keys To Baldpate” would be good to dramatization the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ by George M. Cohen.
Cast: Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Desi Arnaz Jr., John Carradine, Sheila Keith, Julie Peasgood, Richard Todd, Louise English, Richard Hunter, Norman Rossington and Juba Kennerley (uncredited)
Director: Pete Walker
Producers: Jenny Craven, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus
Screenplay: Michael Armstrong (screenplay), Earl Derr Biggers (novel) and George M. Cohan (play)
Composer: Richard Harvey
Cinematography: Norman G. Langley, B.S.C. F.R.P.S. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Anamorphic)
Audio: English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 102 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / CANNON FILMS / Fabulous Films Limited
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ [1983] is famous for being the only film that brought together the quartet of horror legends, Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and John Carradine, and ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ succeeds in being an affectionate homage to the old dark house films of yesteryear. Director Pete Walker final exploitation film (‘House of Whipcord’), but with the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ takes a completely different route from what we expect from Pete Walker. Michael Armstrong of the film (‘Mark of the Devil’) provides the script, adding to the renowned credentials.
A young American writer Kenneth Magee [Desi Arnaz, Jr’] claims that he could knock out a novel in the vein of Wuthering Heights in 24 hours. His publisher Sam Allyson [Richard Todd] takes him up on this and suggests the Gothic surroundings of a mansion in Wales, which is owned by a friend. When he gets there, he finds he isn’t alone as not only has an attractive woman Mary Norton [Julie Peasgood] turned up but so have a group of ageing characters the Grisbane family who informs Kenneth Magee the grizzly tale of how an insane Grisbane son, Roderick, raped and murdered. Thereby the family has kept him locked up in the attic for the last 40 years. The problem is the homicidal maniac has escaped and he starts knocking off those staying overnight at Baldpate.
The four horror greats ham it up wonderfully as members of an ancient aristocratic family known as the Grisbanes and they are Lionel Grisbane [Vincent Price], Corrigan/Roderick Grisbane [Christopher Lee], Sebastian Grisbane [Peter Cushing] and Lord Elijah Grisbane [John Carradine]. They have all converged on the magnificent old mansion house in the middle of a terrible thunderstorm to commemorate a grim and grisly deed that took place in the house forty years ago on this very night. It turns out to be a momentous family reunion, especially when Victoria Grisbane [Sheila Keith] turns up.
Although the film wasn’t particularly received particularly well on its original release, time has actually been very kind to ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS.’ This is largely due to the stellar cast. The story is based on the novel “Seven Keys To Baldpate” and the familiarity of the scenario and is the tale that has been adapted many times over the years. However, that’s probably the point, since the film is an affectionate homage to the films of yesteryear and a fitting tribute to the legendary cast. It’s played as a creepy comedy rather than straight horror, and as the love for the renowned horror stars has increased over the years. The horror pic is filled with almost every haunted house cliché possible, as the diverting film moves along fine with its tongue in cheek story line. But it slightly kills you with far too many absurd twists to make you extremely confused.
The use of music: The music that can be heard in the film’s background does a really good job at keeping the film’s tone consistent. Throughout Kenneth Magee’s stay at the Manor house, the film score sounds mysterious, sinister, and even sad are played at various moments of the film. At times when the tone changes, and the music never skips a beat and adapts with every events of the story. A great example is when Kenneth Magee is driving to the train station. When the weather is fair and the sky is sunny, light-hearted music can be heard during Kenneth Magee’s drive. As soon as the skies turn dark and stormy, ominous music takes the place of the previous music ensemble and certainly adds to the films atmosphere.
For those who haven’t yet seen the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS,’ I won’t spoil the story. What I will say is the mystery element of the film was well-written! The narrative is presented in a way that allows the audience to solve the mystery alongside Kenneth Magee and Mary Norton. This creates an interactive and shared experience between the characters and the viewers. It also maintains a sense of intrigue throughout the film. As the story unfolds, it makes the audience wonder what will happen next.
Vincent Price is an actor who is known for starring in this horror-esque ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ film. While there are elements of horror to be found, they primarily existed in the film’s second half. The story as a whole placed more emphasis on the element of mystery. This made the horror film not as scary as I expected.
