House of Horrors (1946)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

One of many 60-minute B-movie horrors that Universal churned out in the 1940's, House of Horrors remains one of the most fondly remembered due to the hulking presence of Rondo Hatton. Originally a journalist and apparently a handsome man, he developed acromegaly which began to disfigure him in adulthood. He started getting extra work and bit-parts as faceless thugs until he appeared as 'The Creeper' in the Sherlock Holmes film The Pearl of Death (1944). Universal planned a series of films starring Hatton as The Creeper, but after this and it's sequel The Brute Man (1946), he sadly died of a heart attack brought on by his disease. He was far from a good actor - he does little but grunt and talk in child-like speech - but his presence is undeniable, and probably saves House of Horrors from obscurity.Living alone in his rotting studio, sculptor Marcel De Lange (Martin Kosleck) is on the verge of selling his best work to a high-rolling collector. Unfortunately, the potential purchaser brings along notorious art critic F. Holmes Harmon (Alan Napier), who dismisses Marcel's work as a travesty, causing the sale to fall through. Penniless and on the verge of suicide, he spots a body wash ashore one night. The body is that of the Creeper, a known serial killer with the face of "the perfect Neanderthal," (as Marcel dubs him), so Marcel brings him home and nurses him back to health. Fascinating with his appearance, Marcel begins to sculpt the Creeper and exploit his blood-lust by setting him up to murder his enemies.At just 65 minutes, House of Horrors, also known as Murder Mansion and Joan Medford is Missing, doesn't demand much at all. This is a formulaic genre picture that manages to squeeze an extraordinary amount into it's slender running time, and remains suitably entertaining throughout. Kosleck, for all his ham-fisting, manages to inject a tragic quality into his character, at first humble and optimistic, and later hateful and blood-thirsty. But it's Hando that steals the film - his Creeper snaps a woman's spine just for screaming in a scene that more than hints at rape (a big no-no in the 40's). Though there's no background or personality given to the character, that lurch-like appearance more than compensates. A forgettable genre film that is certainly worth an hour of your time.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

***SPOILERS*** After being humiliated by #1 art critic the snotty and full of himself Holmes Harman,Alan Napler, struggling sepulcher & artist Marcel De Lange, Martin Kosleck, decides to end it all by jumping into the East River and drowning himself. When Marsel saw someone in worst condition then even he was in floating below he decided to help the poor guy and nurse him, together with his pet cat Peblo, back to health. As it turned out the person that Marcel saved from drowning is the notorious "Creeper", Rondo Hatton, who's been on a rampage murdering a string of young women, mostly hookers, all throughout the city of New York.Puzzled but grateful for what the very out of touch with the latest news Marcel did for him, way would anyone rescue a serial murderer like himself, a now fully recovered "Creeper" decides to do what Marcel didn't have the guts to do himself. Take care of all those art critics like Holmes Harman who've been making his life a living hell by putting down his great, in his mind, works.At first Marcel doesn't realize what the "Creeper" was doing but as he read the newspaper reports of his exploits, murdering art critics who disgrace him and his art, he encouraged him to keep up the "Good Work". As it soon turned out the "Good Work" resulted in Marcel making his masterpiece a bust of the "Creeper" himself!As it also soon turned out it was a woman newspaper columnist Jean Medford, Virginia Gray, who in fact was one of the few persons in the city who admired Marcel's work who lead to both his and the "Creeper's" downfall. That's by giving Marcel the publicity, in her column, that he really didn't need. It was that , Jean's column about his latest work, which in the end broke up a beautiful friendship, Marcel and the "Creeper", and thus finally putting and end to their reign of terror .P.S Rondo Hatton who's signature role as "The Creeper" was to make him famous in the world of horror movies died almost two months before the film "House of Horroes" was released at the age of 51.

Okay Universal chiller starring Rondo Hatton, returning as the Creeper, still snapping spines, this time at the motivation of a sculptor slowly driven mad by pretentious, nasty art critics who love to tear apart New York artists using their type writer as a means to diminish and destroy anyone they consider poor or devoid of talent (while also writing vitriol towards artists they simply don't like). Needless to say art critics like the F Holmes Harmon (Alan Napier), admiring themselves and their reputed opinions, even if the art community finds those like him detestable, who get the Creeper spine-snapping treatment, aren't exactly sympathetic victims we feel sorry for. At first French sculptor, Marcel De Lange (Martin Kosleck) is presented as a rather sympathetic figure, an impoverished artist in dire need of critical support so that he can sell some of his works just to buy food and pay rent for home and studio. After getting his work trashed by Harmon, convincing a potential buyer to not purchase a sculpture, De Lange considers suicide, seeing an injured Creeper appearing from a river in bad need of care. De Lange sees Creeper as an artistic triumph in the making and so a partnership is formed. Soon De Lange is doting on how he would like to tear Harmon apart with his bare hands with Creeper willing to oblige. But the Creeper is a psychopath who murders women so not only critics get their spines snapped and necks wrung. Robert Lowery is Steven Morrow, a commercial artist who had a beef (and altercation) with Harmon, dating a snappy, unflappable, and loyal art critic named Joan (Virginia Grey) whose voice is also respected in the city, her own column dedicated to the art scene. Joan is a supporter of De Lange despite the stigmatism his work suffers, described as something a lunatic would sculpt (perhaps true considering De Lange uses Creeper to kill and harm for him), but when she steals a sketch outlining the Creeper's facial features, he prepares to get rid of her before being connected to the killings ( a second critic is also murdered for comparing Steven's work to De Lange's, further belittling the sculptor's reputation, as if Harmon didn't do enough damage). Hatton's acromegaly again is well utilized, both as a sculptor's inspiration and as a hulking brute with longish fingers and rough features cornering smaller beauties and wimpy art critics, his shadowy silhouette on the wall portraying the result of his actions as the victims have nowhere to run and no strength to escape his clutches. Kosleck's manipulative madman, presented as pitiable and tiny, even shorter than Virginia Grey, I thought was a fun variation on Dwight Frye, using a powerful brute to do his handiwork. Bill Goodwin is Lt Larry Brooks, the investigator trying to catch the killer, terrorizing his streets. Lowery has "the wrong man" character, a "person of interest" to Lt. Brooks, due to his negative feelings for Harmon, who has to come to the rescue of his girl when she is in danger of being yet another victim of the Creeper. Some atmospheric moments with foggy streets and a memorable "movie monster" in Hatton who thinks he's found a friend in De Lange, but "House of Horrors", to me, was rather a bit too predictable and underwhelming overall..maybe I was a bit too excited entering my viewing of this movie. It just has lazy writing (not much depth in the scenario or the characters this time around), too, although the execution of art critics who use newspaper articles to demean those they have a distaste for, sometime out of pure meanness, might be met with audience celebration.

Rondo Hatton is my hero. Who cares if he wasn't a classically trained actor?! As The Creeper he tugs the heart-strings like a pro! He's got heart! He's got soul! He's got courage! He's also damned likable! Rondo is also one hell of a hero. Rondo took the crummy hand that fate dealt him and played it magnificently. He became one of the most endearing and cool anti-heroes of all B-moviedom! To experience Rondo as The Creeper is to experience pure magic! I watched horror movies as kid and always loved "the monster". A good "monster" gets my vote every damn time. The Creeper fits that bill perfectly and better than most. The Creeper is one of my all time favorite fright flick anti-heroes. GOD BLESS YOU RONDO HATTON!