Hillbillys in a Haunted House

Frankenstein met the Wolfman, and they both met Abbott and Costello, so why shouldn't country music greats Ferlin Husky and Merle Haggard meet Basil Rathbone and Lon Chaney, Jr? No reason a'tall. I was hoping for a real hoedown here, even though I'm not sure what a hoedown is. Well, actually, a hoedown seems to be a "square dance." At least that's what the Merriam Webster link on my toolbar came up with, in which case a hoedown isn't what I was hoping for, after all. A Ferlin Husky-Lon Chaney, Jr. duet on a country classic, perhaps "Your Cheatin' Heart," or something else from the pen of Hank Williams, would have been nice, but, alas, it was not to be. As a result, "Hillbillies in a Haunted House" fails to live up to its considerable potential. I suppose that for Basil Rathbone, who would die in the year of this film's release, appearing in this movie is no worse than doing an infomercial for a Helsinki baldness cure, which is what aged, down on their luck actors seem to do these days, although it would have been nice to see the screen's greatest Sherlock Holmes go out with more style than is evident here.

HILLBILLYS IN A HAUNTED HOUSE (1967) * (D: Jean Yarbrough) A terrible film, badly directed by Yarbrough. His last film, and possibly Basil Rathbone's too (or perhaps AUTOPSY OF A GHOST). Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine can't help matters either - all three are wasted. They should have been put to better use even taking into account the low budget. Rathbone in particular appears disinterested (and who can blame him?) Just barely tolerable to see the three actors, but for completists only. Many awful tunes.

I love exploitation flicks, but this is the bottom of the barrel. This sequel to LAS VEGAS HILLBILLYS is trash of a new kind. No MUNSTERS or BEVERLY HILLBILLIES episode was ever this lame. Ferlin Husky is terrible and the guy who plays Jeepers is a complete idiot. Joi Lansing, although pretty with a great body, is a poor replacement for Mamie Van Doren in the first film, as Boots Malone.

I gave this a 2 instead of a 1 because of the title and John Carradine maintains his dignity (somehow). Basil Rathbone looks uncomfortable. Lon Chaney, Jr. looks to be in pain. Linda Ho is boring. Terrible music and creepy color. Best performance = Anatole the gorilla. LAS VEGAS HILLBILLYS was bad enough to be fun..but this one - sorry folks.

In his day, Director Jean Yarborough worked with all the big names in bad movies (Abbott & Costello, The Bowery Boys, Rondo Hatton and Bela Lugosi.) He even did an unacknowledged adventure series with Mantan Moreland battling Nazis in the tropics (KING OF THE ZOMBIES, LAW OF THE JUNGLE.)Capping off his film career with the ignominious twilight of performers like Carradine, Rathbone and Chaney Jr. seems like a destiny chosen for him by the gods of the B-Movies. Is there something of Greek tragedy in this ending, or is it merely poetic justice? At any rate, it was good to see three actors who had all seen much better days putting in one more turn as despicable villains, and it was a fitting coda for a director whose career was always more remarkable for determination than artistry.

Of the 13 feature films in which John Carradine and Lon Chaney both appeared, 1967's "Hillbillys in a Haunted House" was not only the last, it was one of the few where they actually shared any scenes (shot under the working title "Ghost Party"). Joined in villainy by a game, 74 year old Basil Rathbone, the three actors offer the only real novelty to this tired rehash of old dark house clichés, dragged down by its abundance of country music. A sequel to the successful "Las Vegas Hillbillys" (note the spelling!), retaining stars Ferlin Husky and Don Bowman, but replacing the absent Jayne Mansfield with the equally photogenic Joi Lansing. En route to Nashville for a good old fashioned jamboree, the trio break down and have to spend the night in a house that's not really haunted; its actually the home base for spies trying to steal a top secret formula from a local rocket base. John Carradine alternately scowls and grimaces as Dr. Himmil, when he's not mercilessly teasing the gorilla Anatole belonging to Lon Chaney's Maximillian, who goes undercover by getting past an unsuspecting janitor (all he gets for his trouble is a formula combining nitroglycerin and antihistamine!). As Gregor, Basil Rathbone shares most of his scenes with Carradine, using phony ghosts and noises to try to scare off their dimwitted intruders, whom they mistake for agents from M.O.T.H.E.R. (Master Organization to Halt Enemy Resistance). A genuine ghost closes out the spy stuff at 67 minutes, leaving the final two reels open for yet more musical numbers. Chaney is clearly having a grand time, and Rathbone too, while poor Carradine has to remain sullen for the most part, fewer opportunities to be funny (he did enjoy stealing Anatole's banana!). As bad as the film's reputation is, consider how much worse it would have been without its heavyweight cast of screen villains.