The film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ came out when the British video nasty scandal was in full swing, so audiences weren’t ready for a throwback to the golden age of horror. While not the best horror genre that any of the horror actor icons have been in, the very fact that they are sharing the screen together makes it fascinating viewing for all horror fans, and the tongue in cheek sense of humour running throughout just adds another layer of something to really enjoy. This is horror film is an aficionado’s dream and the only time that Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and John Carradine appeared in the same film and in the same scenes together, which is pretty unique, but very sad that seeing these unique four master of horror actors will never be seen in any film again together.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, CANNON FILMS and Fabulous Films Limited presents us the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ has been remastered with a 1080p image that has come from the M-G-M vault and with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The image isn’t spectacular, but I get the feeling that Pete Walker and cinematographer Norman G. Langley were not really aiming for something truly “spectacular.” Truthfully, I’ve never seen an attractive Pete Walker movie. The image transfer suffers from some noise reduction that flattens out the film grain and causes some pasteurization artefacts. Overall detail is sharp, though limited by the darkness of some shots, which I believe is unavoidable. Black levels occasionally fluctuate and appear grey or blue, while the limited colour quality – specifically flesh tones and the burgundy/browns of the manor – remains relatively consistent. The limited use of lighting: I understand the limited use of lighting was adapted to emphasis the atmosphere of the Manor. Where this succeeds on that regard, it also hides the beauty of the Manor itself. One of the most striking features of this location is the grand staircase. It had visually appealing details, such as the gold ornamentations along the iron bars of the stairs. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see this part of the Manor house clearly because there was little to no lighting in this space.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, CANNON FILMS and brings us the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ with just one standard 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio experience and certainly gets the job done. The mix is pretty minimal, including a lot of obviously “canned” sound effects taken from a generic spooky sounds library and for example, you’ve heard this exact thunder crack at least 400 other times and an underused musical score from award-winning composer Richard Harvey. The music gets the best of the audio presentation and features considerable dynamic depth, despite the single channel sound design. Vocals are sometimes muffled, specifically when characters speak over each other in group shots.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary by Derek Pykett and Director Pete Walker: Here first up to welcome us is Derek Pykett to this audio commentary for the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ and Derek Pykett considers the film to be a little gem and he is also the author of the “British Horror Film Locations” book and is designed Horror film fans as a source for enthusiasts of British horror films, this work provides an extensive listing of shooting locations for films released between 1932 and 1983. The main body of the text comprises an alphabetical index of over 100 British horror films from ‘The Abominable Doctor Phibes’ [1971], ‘Witchfinder General’ [1968] and includes ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ [1983]. Each entry includes cast/crew credits, a brief plot synopsis, and a description of the film's in-studio or on-site shooting locations. Separate chapters provide in-depth accounts of the locations themselves. For the studio locations, the write-ups include a complete list of the films produced at each studio and a brief description of the studio's historical development. Accounts of the on-site locations feature an in-depth physical description of the location and any available information on its present purpose and ownership. It also includes many photographs. Sitting in the film viewing room with Derek Pykett is director Peter Walker who kindly did some lovely words in the forward in the “British Horror Film Locations” book and was very grateful and honoured for Peter Walker to do that for him, and Derek Pykett mentions other Peter Walker’s previous excellent horror films he has directed like ‘Frightmare’ [1974], ‘House of Whipcord’ [1974] and ‘The Comeback’ [1978] which starred the marvellous actress Sheila Keith, who we will talk to later on. Now Derek Pykett asks Peter Walker about his work with his previous films he directed and informs Derek Pykett that he wanted to be an independent director and only making his own films, which Derek Pykett really liked his films and is also asked how he got involved with the CANNON FILMS organisation, but informs Derek Pykett that it turns out that Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus approached Peter Walker to direct a horror film and informed them that he had a project on going that he was trying to get off the ground, and was keen to make such a film on a much higher budget than his previous films and eventually got a script together with Michael Armstrong and felt it was a terrific script, and quite controversial as well. So Peter Walker went to Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus office with the script and to be honest Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus could not be bothered to read the script, so instead Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus just asked Peter Walker to describe what the film is all about and gave them a lengthy scenario outline what the film was all about that he wanted to direct, and eventually Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus said it sounded terrible, because it was about an aborted foetus that comes back to life, and they could not understand what he was describing and did not think it would make a good horror film and found the whole thing very confusing, as they wanted a horror film with actors like Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, but Peter Walker had to inform them that both these actors are dead, so they said to Peter Walker, well get whatever horror actor is available. So three month later after Peter Walker produced another totally different script for a horror film that he thought Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and again described the scenario and gave him the green light to go ahead and they started to film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ and to cut a long story short, Peter Walker tried his best to round up as many old horror actors that were still available and still living. Derek Pykett says that he understood that Peter Walker wanted to make the horror film ‘The Old Dark House,’ well Peter Walker was originally going down that route of that type of horror film, and take it back to a basic ‘The Old Dark House’ film and initially tried to get the rights to the film, but it was not available, because of legal problems that was a total nightmare, but Peter Walker remembered an old horror film he had seen a long time ago entitled ‘The Keys To Baldpate’ that had been filmed in three or four different versions and it had a sort of satirical twist right at the end of the film, so they had to think up an idea to film it as a spoof and also to a different point of view and so we can have the bonus of including all the old horror actors like Christopher Lee, John Carradine, Peter Cushing and the wonderful master of horror actor Vincent Price which luckily they were all available and very keen to appear in the film together, Derek Pykett asks Peter Walker how close is the film to the original screenplay and Peter Walker says they made some changes to make the film much more interesting, but with the big help of Michael Armstrong really got the screenplay finished much quicker, but on the other