The House That Dripped Blood

The House That Dripped Blood is a 1971 British horror anthology film directed by Peter Duffell and distributed by Amicus Productions. It stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Nyree Dawn Porter, Denholm Elliott, and Jon Pertwee. The film is a collection of four short stories, all originally written and subsequently scripted by Robert Bloch, linked by the protagonist of each story's association with the eponymous building. The film carries the tagline "TERROR waits for you in every room in The House That Dripped Blood."

Plot
Shortly after renting an old country house, film star Paul Henderson mysteriously disappears and Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) from Scotland Yard is called to investigate. Inquiring at the local police station, Holloway is told some of the house's history. He then contacts the estate agent (John Bryans) renting out the house, who elaborates further by telling Holloway about its previous tenants.

Segments
Method For Murder (Fury #7, July 1962)

A hack writer of horror stories (Denholm Elliott) moves into the house with his wife (Joanna Dunham) and is haunted by visions of Dominic (Tom Adams), the murderous, psychopathic central character of his latest novel.

Waxworks (Weird Tales Vol. 33 #1, January 1939)

A retired stockbroker (Peter Cushing) and his friend (Joss Ackland) become fixated with a macabre waxwork museum that appears to contain a model of a lady they both knew.

Sweets to the Sweet (Weird Tales Vol. 39 #10, March 1947)

A private teacher (Nyree Dawn Porter) is perturbed by the cold and severe way a widower (Christopher Lee) treats his young daughter (Chloe Franks), even forbidding her to have a doll. The teacher feels like a helpless bystander, but his daughter is not everything that she seems.

The Cloak (Unknown May 1939)

Temperamental horror film actor Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee) moves into the house while starring in a vampire film being shot nearby. He buys a black cloak from a peculiar shopkeeper (Geoffrey Bayldon) to use as his film character's costume. The cloak seems to instill in its wearer strange powers, something Paul's co-star (Ingrid Pitt) quickly discovers.

Cast (by segment)
"Framework"
 * John Bennett as Detective Inspector Holloway
 * John Bryans as A.J. Stoker
 * John Malcolm as Sergeant Martin

"Method For Murder"
 * Denholm Elliott as Charles Hillyer
 * Joanna Dunham as Alice Hillyer
 * Tom Adams as Richard/Dominic
 * Robert Lang as Dr. Andrews

"Waxworks"
 * Peter Cushing as Philip Grayson
 * Joss Ackland as Neville Rogers
 * Wolfe Morris as Waxworks Proprietor

"Sweets to the Sweet"
 * Christopher Lee as John Reid
 * Nyree Dawn Porter as Ann Norton
 * Chloe Franks as Jane Reid
 * Hugh Manning as Mark
 * Carleton Hobbs as Dr. Bailey

"The Cloak"
 * Jon Pertwee as Paul Henderson
 * Ingrid Pitt as Carla Lynde
 * Geoffrey Bayldon as Theo von Hartmann
 * Jonathan Lynn as Mr. Petrich

Production
Freddie Francis was wanted for the director's chair but he had prior commitments to a film in Hollywood, California that ultimately fell through.

Originally, director Peter Duffell wanted to have the title Death and the Maiden as he used Franz Schubert's composition of the same title in the film. Producer Milton Subotsky insisted on The House That Dripped Blood, telling Duffell "We're in the marketplace, we have to use that title". Not one drop of blood appears in the actual film.

When Peter Duffell was engaged the participation of actors Lee, Cushing and Pitt had already been decided by the producers. All other actors were cast by Duffell.

Critical reception
Roger Greenspun of The New York Times wrote in a mixed review that he was "of several minds" about the film, calling the first two stories "as dull in development as they are in idea. But the latter two stories, though necessarily too short and too schematic, generate some interest, and humor, and even a bit of characterization." Variety called it "one of the most entertaining of its genre to come along in several years and should prove strong opposition to the general monopoly of that market by Hammer Films ... even for filmgoers who don't usually follow the shocker market, this one is worthwhile." Kevin Thomas of The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Richly atmospheric settings, muted color photography, an outstanding cast and competent direction (by Peter Duffell) do justice to Bloch's fine script, which deals with psychological terror rather than relying on the typical blood-and-guts formula." Tom Milne of The Monthly Film Bulletin called the first two stories "enjoyable enough in a rough-and-ready way" and the fourth story "a pleasant joke which would have been much funnier had it been played by a genuine horror star such as Vincent Price," but singled out the third story as "in an altogether different league ... it is mainly a mood piece which brilliantly orchestrates the child's loneliness, the father's hapless cruelty, and the governess' well-meaning failure to understand, into a haunting picture of the evil that can come of good intentions."

Among more recent reviews, Allmovie's review of the film was mostly positive, calling it "a solid example of the Amicus horror anthology." Halliwell's Film Guide described the film as "neatly made and generally pleasing despite a low level of originality in the writing." Time Out called the stories "rough-and-ready but vigorous Grand Guignol fun."

Box Office
The film was a minor success in the UK but did very well in the US.