User reviews

Frankie Howard got few chances on film to showcase his comedic talents. Nightmare Park(AKA House of the Laughing Dead) is probably his best effort to do so on film. Like Benny Hill, only not quite as blatant, Howard is walking innuendo. We see through his eyes and speech an almost endless stream of one-liners, albeit rather tame by today's comparisons. Howard is funny in the main role of a third-rate entertainer who loves himself that has been invited to a mysterious mansion in the English countryside. The rest of the cast is comprised of the inhabitants of the house, a strange lot indeed with Ray Milland as the head of the family. The story is whimsical, and utterly absurd, but through the efforts of Howard, Milland, et all, and the fairly atmospheric direction of Peter Sykes, the film comes off quite well as a somewhat gothic comedy.

In this 1973 British comedy horror film (known as "Crazy House" in the U.S.) directed by Peter Sykes, British comedy legend Frankie Howerd is the victim of sinister shenanigans as he stars as Foster Twelvetrees, a struggling actor who scrapes a living by giving hammy performances from the classics. When he is invited to give a performance at the country home of a well-off family he thinks his luck is in, but his joy soon turns to horror when he discovers dead bodies, foul intentions, lots of snakes and a madwoman in the attic. Ray Milland, Hugh Burden, and Rosalie Crutchley are among the supporting cast who want to kill Foster, and in one classic unsettling scene they dress up as dolls and sing a bone-chillingly odd song. This movie successfully spoofs the Hammer horror movies that were popular in the 1960's and early 1970's, and is generally good fun. Alongside Carry on Screaming it has a fairly decent laugh rate, even if most of the humour will probably be lost on International audiences. Terry Nation (creator of the Daleks from TV's Doctor Who) co-wrote the story alongside Clive Exton. The producers conceived this film as a star vehicle for Howerd, but it didn't exactly propel him to super-stardom.

Franke Howerd plays Foster Twelvetrees, a second rate performer of the spoken word to barely awake, small audiences in the early 1900s. He thinks his luck is in when he is invited to a wealthy family's home to perform for them, but he is unaware that they have ulterior motives for the invite.

I've always enjoyed watching Frankie Howerd and this film is no exception. There are some classic Howerd moments that fans will revel in, and perhaps the casual observer too. Plenty of one liners, surprised ooohs and comical countenances that only Frankie Howerd could pull. He's ably supported by the rest of the cast, particularly film legend Ray Milland. It did occur to me, on more than one occasion, that this was meant to be a much bigger success than it ended up, for someone of Milland's calibre to take a role.

There are some very odd, quirky moments which add to the overall eeriness of The House In Nightmare Park and help make it unforgettable. This is not in anyway a Carry On movie which is where I normally see Frankie Howerd. It has a similar feel to many a haunted house film instead, with virtually the entire movie being set in the house and its grounds. There is a sense of foreboding from start to finish, and is genuinely scary and unsettling.

Plot holes abound but they are not enough to spoil your enjoyment of this eccentric horror. The title is perfect and the film does exactly what it says on the tin. Underrated in my opinion, this is an enjoyable hour and a half.

The House in Nightmare Park is directed by peter Sykes and written by Clive Exton and Terry Nation. It stars Frankie Howerd, Ray Milland, Hugh Burden, Kenneth Griffith, John Bennett, Rosalie Crutchley, Ruth Dunning and Elizabeth MacLennan. Music is by Harry Robinson and cinematography by Ian Wilson.

Tragerian actor Foster Twelvetrees (Howerd) is invited out to the remote Henderson Mansion to perform a dramatic reading for the residents. But there are ulterior motives at work and Foster will do well to survive the experience...

RAJA!

In reality it is what it is, a British Old Dark House comedy fronted by a comedy legend in Frankie Howerd. Thus if you like the formula and have a penchant for Howerd's type of humour? Then there's enough here to entertain you. Plot deals in standard "inheritance" treasure map conventions, with Twelvetrees forced to deal with attempts on his life as he dodges the batty old bat in the attic and snakes in the basement.

The Henderson Klan are a mixed bunch of eccentrics and nefarious loons, led by a delightfully off-kilter Milland, and some sequences carry a real Guignol weirdness to them; with a marionette play standing out as gloriously weird. Bonus here is the Technicolor photography and Robinson's musical score.

Filmed at Oakley Court, a mansion that has been used for a number of Hammer Horrors and detective mysteries, the design and vivid realisation of the colour scheme is most impressive. Robinson's score is a cracker and deserves a better movie, beautiful orchestrations blend with sinister strains, the Musical Suite option on Network's DVD release runs at 30 minutes and comes highly recommended as an extra of note.