hand in the process Michael Armstrong kept telephoning Peter Walker and out how he is coming up with new ideas for certain scenes, especially telephoning Peter Walker at 4:00am regular in the mornings very excited about changing certain aspects of the original screenplay and Peter Walker says at the time it was totally frenetic and a very hectic situation long before filming had got started, and on top of all that Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus were in a hurry to get the film shot and distributed. Derek Pykett asks Peter Walker about the casting of the actors for the film, and it was Peter Walker’s sole job to find the actors that would be the perfect characters for the film. Very surprising is that Peter Walker found it very easy to get the four main masters of horror actors to appear in the film and were extremely keen to appear in the film. They talk about the old British comedy actor Norman Rossington who appears in the film just at this point in time and was also very keen to appear in the film, but sadly not long after the film was released Norman Rossington sadly passed away and Derek Pykett and Peter Walker felt this actor add a lot to the film. Derek Pykett now asks Peter Walker how he got hold of Desi Arnaz, Jr., to appear in the film, and it turns out contacted his mother Lucille Ball personally to ask if her son could appear in the film and the actress gave Peter Walker her blessing, but said to Peter Walker on the phone, “You look after my boy over there,” and Desi Arnaz, Jr., was just 27 years of age at the time of shooting the film and Peter Walker knew the actor was quite well equipped to look after himself, especially the fact that he had been married and went through a really nasty divorce, but despite that, Peter Walker felt his character in the film was quite a difficult part he had to play the part of a conventional man who was at the same time the handsome hero and not a lot acting needed, and when the film was released Desi Arnaz, Jr., got a lot of flak mainly from the critics, which to Peter Walker’s opinion is that they were out of order and totally unfair, because Peter Walker felt Desi Arnaz, Jr., was not a bad actor, but in fact quite a good actor. Peter Walker is asked Derek Pykett how he went about acquiring mainly the British actors, especially Julie Peasgood and explains in detail how it happened and especially all the other British actors to entice them to appear in his film and it is quite an interesting story. Derek Pykett and Peter Walker start talking about Desi Arnaz, Jr., and what he is doing right now and Peter Walker informs us that he now lives in Arizona and is now wealthier than God and looks after all of his family affairs and especially his mother Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Jr., and his wife run a really lovely theatre. Derek Pykett and Peter Walker talk about the actor Richard Todd who you see appears at the start of the film and Peter Walker says he was totally wonderful old pro actor and has appeared in some wonderful classic British films and Peter Walker found the actor a joy to work with, but Peter Walker was quite amused when Richard Todd turned up with five suits and asked Peter Walker which one should he wear and Peter Walker said I leave that up to you. But Peter Walker also said that all the old masters of horror actors were word perfect and did not fluff their lines. But what Peter Walker said about the actor John Carradine had to in some scenes say a great deal of words, but now and again had some problems saying his lines, but Peter Walker was very sympathetic, because he was around 80 years of age when shooting the film, but despite this slight problem, Peter Walker says they muddled through, but also said that he had an incredible English accent for the film and a very strong one. Derek Pykett and Peter Walker now talk about the actress Sheila Keith who of course makes her first appearance with John Carradine and Peter Walker says that the actress was really wonderful in the film, but Peter Walker originally wanted Elsa Lancaster to play Sheila Keith’s part and Peter Walker before filming started went to visit Elsa Lancaster and really thought she would have been wonderful in the film, but sadly the actress was very frail and infirm, and would have been a total nightmare and a lot of technical problems, especially when Peter Walker met her, that actress was in a wheelchair, but despite that, Peter Walker was really pleased to have met Elsa Lancaster, but sadly a few days later after meeting Elsa Lancaster and was also in the process of moving house, sadly heard the news that Elsa Lancaster had passed away and also Peter Walker was upset as he could not attend Elsa Lancaster’s funeral and felt quite guilty in not being able to attend the funeral and to say his last goodbye to the actress. Derek Pykett and Peter Walker both talk about the actor Peter Cushing and everyone really loved working with the actor and he was an extremely funny man and use to clown about the film set and was totally marvellous and could do stuff like Norman Wisdom by tripping over his own feet and always had a stream of very funny jokes that he got a great joy in telling everyone. Over lunchtime the four masters of horror actors would talk about stuff in general, but at the same time came out with very interesting information that all four of them in total had a little count up that they had reckon that they had done 1,200 films between them, and John Carradine reckoned he had done over 400 films in total, but some of those films John Carradine had done admitted that some of them were a load of old rubbish and other films he had appeared in were just guest appearances in the 1960’s. One thing Derek Pykett and Peter Walker both of them liked is when the other three masters of horror actors first appeared in the house and walked towards the camera, and they put the wonderful lighting on their faces. Peter Walker was asked about the film’s budget for a film that was now 30 years old and had a brief to bring it under $1,000,000 and Peter Walker actually brought in under budget and of course eventually got their money back because Peter Walker did a deal with HBO and they loved it because it was a Horror film with a PG rating and they showed it five or six times a day for about three months morning, noon and night, so becoming a really family Horror film. On top of all that, MGM/UA did a good deal with Peter Walker when releasing the VHS tape of the film and it did very well, but sadly did not have a great success with the cinema release. Peter Walker mentions that if they had made the film today, they would not of been able to have the all the actors at the price they paid them in 1983. Peter Walker is asked how he acquired the Rotherfield Court Park country manor house and informed Derek Pykett it came about through some very interesting information and heard about it by a screenwriter friend, so Peter Walker went down to visit the property because it had never been used before in any other films, and when he got there he was very pleased by what he viewed and after filming had finished, the property was used is other well-known films several times. Just at that point in the film the wonderful over the top actor Vincent Price makes his wonderful entrance and is wearing a really wonderful outfit, and of course says some wonderful iconic lines, and wanted to speak with a speech impediment manner, whereas in real life does not speak like that, but Vincent price for this film wanted to be totally different and over the top. Again, Derek Pykett and Peter Walker talk in glowing praise about the actor Peter Cushing, who everyone loved, and had a massive fan followers, and again he was an extremely very funny man, but on top of all that, everyone who had ever worked with him in a film like actors, the crew and even the clapper boy really loved Peter Cushing and sadly, actors of that calibre are very sadly missed. At that point in the conversation, the last masters of horror actor Christopher Lee appears in the film in a very spooky and mysterious way and again gets near to the camera and again did wonderful lighting on his face, but Peter Walker found Christopher Lee sort of okay, but got on better with the other three masters of