I have seen this film a number of times, since it was not uncommonly screened on Australian late night television in the 1960s.
Martin Landau's wife is dead, and interred in a crypt in the grounds of the family mansion. There is a phone line leading from the crypt to inside the house itself, and when it rings anguished sobbing is heard on the line.
Martin Landau believes it is his wife's ghost sobbing, but in fact it is connected with the ghost of an old Spanish mission, a painting of which is on the wall of the main room of the house.
The film is strong on atmosphere. There are slow, lingering shots which follow the phone line out of the house, and down to the granite crypt, which are quite creepy. However, the ghost, when it appears, is a disappointment.
The film never leaves the house and its grounds, and looks cheaply made, but it is one of those 'irresistable' films; the type that might become a cult favourite. Now I know why it looks cheap - it was a TV pilot!
Martin Landau's wife is dead, and interred in a crypt in the grounds of the family mansion. There is a phone line leading from the crypt to inside the house itself, and when it rings anguished sobbing is heard on the line.
Martin Landau believes it is his wife's ghost sobbing, but in fact it is connected with the ghost of an old Spanish mission, a painting of which is on the wall of the main room of the house.
The film is strong on atmosphere. There are slow, lingering shots which follow the phone line out of the house, and down to the granite crypt, which are quite creepy. However, the ghost, when it appears, is a disappointment.
The film never leaves the house and its grounds, and looks cheaply made, but it is one of those 'irresistable' films; the type that might become a cult favourite. Now I know why it looks cheap - it was a TV pilot!