The House That Would Not Die
October. 27,1970 NRA tale of witchcraft, black magic and a haunted house in the Amish country.
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Reviews
Save your money for something good and enjoyable
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
This one is worth a watch if you like the 1970s made for TV horror and thriller films. It starts getting pretty good after about 10 to 15 minutes into the film, when the first séance is held.Sara and her Aunt Ruth move into a new home and it's haunted by a girl and her father. But why are their spirits still here on Earth? Why haven't they moved on? What do they want? -- The film has your basic haunting questions that makes for a decent TV movie.If you are into ghost and haunting films then you might like "The House That Would Not Die". It's got a pretty good cast and story.7/10
Recently I had the good fortune of coming across an old ABC movie of the week called "The House that would not Die", starring the always talented Barbara Stanwyck. In the movie, Ms. Stanwyck and her niece buy an old, charming house in the country, thinking that they have found their dream home. However,as is always the case in these films, strange things begin to happen, such as disembodied voices, bizarre wind gusts that seemly appear out of no where, and Stanwyck's niece, Sara, begins acting as if someone or something has taken her over. The result is a well done ghost film that relies on creating a spooky atmosphere rather than any gore or violence. Such a shame that television does not have more movies like these anymore. God, how I miss the age of the miniseries. If you get a chance, check this out on you tube. We won't be disappointed. 9 out of 10.
I've had the chance to view many of the movies I saw as a youth and have found that many of them have not withstood the test of time. This is not the case with "The House That Would Not Die" I saw this movie of the week when I was ten years old and can remember enjoying it. The next time I saw it was when I was 17 and again I enjoyed it. Twenty-two years later, in 1992 I was able to record it when it was shown on TBS. I found the movie very enjoyable. Especially considering the fact that it was made for TV. The only visual effects applied was that of character overlay. If only I could see and compare this with another movie of my youth - The Norliss Tapes (1973).
The house That Would Not Die is one of the all-time great ghost stories ever filmed. In fact, the only thing wrong about it is that it's total running time was only about 75 minutes to fit into a 90-minute time slot. It should have been a full ninety minutes or longer and released to theaters. Ruth Bennett (played by the great Barbara Stanwyck who hands off scene after scene to her younger co-stars to let them shine in their own right) inherits a centuries-old house built before the Revolutionary War, in the Amish Country of Pennsylvania. The original owner, General Douglas Campbell, was suspected of collaborating with the British during the war. His daughter, Amanda (Ammie) and her boyfriend, American Soldier Anthony Doyle, confront him, and they disappear shortly after, ostensibly eloping. For the rest of his life, Old General Campbell roams the countryside calling: "Ammie, come home!", a cry heard two hundred years later by Stanwyck and her young niece, Sara Dunning (played by the pretty and very talented Kitty Wynn, after they move into the house. Aided by Stan Whitman (played by Michael Anderson, Jr., another very talented actor), and Professor Pat McDougal (played by another great actor, Richard Egan) they endeavor to discover the reason why the general is still searching for his long-lost daughter after two hundred years. The resolution and climax of this exciting ghost story will have one and all riveted to the edge of their seats, especially if properly viewed at midnight, Saturday night, during a thunderstorm with howling winds and crashing thunder.