horror actors, but Peter Walker also comments about Christopher Lee in saying that the actor was very professional with his acting performance, but on top of all that tended to keep himself to himself, on top of all that, Peter Walker said that Christopher Lee never upstaged anyone, but just wanted to get on and do what he was supposed to do in the film. But overall, Peter Walker said that he had a very easy time working with all the actors and was a wonderful experience. Derek Pykett asks Peter Walker how did he come up with name “Grisbane” and says it was something Michael Armstrong and Peter Walker came up with it through a process, but could not exactly remember how they came up with that name. One thing Derek Pykett asks Peter Walker, was with the meal scene at the table with the four masters of horror actors where John Carradine kept falling asleep at the table between shoots, but at first Peter Walker sort of denies this, but when Derek Pykett mentions that the cameraman John Simmons told him about this situation, then peter Walker did have to eventually admit this situation actually happened a couple of times, still as Peter Walker says, still when you are the age of the actor John Carradine and you have a long days filming schedule and all the hot lighting, he says he is not surprised he kept falling asleep. Peter Walker mentions that he asked the producers to visit the film set, and Yoran Globus who put up the money, said he wanted to come just for one day and just for an hour or so, but insisted that Peter Walker promise to not inform anyone who he was, as he thought if all the actors knew who he was, they would all demand more money and he would not turn up, and to inform everyone that he was just a friend of Peter Walker, and despite the long trip down the film shoot, only stayed for an hour. But what Peter Walker liked about Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, is that they did not want to read the script or interfere in any way towards the filming, but was slightly concerned that Yoram Globus if had turned and stayed longer than an hour, might start interfering with shooting of the film, but breathed a sigh of relief when he left after an hour. One negative aspect for Peter Walker, is that unfortunately the money had ran out before the shooting had finished, and Peter Walker had to pay all of the crew out of his own money and was prepared to take over the whole film 100% after the fourth week of filming. But one thing Peter Walker made sure of is that all the actors were paid all their monies upfront in full. One other problem Peter Walker encountered with Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus is that none of them wanted to view the final finished cut, which was in the agreement, and started pressurise them both to view the film because Peter Walker had booked a screening room two or three times and just would not turn up, and eventually Peter Walker actually dragged Menahem Golan out of his hotel room and then dragged him to the screening room at 9:00am on a Sunday morning and arrived at the cutting room with an original old style film editing machine with a small viewing screen and what Menahem Golan saw said it was very good, but at the same time made a couple of suggestions to make some changes to the film and two of them Peter Walker thought they were very good suggestions, and eventually everyone was happy with the outcome. One thing Peter Walker liked with his film was the shooting on location at the Rotherfield Court Park country manor house as he really hated directing a film in an actual film studio setting, but the only people who like filming is a film studio setting is the director of photographer and shooting on location you get a much better atmosphere, so absolutely no studio for me full stop. Derek Pykett asks Peter Walker about the composed music that he really liked and Peter Walker talks about the composer Richard Harvey and because the composer he usually uses for his previous films was not available, so someone recommended to Peter Walker that the composer Richard Harvey would be really excellent for his film and also found out that this composer style of music is very similar in style to that other composer he usually uses and all in all Peter Walker felt that composer Richard Harvey did a really good job with the film’s composed film score. Derek Pykett also tells Peter Walker that he felt Vincent price had all the best lines throughout the film and when the film was shown at the BFI [British Film Institute] Belvedere Road, Southbank, London SE1 8XT, ENGLAND that every time when Vincent Price came out with his very tongue in cheek funny camp lines, the audience would whoop, cheer and clap vigorously. Peter Walker remembers a funny incident while shooting a certain scene in the manor house, and suddenly one of the crew member had seen a bat in one of the bedrooms and it was actually a real bat that was flying vigorously around in that particular room, and when Vincent Price heard about this incident, said, “Anybody we know?” and Peter Walker thought that was just a brilliant line from such a brilliant actor of his calibre. Derek Pykett now asks Peter Walker, as you look back on this film you directed, compared to your previous other films, so how do you compare this film to your previous films, so Peter Walker says that he has a soft spot for the film in particular and he really enjoyed making and directing the film, also luckily I did not have any problems with the film and I was very happy with what we finished up with the film. We finally are getting to the end of the film and the audio commentary and the wonderful twist at the end of the film, which of Peter Walker and everyone else involved with the film really enjoyed that moment, that Peter Walker said it really annoyed a lot of people, especially Kim Newman the reviewer, but Derek Pykett thought the evil twist at the end of the film was really great and Peter Walker feels that part near the end of the film takes the piss out of film buffs. When we get to the scene of the Green Room in the film where all the actors gather and are drinking champagne and discuss the events they were involved in the film, Derek Pykett really loves this scene in the film, and where Vincent Price calls Christopher Lee several times “a bitch,” and really played well with all the actors standing around in the Green Room and hearing that comment. As we get to the last few minutes of the film, Derek Pykett asks Peter Walker if he would like to say a few words about the film in general, and says, “No not really, and I feel the film speaks for itself and you either going to like it or not like it, and I am not ashamed of the film, and I have little affection towards the film.” But Derek Pykett thanks Peter Walker for being able to get the four marvellous old pro masters of horror actors to appear in the film and especially in their twilight years in the film industry and also for all the fans of those old wonderful actors and getting them all to appear in the film together, which no one else has managed to get all four actors in one film. Derek Pykett feels it is a shame that no one was able to get all four actors together on a TV chat show, especially when the film was released. Derek Pykett and Peter Walker talk about the actor Christopher Lee and find it totally incredible that at the time of the audio commentary that Christopher Lee and turned 90 years of age and was still working, and especially for a very tall person and still had a lot of energy left, but it helps by still keeping fit and even more amazing, he is now Sir Christopher Lee. But Derek Pykett and Peter Walker really loved the scene where we see Vincent Price as a waiter, and we are informed that the actor was very keen to do that scene. As the end credits appear at the end of the film, Derek Pykett says that it is a great film and that he really likes the film, and Peter Walker thanks him for that comment about the film and Derek Pykett is also very grateful for Peter Walker to agree to do this audio commentary with him and Peter Walker says, “My pleasure and I hope everyone else enjoys the film.” And at the point the audio commentary finishes and we just hear the last parts of the composed film score that finishes the end of the film.