The joke is stretched a bit too thin come the second half of the play, and this is hardly in the same league as other horror spoofs like Cary On Screaming, but there's rewards to be had here. Though maybe it's best watched with a prescription of liquor to really get the most out of it? 6.5/10

Struggling 'master of the spoken word' Foster Twelvetrees (Frankie Howerd) is hired to give a performance at the spooky stately home of the Henderson family, unaware that he is also a Henderson and heir to both the estate and the vast fortune of diamonds that lies hidden within. But will he live long enough to find out about his inheritance?

"Titter ye not!", as Frankie Howerd would say, and there's pretty good chance that you won't, even if you were raised on a steady diet of '70s British comedy and Carry On films. I'm a big fan of Howerd's droll humour and sly innuendo, but the succession of stale gags on offer in The House in Nightmare Park did little to make me chuckle.

I'm not saying that the film isn't enjoyable -- as a fan of the 'old dark house' format, I appreciated the creepiness, murder and mayhem -- but while this spoof of all things that go bump in the dark is fun, it isn't all that funny. Howerd does his best, but the material just isn't up to standard, meaning that those who tuned in for 90 minutes of side splitting double-entendres and general bawdiness will leave feeling rather disappointed.

Director Peter Sykes (whose previous film was the lacklustre Hammer thriller Demons of the Mind) conjures up some genuinely creepy moments - the homicidal old lady in the attic, the macabre Dance of the Dolls performed by the Hendersons, and the exploration of the snake house are actually superb - which makes one wonder whether this film would have worked much better if it had been played for real scares rather than for laughs.

N.B.: A lingering shot of a chandelier suggests that the crystals are actually the missing diamonds. They're not.

N.B. again: The marvellously gothic titular house is actually The Oakley Court in Berkshire, England (now a hotel), as seen in several Hammer horror movies and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Well worth a gander if you're ever in the area.

We were stuck for something to watch last night and we chose this 'hilarious comedy' to pass a couple of hours. We usually delight in watching bad films, but this one took us to our limits really. Frankie Howerd can be very funny left to his own devices, but here he is stuck with a script with weak jokes and a very thin story. Ray Milland has never been our cup of tea, but here he puts on a good show, seemingly resigned to the fact that his career was over anyway. Several notches less entertaining than 'Up Pompei!', it ground its way through our evening and we were quite relieved when it finished.

Frankie Howerd had a career renaissance several years before he died. However some years after his death he was exposed as a sex pest.

Howerd had hidden his homosexuality when he was alive. After he died, many men, some of them who became famous in later years would tell how Howerd would claim to have a bad back. He would then ask them to rub ointment on his back, soon exposing himself.

I saw The House in Nightmare Park several times as a kid. Made by EMI, it is a step up in quality from his other films. The low budget Carry Ons and movie versions of his television character Lurkalot.

Set in 1907. Howerd plays hammy actor Foster Twelvetrees invited by Stewart Hendersen (Ray Milland) to perform for his family at their stately Gothic mansion.

Foster is happy to oblige for the money. However the Hendersen family are rather sinister with an unhealthy interest in the Hindu goddess Kali ma. Foster is in fact the heir to a family fortune. He might also know the whereabouts of some hidden diamonds.

Soon people start to die and someone is trying to bump off Foster so others in the Henderson family can inherit.

This is an old dark house comedy mystery with shades of Psycho with a host of sinister characters and blustering idiots. If you are scared of snakes then you might want to avoid it.

It is amusingly quirky and silly. Howerd is served with a decent enough script. This probably was the last time that Milland made a movie in his native Britain.

John Bennett plays the Indian manservant Patel. I am not sure why he was the go to guy for ethnic parts. Bennett's most notorious part these days was playing the Chinese hypnotist Li H'sen Chang in Doctor Who.

I have never found this film funny or horrific.Seems as if the writer borrowed a lot of the plot from Ten Little Indians.Howerd has his usual. Quota of exclamations.Ray Milland walks through his part

First off this is the only review I've ever posted for a film, so that must say something about how strongly I feel for this one in particular, it really is a good film and I assure you is most enjoyable, you will not regret watching it.

Secondly I would like to Pooh-Pooh The_Void from Beverley Hills, England's review (see above or below or wherever it is located) what utter tosh! this film is remarkable, a great cast, great atmosphere, engaging story of horror and in-family skulduggery, I don't know what film you were watching mate but to be honest you say that the jokes fell flat and blah, blah, blah but you then put your very own handle as "The_Void from Beverley Hills, England" is that supposed to be some sort of "funny" joke? Well, if that's the extent of your humour, no wonder you didn't enjoy this flick.

This is a very rare film and if you get the chance to catch it I'd seriously recommend it.

