The House in Nightmare Park ** (1973, Frankie Howerd, Ray Milland, Hugh Burden) – Classic Movie Review 9484

Director Peter Sykes’s comedy horror mystery The House in Nightmare Park (1973) stars Frankie Howerd, who shivers memorably in Bob Hope’s silly shoes in this engagingly daft homage to The Cat and the Canary, in which Howerd is well cast as a grand English Edwardian thespian invited to to perform in an isolated spooky country house stalked by a killer in 1907.

Howerd gives a likeably restrained performance, there is a nice eerie atmosphere, and just enough amusing gags to keep it coasting along. Ray Milland and the rest of the serious actors somehow keep their dignity, but it’s Howerd’s show all the way, and a fine showcase for his abilities.

Also in the cast are Hugh Burden, Kenneth Griffith, John Bennett, Rosalie Crutchley, Ruth Dunning, Elizabeth MacLennan, Aimée Delamain, and Peter Munt.

The House in Nightmare Park [Night of the Laughing Dead] is directed by Peter Sykes, runs 95 minutes, is made by Associated London and Extonation, is released by EMI, is written by Clive Exton and Terry Nation (original screenplay), is shot by Ian Wilson, is produced by Clive Exton and Terry Nation, and is scored by Harry Robinson.

Howerd also appeared in The Runaway Bus (1954), Jumping for Joy (1955), The Ladykillers (1955), A Touch of the Sun (1956), Further Up the Creek (1958), The Great St Trinian’s Train Robbery (1966), Carry On Doctor (1967), Carry on Up the Jungle (1970), Up Pompeii (1971), Up the Chastity Belt (1971), and Up the Front (1972).

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9484

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