Special Feature: Pete Walker’s House of Horror [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [14:48] They recommend that before you view this special featurette, they warn us that the following information may contain certain spoilers, and encourages you to view the film before watching this interview. From now on we meet Peter Walker in his home, and informs us that he virtually had retired as a filmmaker and decided at the age of 42 years of age, that he should retire as a filmmaker and he felt he was getting too old making the films he was directing, but decided to go into the business of exhibitions and at the same time bought up a number of cinemas and started an independent chain of cinemas, but while he was doing that, Peter Walker got a phone call from Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus who were forming a company called The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including CANNON Films, and were setting up their business in England and been making films mainly in Israel and were mainly making independent exploitation filmmakers, rather like Peter Walker, so they came to England because they had secured quite a large sum of money and they contacted Peter Walker to ask him to direct a horror film and invited him to meet Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus at their office and at the same time happened to have a script with him that he had just finished with his screenplay partner Michael Armstrong and it was entitled ‘Deliver Us From Evil,’ and when Peter Walker got to the Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus office, asked Peter Walker if he had a screenplay and luckily was able to confirm what he brought with him, and of course Peter Walker pitched a short scenario and informed them both that the film was about an aborted foetus that comes back to claim its life back and Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus just sat there with poker faces and said, “This is not a horror picture, we do not understand it, we want a horror picture like with films that starred Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi,” and Peter Walker replied, “They are dead.” So Peter Walker went back to Michael Armstrong to inform him what Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus had said to him and that they wanted a horror picture, but want it in the style of a horror picture made 25 years ago like in the style of Hammer Horror films, which were virtually going out of business in 1982, so together they decided to come up with an idea of doing a nostalgia piece, a sort of swan song piece and who could we get to star in the film, like Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and John Carradine especially he is still alive, so they thought the only thing they could do that would actually work, was to do a loving tribute to the horror genre and sold it to Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and gave them the green light to ahead with the screenplay. At first they tried to get the rights to the film ‘The Old Dark House’ but unfortunately they could not secure the rights to that film, and then Peter Walker remembered a film called ‘Seven Keys To Baldpate’ that he had actually seen and it had a great twist to the plot, and Peter Walker thought he could adapt the plot, so Peter Walker went ahead and bought the rights to the film, which luckily did not have to pay a lot of money for the rights, because it had been filmed five or six times before, but this time they were not going to use the original storyline, but felt they could give it a bigger new twist of the storyline, so they got this affectionate screenplay together and it was very easy to get hold of the four horror master actors they wanted to secure for the film and that was our ultimate goal from the start, but felt the scenario was not going to be innovative or new, but that is what Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus wanted, but all Peter Walker was doing was being a hired hack, but in the end produced the picture physically, but on the other hand Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus were the official producers, but in the end they never ever set foot onto the film set while filming was in progress, and Peter Walker thinks they never even looked at the screenplay. So when Peter Walker and Michael Armstrong dreamed up the story outline for the ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ they just wanted a horror film with all the usual horror stuff like in the old style horror films. But despite the reservations, it turned out to be totally terrific and also great and the film was just like a little party and of course having the four old master of horror actors who all knew each other and knew what they had to do in the film, and Peter Walker remembered every morning the driver use to bring Vincent Price to the Rotherfield Court Park Manor house and he would walk into the building and Peter Walker would have a regular banter with the actor and would say to Vincent Price, “Excuse me, aren’t you an actor, and didn’t I see you in ‘Son of Sinbad,” and Vincent Price would always come out with a long drawn out story while the crew was setting up to shoot a scene and then Vincent Price would walk around the set with a cup of coffee in his hand and again keep on relating his long story about that film mentioned that Vincent Price was in, and this happened every morning on the set and again Peter Walker would say those words but mention a different film title and again Vincent Price would again go into a long drawn out monologue and because it was Vincent Price, everyone really enjoyed his regular monologues and also his wonderful stories about his life and times in the acting profession. On top of all that, it was also a great pleasure to secure Peter Cushing, as he was one of the all-time great master of horror actor and so many people have worked with him and he was a true gentleman and no one ever said a bad word against Peter Cushing and was also a very clever person and also a very extremely funny man, but what people did not know, as that he started out in Vaudeville at a very young age and was marvellous at doing Buster Keaton Pratt falls, and again was a really wonderful person. When making the ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS,’ Peter Walker says he had the problem of finances, and even though he was a sort of producer, at least we came under budget. Now as to the American actor Desi Arnaz Jr., and his starring role in the film, who was on a very low salary and the brief they gave to him was that they were making an old fashioned horror film deliberately and also informed him that from his point of view as your character, you are a young leading man, but a 1940’s wise cracking “B Picture” hero and was quite happy with the brief and Peter Walker thinks he did very well. The location for the ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ was shot at Rotherfield Court Park, and a country manor house and estate located in East Tisted, East Hampshire in England, which Peter Walker thought was marvellous and it was the first time the property was used in a film. Peter Walker says that he had a friend called Alfred Shaughnessy who was an English scriptwriter, film director and producer who use to help him with screenplays and he knew the owner of Rotherfield Court Park which was in fact a Stately Home and Peter Walker went along to check it out for filming and to see if it was suitable for the location and found it to be totally