Well...despite the fact that many people find this film funny, I really can't say it did much at all for me. I found The House in Nightmare Park to be derivative, unimaginative and really rather boring - Frankie Howerd in the lead role didn't do much for me either. Horror films (and horror comedies) about a family/bunch of people in an old house always seem to revolve around a hidden fortune, and this film is no different, which is a shame. The film is directed by Peter Sykes, who also directed two of the lesser Hammer films in To The Devil a Daughter and Demons of the Mind, and while this film is actually slightly better than those two; it didn't do anything to improve my opinion of the man at the helm. The plot focuses on Foster Twelvetrees, an actor who is hired by the mysterious and sinister Henderson family to perform at the house. It soon transpires that somewhere on the property is buried treasure, and naturally everyone in the house wants to find it - and they're happy to do that, even if it does mean bumping off the others in the process.

The film is meant to be a horror comedy, although it doesn't provide a balance between the two - rather, it's a comedy with some atmosphere and a creaky old house thrown in. Frankie Howerd is a popular comedian for a reason, but all the same; his style of humour doesn't appeal to me much. There's nothing particularly wrong with his performance in this film; he leads it well and keeps things mostly interesting. There aren't a great deal of standout moments in the film and a lot of the jokes aren't funny. The plot moves well, but it's always obvious where it's going, especially for me since I've seen this sort of thing many times before. Ray Milland pops up in a supporting role and gives the film a bit of much needed class. The locations aren't bad and the country house itself is a foreboding presence. The ending doesn't come as much of a surprise, although the build up to it is the best part of the film. The House in Nightmare Park has its fans, but as I've made quite clear - I'm not one of them!

This has become a bit of a cult film for our family. Two branches meet and we have to watch house on nightmare park. Yes the humour is crass, but we love it. We know the one liners and get a kick out of being the first to say them, ' I was only showing her my little Nell', ' you filthy swine' etc. Excellent British non pic humour.

Howerd's character - a dreadful stage actor - is hired by Milland to perform at the family home. As the film progresses, the reasons become clearer.

It really depends the degree to which you find very British comedian Frankie Howerd funny. If you do this is a harmless and rather fun bit of old dark house whimsy. If not, it's probably better to avoid

It could've been much better... some scenes are brilliant like the dance of the dolls... the atmosphere is good too but the script just misses to create a smooth complete film

"The House In Nightmare Park" is old-fashioned by design (which is not a bad thing), but also draggy and dull (which is). To give you a sample of the level of humor on display, Frankie Howerd is asked at one point "Do you play (the piano) by ear?", to which he responds "No, I use my fingers". That's probably the best joke in the film....There is a good twist near the very end, but it's a case of too little, too late. The best thing about all of this is far and away that magnificent house - a feast for the eyes inside and out; I'd love to visit it and even stay there overnight! (edit: further research reveals it's the same house where other films such as "Murder By Death" were also shot, and is now a luxury hotel!). ** out of 4.

This would be a fairly ordinary British seventies film but for its two main stars. This is a rare opportunity to see Frankie Howard in a starring role, and he does not disappoint. Ray Milland, too, is at his best, as a less camp (and in my view superior) version of Vincent Price. Direction is good, and tension and atmosphere are maintained well throughout the film. A must for Frankie Howard fans.

...this is quite a silly movie, it's not very much a horror, more a gothic old time'y comedy, but not super fun either. The best thing here is the spooky mansion setting and occasional foggy night scene (speaking as a horror fan here mind you). But for the most part this is a bunch of theater actors over-acting absolutely everything! It's almost interesting to see all the grimaces and quirky mannerisms they use, to portray these silly people shut up in the mansion looking for the one that finds the "treasure" first and maybe enjoying a little murder of the competition. Maybe that was the humour back in the day?

I found this movie in a list of "cult-movies" and okay, it sort of made an impression, it's campy and cliché at the right places, paired with the gothic setting it's unusual, but I didn't enjoy the parodying I was promised of the English horror/thrillers of old, some of which I have seen and enjoyed.

I have seen this film, or movie if you prefer, on a couple of occasions and found it very entertaining.

Critics of the film have over the years said it would have been so much better with Bob Hope in the lead role, but this is surely the kind of role that Hope, albeit very effectively, played to excess through his career? so its nice to see another actor have a stab at a 'Hope-esque' role.

Howerd breezes through the film delivering his lines with a 'poker' face, as only he could, and seems to be rather enjoying the experience. I would say that this is one of his more engaging performances.

Some scenes are superbly weird, especially the family's 'living marionette' act, at the end of which Howerd asks in his memorable diction "I wonder what they do for an encore?"

Watching this film is a very passable way of spending a couple of hours!

