I had intended to watch this before the same director's GHOST SHIP (1952) but, eventually, it followed that one in quick succession; I was completely unaware (nor is it acknowledged in the "Movie Connections" section on IMDb) but the latter film proved virtually a remake of the older one! That said, it is handled far more effectively here: the length is even more compact – at a mere 53 minutes – but actually incorporates a good deal of narrative, with three plots going on simultaneously (where GHOST SHIP had only two) and flashbacks-within-flashbacks (again, one more than in Sewell's previous stab at the material)! Anyway, as the title suggests, the property for sale at a cheap price pursued by a couple of newlyweds has been changed this time around to a country-house; as in the earlier film, it is being taken care of by a mysterious person but the woman in HOUSE OF MYSTERY turns out to be somewhat more communicative, recounting its unusual history to the frankly skeptical prospective owners. Another couple (the girl is played by Nanette Newman i.e. Mrs. Bryan Forbes) who had previously lived there begin to experience strange occurrences: at first, it is nothing more supernatural than a light bulb going off and on again – so they ask an electrician to check the wiring but he can find nothing at fault. One night, however, as the light comes back on, Newman sees another man's figure in the room extending his hand to her; typically, the husband attributes this to her imagination – though he concedes to have the Police undergo a thorough search of the premises but, of course, there is no sign of a break-in – that is, until a TV program they are watching is 'interrupted' by the appearance of a face on the screen which Newman tells him is the man she saw in their living-room! Calling the TV station to ask to speak to this person, they are greeted by a baffled director stating that no such close-up was included in the show and this is corroborated by the neighbors who all claim that they experienced no trouble with their reception! Finally, they decide to seek the help of a parapsychologist – who cannot hide his enthusiasm at the prospect of communication with the afterlife through one's personal TV set (this is over 20 years before POLTERGEIST [1982] remember!). The lecture he goes into, the arrival of the elderly medium and her 'recollections' pretty much duplicate those seen in GHOST SHIP, though still done with more panache here (especially the elaborate and ingenious way in which the house's original proprietor takes revenge on his money-grubbing wife and her lover). So far so good. The denouement of the original film was relatively ordinary but, in HOUSE OF MYSTERY, this becomes its piece-de-resistance: we are not shown the woman's fate, nor do we learn how her husband/presumed killer came to be electrocuted himself later on
until – now gone back to the present day and our main narrative – the light bulb goes out of its own accord yet again, we realize that the ghosts have not been exorcised, and the housekeeper retreats wraith-like into the walls (to the shock of those present and the viewer)! Though obviously made on a tiny budget, the atmosphere throughout is more than adequate and, as an added treat, composer Stanley Black supplies a commendably Hammeresque score.
Review of House of Mystery