perfect and hardly needed anything doing to the interior and especially as 75% of the action was inside the building, so Peter Walker was very pleased about the set up. Peter Walker had read up numerous stories about the notorious Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and with the agreement to shot the film, which was actually hand written on the back of an A4 envelope and at the same time was used at Peter Walker’s contract, but the main crux for this film is that Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus had the final say on the final edit of the film, and Peter Walker had a very serious problem in getting Menahem Golan to come and view the final edit of the film, so in the end Peter Walker had to go to The Park Hotel in 64 Belgrave Road in London one Sunday morning and drag Menahem Golan out and to take him to view the final edit of the film, but because there were no viewing rooms available, that had to make Menahem Golan sit in front of the editing machine screen and made a couple of comments, which was of course his right, and after viewing five reels, got up and informed Peter Walker that he had to go back to the hotel for a very important meeting and Peter Walker asked him if he approved of what he had viewed, and just said, “Yes, keep up the good work,” and that was it, and all they wanted is a finished film, the actors and the film poster. Peter Walker said, “The proof of the pudding really with Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus is that they had made numerous films, but not that much success and because of that, if you look at the amount of films they have made, not many would stick as great success,” and Peter Walker remembered one ‘The Runaway Train’ and of course ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ which were both filmed on a very low budget and if all of their films had all been low budget films, they probably would have had greater box office success, but instead the majority of their films is that they wanted them to be prestige. When cable television came on the scene ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ got a good deal especially with HBO and got their money back, and also got a good deal with MGM/UA for the video rights, because the VHS format had just come on the scene. The guy interviewing Peter Walker asks him, why was the ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ your last film and Peter Walker replied, “Because I did not want to make any more films and the business had changed as he remembered, and I have no more interest in going back into the movie making business, but I enjoyed the writing the screenplays and all the behind the scene activities, like editing the film and putting the music onto the soundtrack, but the business of directing films I hated.” But overall, Peter Walker felt making ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ was a joy to make and the experience, but also working with the four master horror actors was also a marvellous experience and at that point the Peter Walker special featurette interview finishes, and especially the insight of how the ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ was conceived, so please give it a view, as you will not be disappoint and definitely gets a five star rating from me. This was an original KINO LORBER special feature.
Special Feature: ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ . . . Revisited [2022] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 2.35:1] [104:08] With this special featurette, it is presented by Derek Pykett in association with Fabulous Films and basically the main part of what you view is that some on the people involved with the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ go back to Rotherfield Court Park, the country manor house and estate located in East Tisted, East Hampshire in England to reminisces and recollect their fond memories filming inside the manor house, but first of all we find Peter Walker [Producer / Director] at his home being interviewed and he asks Peter Walker how did you get involved with the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS,’ CANNON Films and Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and of course goes into a long monologue in what you will have read in the previous featurette. Before we go to the main crux of this featurette, we get comments from other contributors involved with the film and first up are comments from Michael Armstrong the screenwriter with the same information on how he got asked to help out with the screenplay and especially having a meeting with Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus in their office in London. Throughout this featurette we get lots of clips from the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS.’ But from here on we now get location film at Rotherfield Court Park, especially inside the manor house, and we suddenly see Peter Walker come through the front door and says, “I have returned,” which of course Vincent Price says that line when he first makes an appearance in the film, and walking in with Peter Walker is actress Julie Peasgood and start talking about their experiences shooting the film inside the manor house, and mention that it was the first time the manor house had been used to shoot a film and has since been used to shoot other films. We get a nice little interview outside the manor houses with John Scott who is the owner of the Rotherfield Court Park country manor house, and informs us that it was constructed in 1815 – 1821 to the designs by architect Joseph T. Parkinson and is a Grade 1 listed building. The house was owned by the local MP and High Sheriff of Hampshire, James Winter Scott, in the 1860’s. It was also used as a filming location for the Agatha Christie's Poirot episode “After the Funeral.” Court Park country manor house was also used filming for the fourth season of ITV Series “Grantchester” for the scenes around the Manor house owned by the new vicar's parents. John Scott also mentions that the Manor house was used for the film ‘Four Wedding and A Funeral’ and Bob Dylan made a film at the Manor house, so making it quite famous. As mentioned that the actress Julie Peasgood was also here and mentions that visiting the place again brought back lots of happy memories of filming inside the building, and really appreciate the manor house even more now seeing it in daylight and in its natural setting. Also commenting on filing at the Manor house is Michael Pickwood who was the Production Designer for the film and talks all about the dust sheets he remembered that were strewn all around the inside of the Manor house and made it feel very spooky. Someone else talking about filming in the Manor house is Jeanne Ferber who was the Production Manager and felt the inside of the building had a lot of atmosphere that you would not get in a studio setting, and said there was this very large stuffed bear in the entrance that was really enough to scare anyone. Next up is Norman Langley the Cinematographer who is also visiting the Manor house with Peter Walker and Julie Peasgood and Norman Langley talks about trying to get the right spooky image, especially the scene when Vincent Price first walks into the main hall and gets that casts a big shadow of the actor on the back wall of the staircase and it also helped to get a spooky image by using lots of lighted candles to again create a spooky image for the film. Norman Langley also talks about that he really liked to do the same for the other three master horror