I've seen some crazy films with absurdly far-fetched storylines in my days, but I can safely state that "The House in Nightmare Park" has one of the most bonkers and wickedly convoluted scripts I ever beheld. Well, actually, I'm not sure there even was a script! It looks as if the film may be adapted from a stage play but, I swear, it often feels as if the plot simply got improvised as they went along! Don't get me wrong, though, it's a hugely entertaining and immensely creative hybrid between whodunit-mystery, comedy and horror, but it's practically impossible to write a half-decent synopsis! The titular house is the gathering place for four siblings that are awaiting the death of their oldest brother Victor and greedily look forward to the inheritance. The patriarch Stewart (the fantastic and versatile Ray Milland) hired the clumsy but good-hearted stage actor Foster Twelvetrees; - supposedly to provide some distracting amusement during the evenings, but it's quite evident that Twelvetrees got lured to the house for other and much more macabre reasons! Absolutely nothing or nobody in this house is even remotely normal. The silent and grumpy sister nurtures an impressive collection of killer snakes in the basement, the entire family performs in genuinely spooky dance/sing-along acts and their hatchet-wielding old hag of a mother is locked away in the highest attic! The gags and comical aspects nearly don't always work, but when they do "The House in Nightmare Park" is downright laugh-out-loud funny. I'm personally not very familiar with lead actor Frankie Howerd, who resembles Albert Finney but with goofier grimaces, but he's good and carries the film rather well. The patience of horror fanatics is tested for quite long, but when the first murder occurs the rest quickly follows. The biggest trump of "The House of Nightmare Park" is definitely its originality. The plot is full of surprising and ingenious twists, like the final one, for example! The ending is truly one of the most mischievously joyful ones I've ever seen.

Frankie Howerd had a successful but oddly variable career. A big name comedian/comedic actor from the '50's to the '70s then a decline. His career though ended on a triumphal high as a national treasure in the 1990s when a new and discerning audience showed their appreciation for his unique comic talents, the last in a line which extended back to the high traditions of the Victorian Music Hall. For those who appreciate Frankie Howard, this film was never equalled. Somehow the script, the direction and the other players combined to give him the best of platforms for his talents. And even the respected supporting players, playing their typical roles, were at their very best: Hugh Burden the blustering ex-soldier, Rosalie Crutchley of the dark, forbidding look (I received a warmer version once) even John Bennett. All were at the top of their games and allowed space to individually shine.

The presence of a real Hollywood star is often a bolt-on affair, done to get entry into the American market, the rest of the cast crushingly obligated to flatter the star's ego. Here though the great Ray Milland positions himself almost as a supporting player, amused, tongue-in-cheek, observing others fully blossom. The final blessing was a script which had Frankie Howerd as a rather hammy actor who made a living out of Dickens readings. It gave him the perfect platform for his considerable talents.

I had never seen the film before, seemingly its only airing on the most obscure of British satellite channels. But these channels have become the only place where excellent British films that would otherwise disappear without trace, their very existence unsuspected, can be seen. Our self-regarding public service broadcasters for some reason serve up a mixture of 30% Westerns, 20% war films, 20% endlessly repeated famous old British classics and modern British clone violent heist films - all in continuous loop. Wit, charm and talent are rare. The best of British post '60s even to as recent as 2011 meanwhile is reduced to appearing on obscure channels looking to fill their schedules as cheaply but as interestingly as possible. It is as if the best of British film have been condemned only to be found in the manner of remaindered books in a high street bargain book shop. By an odd coincidence where some of the best books are to found.

The House in Nightmare Park was one of my early introductions to horror, I first saw it on TV before the days of home video when I was a young kid and can remember being more frightened that amused. Several viewings and many more years later I now see it for the fine horror comedy that it is. Most of the plot takes place at a Victorian Gothic mansion, Oakley Court, which just happened to be near Bray Studios, the home of Hammer. And very Hammerish this is. Comic genius Frankie Howerd plays struggling actor Foster Twelvetrees, hired to entertain the rich owners of the house, or so he thinks! I am not a fan of everything Howerd has done but he is on fine form here, very funny but not over the top. Faced with a snake between his legs he says "I hope it's a crusher, not a biter". He has many verbal run-ins with a character played by Hugh Burden, "Who is this oaf?" "Oaf? This oaf is Foster Twelvetrees and which oaf are you?" And so on, and so on. The great Ray Milland plays the head of the house, I always enjoy watching him. Some of the humour may now be considered politically incorrect these days by some and double entendres abound but it's a product of its time and I see nothing wrong in that. And to the horror, we have the wonderful house itself, swirling mists, a cleaver wielding mad woman and a basement full of snakes, which all provide some genuine chills. A fine example of horror and comedy, not always an easy combination to get right but they certainly did with this one.