The Horror of It All (1964) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

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American salesman Jack Robinson (Pat Boone) falls in love with Englishwoman Cynthia Marley (Erica Rogers) and they visit her family so he can ask for permission to marry her. She points out to him that her relatives are rather eccentric and, by the way, a cousin has just died. The remaining members of the clan are; the sinister Reginal (Velentine Dvall), Percival (Jack Bligh), an inventor who has recently discovered electricity, the phonograph, and several other handy items; Natalia (Andree Melly), a macabre, vampire-like creature; Cornwallis (Dennis Price), a hammy and dapper ex-actor; Grandfather (Erik Chitty), who lies bedridden upstairs; and, by the way, Muldoon (Archie Duncan), who is kept locked up in the fear that he will harm someone. Several attempts are made on his life which leads Jack to believe that the Marleys are a shade past eccentric. He becomes convinced that he is just in the way of one of the Marley's attempts to do away with the other Marleys, especially, during his investigation of the vanishing Marleys, when he learns that the family fortune consists of one million dollars and one of the Marleys intends to end up with all of it. He wants to contact the police but there is no phone or car on the premises.

Cast & Crew

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Terence Fisher

Pat Boone

Erica Rogers

Dennis Price

Cornwallis Marley

Andree Melly

Valentine Dyall

Reginald Marley

Film Details

Genre

Comedy

Release Date

Jan 1964

Premiere Information

Phoenix, Arizona, opening: 19 Aug 1964

Production Company

Associated Producers, Inc.; Lippert Films

Distribution Company

Twentieth Century--Fox Film Corp.

Country

United Kingdom

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 15m

Color

Black and White

Synopsis

American salesman Jack Robinson arrives unexpectedly in England to ask the parents of his fiancée, Cynthia Marley, for permission to marry their daughter. The eccentric Marleys receive Jack unenthusiastically at their ancestral mansion because Cynthia's cousin has just died. The family, which has a long history of violent death, consists of Percival, who claims to have invented electricity and the automobile; the vampirish Natalia; Reginald, the sinister head of the family; Cornwallis, a former actor; the mad Muldoon, who is kept locked in the basement; and bedridden Grandpapa. After Jack barely escapes injury in a series of accidents that kill Cornwallis and Grandpapa, he concludes that one of the Marleys is determined to become sole heir to the family fortune. Unable to contact police from the mansion, Jack is offered a ride to town in Percival's electrically-driven hearse. The car crashes on the way, and when he awakens in the hospital, Jack discovers that Cornwallis, who faked his own death, is the murderer. Later, Jack and Cynthia leave the Marley mansion to plan their marriage.

Director

Terence Fisher

Cast

Pat Boone

Erica Rogers

Dennis Price

Cornwallis Marley

Andree Melly

Valentine Dyall

Reginald Marley

Jack Bligh

Percival Marley

Archie Duncan

Erik Chitty

Grandpapa Marley

Oswald Laurence

Crew

Barbara Allen

Pat Boone

Margia Dean

Associate Producer

Jean Fairlie

Douglas Gamley

Music Composition

Renee Glynne

Len Harris

Camera Operator

Arthur Lavis

Director of Photography

Robert L. Lippert

Executive Producer

Bill Lodge

Philip Martell

Music Conductor

Frank Nesbitt

Assistant Director

Clifford Parkes

Production Manager

Ray Russell

Clive Smith

Steve Stephenson

Sound Recording

Daphne Vollmer

Harry White

Robert Winter

Film Details

Genre

Comedy

Release Date

Jan 1964

Premiere Information

Phoenix, Arizona, opening: 19 Aug 1964

Production Company

Associated Producers, Inc.; Lippert Films

Distribution Company

Twentieth Century--Fox Film Corp.

Country

United Kingdom

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 15m

Color

Black and White

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

Opened in London in June 1966.

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