actors who gradually made their appearances was to create a shadow over half of their faces and really enjoyed filming that experience. Now we get another interview with Julie Peasgood who is for some unknown reason sitting on the stairs and mentions the first time the actress met Peter Walker as the director and remembers that the actress did not have to do any kind of reading as that is the way Peter Walker works an on top of all that, Julie Peasgood remembers Peter Walker to her and Desi Arnaz Jr., out to lunch in a restaurant in Piccadilly in London and it was really grand. Another bonus for Julie Peasgood was the fact that the actress would be working with the four grand masters of horror screen icon actors and especially in this horror film and it was really great and will be ever grateful for having Peter Walker ask the actress to be included in the film. We also get a short interview with Richard Hunter the actor and talks about his experiences on working in the film. We also get a short interview with the actress Louise English and talks in-depth about her character and being so horrible to her so called boyfriend in the film, and also talks about her really gruesome ending, and felt her nasty character deserved it. Now we get another short interview with an extremely older Desi Arnaz Jr., the actor who also talks extensively about his experience working in the film, and were in total awe working with the actor Richard Todd and was a great fan of his character in the Robin Hood TV series he appeared in, and also wanted to be that Robin Hood character. Then we get a quick comment from John Simmons the camera operator, about his experience working in the film at the same time we also get a comment from Alan Flynn the costume designer who had such a wonderful experience working on the film and also had some very fun moments, especially when the actors who were murdered did a lot of corpsing like spoiling a piece of acting by laughing an giggling uncontrollably, when they should be laying there and looking dead. As we comes to the end of this special featurette, they all have their last short comments on working in the film and they all say that they had a jolly good fun and it was really great working with everyone, But most of all, again they talk about working with the four wonderful master of horror actors and what a magical experience it was working with such professional actors, but in reality it was not very hard work for these four accomplished professional actors, as they had all worked together in previous horror films, especially Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in the Hammer Horror films franchise. One funny anecdote was the story when actor Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee and other people went to a local pub for lunch and talked about a certain funny experience that happened, especially what happened to a husband and his wife and their experiences of seeing those great master of horror actors sitting in the pub. We also get a short interview with Richard Harvey the composer and talks about his experience of the composed film soundtrack and was really excited to compose the music for the horror film for the first time and also really enjoyed the experience, and of course we get certain scenes from the film where the dramatic music that Richard Harvey wanted to really enhance the music to give it some really over the top dramatic feel for the particular scene in the film, and even though there was only 60 musicians used, and it still helped to make the film get a really spooky atmosphere, and especially at the time Richard Harvey was only 29 years of age at the time and feels he did a really good job for his age, especially doing it all on his own. We find out when filming inside Rotherfield Court Park country manor house, they would work 37 slates a day, but with modern digital camera equipment today it would have been filmed in a totally different way. Desi Arnaz Jr, is interviewed again and says that the reason he loves to work with an English crew and you know who you are, is the business of an English tea break, which does not happen in America, and when I was based in London and leave around 6:00am and driven to the location and start filming and arrive around 8:00am and work for a couple of hours and it is then time to have a tea break at around 11:00am and thinks it is a fantastic way of working and so civilised way of working and then we have a one hour break and then you would go back to work and suddenly it is the lunch time break at around 2:00pm and the work for about four hours and then have a another tea break, but at the same time was totally confused with this set up, because he was so used to how the American film industry works. But despite this, he thought it was a fantastic way of having all these tea breaks and with these tea breaks you would sit around with everyone and discus about life in general and the film industry and Desi Arnaz Jr., encourages all film studios around the world to adopt the British film industries way of having these type of tea breaks and at that point asks the crew if it is time to have another tea break and asks for Earl Grey tea. We now come back to cinematographer Norman Langley and informs us that Director/Producer Peter Walker was very much in charge, especially with the script and especially the audio commentary and all in all, wanted to be in charge most of the tim. We also get comments from John Simmons [Camera Operator], Jeanne Ferber [Production Manager], Michael Armstrong [Secreenwriter], Michael Pickwood [Production Designer] and Peter Walker, where they all say that Peter Walker is pretty easy going, quite efficient and is very calm gentleman, he just wanted to get on with the job, didn’t make any problems, where there weren’t any, and felt he did a very good job all round. The other glowing comments on Peter Walker is that he is not pretentious, really likes to make films especially for entertainment and is a total delight to work for. Julie Peasgood comes back to talk about Peter Walker especially as the director and just lets you get on with the job and is therefore you if you need any guidance, and did not like to over complicate the situation, and especially the fact he has directed 23 films, so he obviously knows the business inside and out. They also feel Peter Walker was very easy to talk to and again let you do what you had to do. Again as a director, Peter Walker as he was always very trusting and a pleasure to work with and they were sad it was Peter Walker’s last film and they wish he would come out of retirement and they would all work for him again. One thing they all say is that they all loved the actor Peter Cushing, because he was such a really nice kind person and had a lot of kudos, and was 100% supportive towards everyone involved with the film and would cooperate 100% with everyone, and was also so appreciative and generally a very sweet kind man. On top of all that, Peter Cushing would write little personal notes to people to say thank you. When they were not doing any filming, Peter Cushing would talk very fondly about his deceased wife, who he loved very much and really missed her very much. When people had a room to go to for a break and learn some of their lines, Peter Cushing was totally marvellous and use to tell us some totally amazing marvellous stories of films he had been in and the other actors he had worked with and would always wear a white glove on his right hand whenever he had a cigarette, so his fingers would not get