larrywest42-610-618957

...perhaps because Shirley Jackson was involved in the film, and the screenwriter and director listened to her.

Anyway, Julie Harris carries this film ... along with the cinematography and Hill House itself (naturally... (or not?)).

The other actors are all excellent, but it's Eleanor/Nell who drives the drama in the book and the film.

I highly suggest reading the book AND seeing the film, in whichever order suits you. The stories differ a bit - e.g., with respect to the investigator's wife - but both work. I prefer the film version, but then I saw that first.

I also highly recommend the 2018 10-episode series ("The Haunting of Hill House"), which is actually a fairly different story, but very much in the spirit of the book and this 1963 film.

It is worth watching for those 10 minutes, if you know who Jack Teagarden and Earl "Fatha" Hines were.

And the rest is passable. Forrest acts and dances well, and her character has some strength, and it was pleasantly surprising to see that her career orientation was taken seriously, for the most part.

But if you don't appreciate Louis Armstrong's jazz, I wouldn't go out of my way to see this movie.