Criticizing "Hillbillys in a Haunted House" (yes, that's really the way "Hillbillys" is spelled) might seem like shooting fish in a barrel, but even by 1960s grind-house standards, this picture is dreadful. In fact, I think Ed Wood can breathe a little easier wherever he is, knowing that THIS is really the worst movie ever made. Only one scene involving Lon Chaney, Jr., and a murder has any kind of impact, but it doesn't really belong in the picture, since that it is played straight, and the rest of this mess is farcical. Much has been made about the star trio of fading horror stars, but actually seeing them here is truly sad. Chaney tries to inject some life, but it's pretty hopeless (this same year Chaney was featured in a good big-budget Western, "Welcome to Hard Times," and was a semi-regular on TV's "Pistols and Petticoats," so did he REALLY need the money that bad?). John Carradine phones it in, apparently not having bothered to read the script beforehand (in once scene he calls Basil Rathbone "George" when the character's name is really "Gregor"). It is poor Rathbone, however, who elicits the highest cringe rating. Clearly ailing, his speech is slightly slurred as he struggles to get the maimed dialogue out. The Country Western leads are inept, with someone named Don Bowman, ostensibly the comic relief, taking the Unfunniest Man Alive award away from Fidel Castro, and Ferlin Husky grimacing so mightily as he goes for the high notes that it looks like a tribute to Chaney transforming into a werewolf. Joi Lansing is awful, but an eyeful, and Linda Ho is so amateurish that she should have had her SAG card revoked. The plot involves spies, a "haunted" house, a gorilla in the basement, really dumb comedy, even dumber characters, and far too many musical numbers, which means it could have been made in the mid 1940s (with largely the same cast!), and they might have gotten away with it. But coming a year before "Rosemary's Baby," it's just pathetic. If you want to see the nadir, knowing that you'll probably never see anything worse, then watch it.
Review of Hillbillys in a Haunted House