stained with nicotine and would always encourage other people and would also be a very charming gentleman, and of course was a really wonderful professional actor. They also all glowing praise for the actress Sheila Keith who was so very nice and kind and was really like a nice aunt, but they also say very nice people like the actress Sheila Keith would always play really nice evil villains. On top of all that, they all had fond memories with filming in the Rotherfield Court Park country manor house and reminisce of working with all the four master horror actors. Desi Arnaz Jr., says that it was joy to be working with Christopher Lee in the film, especially because of his iconic legendary mythical characters he has portrayed in his many films and Desi Arnaz Jr., salutes you Christopher Lee. They talk about the scene with Christopher Lee falling all the way down the grand staircase to the bottom of the staircase, which of course was done by a stuntman and the axe in his chest was a rubber one. When audiences went to see the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ were not expecting a certain kind of horror film, but they did realise you could easily laugh at certain scenes in the horror film. When we see Julie Peasgood sitting on the bottom step of the staircase, the interviewer asks the actress that when she goes to fan conventions do they ask her about her appearance in the film, and replies they do ask her about her appearance in the film and definitely has a big fan base following and Julie Peasgood does talks to groups of people on cruise ships and varies club venues and ask her a lot of questions about her performance in the film and specific scenes the actress was in. They all say that is was a fun film to work on and everyone got on well together, especially with a good unit and a good cast, which they all thought they had made a good film. Sadly when the film was first released it failed because it was not given enough good publicity and hopefully with the release of the Blu-ray it will be much better appreciated, which it rightly deserves. Again they all comment on a special time in their lives appearing in the film and all have truly fond memories, especially working with the four masters of horror actors and it is very sad we can no longer work with these wonderful actors. Sheila Keith who was the other actress in the film and has kept her copy of the original script and on the inside pages everyone signed their autographs that had written some really nice words, especially the four masters of horror actors and you see her beam with a big smile. We come back to actress Julie Peasgood on the bottom step the staircase again and the interviewer says he has this letter sent by Peter Cushing to the actress Julie Peasgood and had forgotten all about it that she actually sent to the interviewer and was slightly surprised to see it again as it is the personal letter sent to Julie Peasgood from Peter Cushing and the interviewer hands it to the actress and reads out the really wonderful letter and starts getting a bit emotional while reading it out and at the end has a slight tear in her eye, but was so pleased to read it out again . We come back to Peter Walker in his home and is asked about the film he directed and did he also have fond memories in making the film and replies that he had a fun experience and was glad he did direct the film and also says when he finished the film and had a look at it and thought should be a film that should have been made of a style of horror film that had gone out of fashion, but luckily it has now become a massive cult film, especially have the four masters of horror actors in the film, and because it was PG rated, it was of course classed as a family horror film, even though it was not a great horror film, which it was never intended to be, but it definitely is a good value film and a great tribute to the horror genre film. At that point the interview with Peter Walker ends and the interviewer says thank you to director Peter Walker and then we have one long last look at the outside of the house and the inside of the house, plus an old black-and-white photo of the cast and crew, and a few clips from the end of the film, and at that point we start to see the end credits appear and all in all, this special feature was a real joy to view and hearing all the wonderful comments from everyone who appeared and worked on the film and is well worth viewing, as you hear so much more information about the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS.’ One thing I did not like about the special feature is the way the image was cropped like it was 1.78:1 aspect ratio, but looked more like it was squashed down to a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and gave you a very strange viewing experience. But despite this, it is still worth while viewing this special feature and definitely gets a five star rating from me.
Special Feature: Photo Gallery [1983] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:18] Here we get a wonderful selection of colour and black-and-white images like a slide show and especially of images of scenes from the film and of course some of the wonderful actors who appeared in the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS,’
Theatrical Trailer [1983] [1080i] [1.78:1] [2:38] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer of the film ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS.’ This is a very funny and very camp tongue in cheek theatrical trailer with the master of horror Vincent Price.
BONUS: You get a Double-Sided ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ poster of an all new Graham Humphreys artwork. Graham Humphreys is an illustrator and designer with 40 years’ experience. One of the few contemporary illustrators using the traditional medium of gouache to paint his images, Graham Humphreys is best known for his work within the horror genre. This site is both an online portfolio of work, but also a visual testament to the enduring appeal of horror through cinema and home entertainment. Whilst firmly embedded in the world of horror, current projects include vinyl LP sleeves, posters, private commissions and work with some of the UK’s premiere horror festivals.
Finally, ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ is the only film in which you will find the legendary four masters of horror actors ensemble and of course they are Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing Vincent Price and John Carradine have appeared together. Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing appeared in 24 films together and the ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS’ being the final one to be filmed together. Although they often played mortal enemies on screen Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were inseparable friends off screen. Both were huge fans of Looney Tunes cartoons and were once asked to leave a cinema showing a Sylvester and Tweety cartoon because they were laughing too much. The same year ‘HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADO SHADOWS’ was released Vincent Price also voiced the spoken word sequence in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” which includes the memorable line “Darkness falls across the land. The midnight hour is close at hand…” Eight years prior to this Vincent Price also worked with Alice Cooper on the track “The Black Widow” where Vincent Price portrays “The Spirit of the Nightmare.” Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
