House of 1,000 Dolls

i think vincent price was one of the greatest actors to ever live, but i have to admit that i don't understand why he degraded himself by starring in this boring, dull, and ultimately pointless bore. the only reason i can think of that they made it at all is that the idea of a whorehouse or female slaves must have been hot stuff on the screen in 1967. was it supposed to be scandalous or something? because otherwise this one is about as exciting and involving as reading a periodical on the cause of varicose veins. it doesn't even work as a goofy camp movie, because it's too solemn and dull. as always price gives an above average performance, but it does nothing for this clunker because the movie as a whole is so fundamentally bad and uninteresting. even if you're a price completist like myself, don't bother watching it, just buy it to fill the whole in your collection.

Here in UK among the swelling amount of potty TV stations , there is one labeled Horror. It is very good at showing missing films from the 60s that are not as yet on DVD. This is not a horror film, waste of great title, just an action crime mystery.18 cert is odd too. A very bored looking Vincent Price along with equally bored all purpose actress Martha Hyer plays a famous magician who calls up pretty girls from the audience on stage to have them disappear completely, as they end up in the White Slave trade in Morocco run by a mystery mastermind.

The best thing by far in this, is lead George Nader, gay beefcake pin up of the 50s. Looking very smart in good suits as the investigator,this actor had moved to West Germany in the 60s.Here he found stardom again in a series of thrillers as Jerry Cotton. He would return to USA,to find he had been left a large money legacy from old friend Rock Hudson.He turned to being a successful author, dying at 80. No I didn't guess the mastermind, but it was so improbable like the rest of this movie. Low brow fun.

One of many international co-productions that Harry Alan Towers produced in the late 1960s, HOUSE OF A THOUSAND DOLLS was shot in Tangiers and is chiefly of interest for the casting of Vincent Price in a typical villain role. The story is about a magician and his wife assistant who front an international kidnapping ring, with the usual stock protagonist characters doing their best to break the ring and rescue the girls. Maria Rohm has a smaller role. The film itself is sunny but pedestrian, the thriller aspects pretty muted, although Price is of course good value when he's allowed to be.

If you like Price, this is an offbeat roll for him as this is not straight classic horror, but a mystery thriller with some sexed up 60's kittens and a brothel.. The film takes place in Tangiers and it is basically a clever and tame way to present a plot involving the white slavery trade. The films promo makes one think this is a very prevalent and serious issue, and perhaps it ws then? who knows? Price is a magician of sorts who gets beautiful women to get into his live stage act and then they disappear to the house of 1000 dolls. No one close to them ever sees them again, until a couple gets curious about this phenomena. The ending is a twist that you would not expect.. Perhaps the most memorable thing about this film is the theme song which gets cut off in the VHS version but exemplifies 60's groove with some cheesy pop rifts.. I mean when my ex husband an I saw this in like 1990, we laughed and sang this song for years! Then we recently turned on a few friends to it who were equally amused! don't take it so seriously, get a Pizza on a rainy weekend night and cuddle up for some excitement and intrigue with House Of 1000 DollS!

I'm actually not sure what to make of House of a Thousand Dolls. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't crazy about it either. The best thing about it is easily Vincent Price, he is not in the film much but when he is on screen he completely commands it with a durable elegance and a touch of menace. Martha Hyer and George Nader do give reasonable performances as well, but not on Price's level. There is a good score and opening credits song and some of the photography does give some effective atmosphere. On the other hand, there are a number of failings, such as the sluggish fist-fights, mind-numbing dialogue and the fact that the characters just seem to be there but with nothing to make them particularly interesting. The story never really engaged me either, the basic thrust of the story, the more mystery/thriller-like stuff, is very dull, while the deaths and floggings are bloody and nasty but with little subtlety and taste. They like the characters seem to be there but again other than for shock value little is interesting about them. The twist is irrelevant and adds nothing to the film, so overall while I have seen far worse House of A Thousand Dolls for me was a very odd film. 5/10 Bethany Cox