THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL • REVIEW

THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL • DECLASSIFIED

• Pre-Titles Teaser... Night has fallen at Merston Manor, a derelict and reputedly haunted house. It is around 11.00pm and the eccentrically-dressed ghost hunter Frederick P. Waller is on watch in a room with an unlit but ornate fireplace. As he notes down his observations, his colleague Henry Mace Horsfall, an Irishman with a downbeaten appearance, enters carrying two mugs of cocoa. They sit next to a gas heater they have brought along and prepare to eat sandwiches for supper. He reads out his notes to Henry in a theatrical manner, stating that they arrived at Merston Manor at 10.15pm, had investigated all rooms including a "highly dangerous" cellar, and then set up watch in the lounge at 10.54pm. "All doors are now secure. We are alone in the house. No sign of any psychic presence so far," declares Frederick, rather smugly, only to immediately hear a strange banging noise and footsteps coming from the upper floor. Henry suggests that they should investigate. Frederick doesn't look so sure, and is very sure that he doesn't want to investigate when a fearful scream rings out. Henry reckons that at last they have come across a real ghost, but Frederick is having none of it. He doesn't believe in ghosts. They go out of the lounge to take a look. They hear footsteps coming down the stairs, threatening laughter and more screams. While Henry's back is turned, Frederick takes the chance to make a quick getaway. He runs outside and drives off in his car, with Henry in frenetic pursuit as the scary noises get louder and louder...

• Production Brief... The House on Haunted Hill was the twenty-first episode to go before the cameras. It was the seventh episode to have been written by Tony Williamson and the fifth to be directed by Ray Austin, who had been responsible for Department S: Death on Reflection since his previous Randall and Hopkirk episode (Money to Burn).

• Hasty rewrites were necessary when series co-star Annette André fell ill with nervous exhaustion, necessitating the creation of the character of Jenny, Jeannie's sister and the casting of fellow Australian Judith Arthy to play the role. Speaking in The Australian Women's Weekly of Wednesday 4th June 1969, Arthy commented that "Annette André collapsed and I was called in. It was a series called Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), and it's a jokey detective series. I replaced Annette for a couple of weeks, but I hear she's better and back on the set now."

• Annette André first opened up about the situation when talking to David Richardson of TV Zone magazine (Issue 59, October 1994): "I'd been given a lot of pills by doctors, and I didn't realise they were addictive. In effect, I became a drug addict. No one knew, including me, the reason for my becoming a bit more neurotic now and again. These days it would have been called pre-menstrual tension, but in those days valium was given to you in vast doses. You had no idea it was harmful. My emotional state was such through being prescribed this medication that one day I took too many valium. Every time I went back to see the doctor he would prescribe a bigger dose of valium; I was on the most enormous amount not having a clue what I was doing. I know I caused a lot of grief to people around me, and I think it had a big effect on my career. A couple of years after Randall and Hopkirk, I started practising meditation, and within six months - during which I suffered severe withdrawal symptoms - I was off the tablets and I've never taken one since." On the subject of her absence from The House on Haunted Hill, André reportedly revealed to Geoff Tibballs, the author of  Randall and Hopkirk (deceased) (Boxtree, 1994), that "I didn't like missing that episode at all, but I was laid really low".

• ITC documentation states very strongly that The House on Haunted Hill "must not be transmitted before A Disturbing Case". When DVD and Blu-ray releases follow the series' production order, this episode is indeed usually swapped with A Disturbing Case, as although that episode was made after The House on Haunted Hill, it serves as a better introductory vehicle for Judith Arthy's Jenny. Additionally, A Disturbing Case suggests that Jeff has not seen Jenny in "a long time", which would sound rather out of place had viewers seen The House on Haunted Hill first.

• Annette André's absence also brought about a unique situation regarding the opening titles, in that her regular credit and appearance in the sequence was removed, and replaced with a generic caption for Judith Arthy, which was inserted into both UK titles variants in the same way. This is the only Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) episode in which one of the lead actors does not appear and is not credited. André was also absent from A Sentimental Journey and When the Spirit Moves You, but retained her on-screen credits on those occasions. It is unclear why producer Monty Berman took the decision to deny Annette André her contracted credit.

Images © ITV Studios, 1968/1969

• 2nd unit cameraman Gerald Moss was promoted to director of photography for this one episode, swapping places with Brian Elvin.

• Garfield Morgan, who previously featured in You Can Always Find a Fall Guy as Edwards, was called on to portray a different role - Carlson - in this episode. Both episodes were directed by Ray Austin, who had previously worked (as stunt arranger) with Morgan on The Avengers: The Fear Merchants (1967).

• A character by the name of Jackson is referred to by Langford (Duncan Lamont), who comments that this man is on guard outside the house, but Jackson does not feature in the final edit of The House on Haunted Hill. However, the actor Terry Duggan is credited for the role in the end credits, suggesting that scenes featuring the character were filmed for the episode and ended up on the cutting room floor.

• Exact filming dates for this episode are unknown, but it is believed to have been filmed in April 1969. A fully edited version of this episode was completed by late August 1969.

• On Location... The House on Haunted Hill visited a small number of filming locations, but made extensive use of the building chosen to represent Merston Manor - the Edgwarebury Hotel in Elstree. The filming of The House on Haunted Hill's exteriors and interiors at this distinctive location, previously used for Who Killed Cock Robin?, has made it (now The Manor Elstree) a highly significant destination for Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) fans. More details in Locations: The House on Haunted Hill.

• Haunting Melodies... Edwin Astley was not asked to compose any new music cues for The House on Haunted Hill, with its score coming entirely from stock. In addition, several music library tracks were utilised in the episode. Clive Richardson's UFO (also heard in The Prisoner) can be heard in the pre-titles teaser. Later, Marty's first and second visits to Merston Manor (the second with Jeff in tow) were scored respectively with Robert Farnon's Last Mile and Ghost Village. Finally, sections of Johnny Hawkesworth's Aqua Galaxy were employed to lend a chilling atmosphere to the spookier scenes at Merston Manor. This had previously been used in ITC's late-1950s series H.G. Wells' Invisible Man.

• Seeing Things... The House on Haunted Hill received its first UK broadcast on Sunday 19th October 1969 at 3.45pm when it aired in monochrome in the HTV ITV region.

• It was first shown in colour on ITV on Sunday 16th November 1969 at 7.25pm in the LWT region.

• Trivia... The House on Haunted Hill is highly unusual in having a different episode title / screenplay / director caption style compared to all other Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) episodes. Chambers + Partners, presumably as they were concerned about white text showing up against the background images, chose to put a strong black outline around the episode title caption, and a black drop shadow around the screenplay and director credit captions. The captions on every other episode are plain white text, except the one for When the Spirit Moves You's episode title, which also has the drop shadow effect.

Images © ITV Studios, 1969

• Merston Village Hall was brought to life for the cameras partly on location (establishing shot of the exterior, in Shenley Village) and partly at ABPC Elstree Studios (the doorway and interior). The 'village hall' set is quite convincing, but the giveaway is that the real location - now long demolished with two houses built on its footprint - has straightforward exits without porches. When we seen Marty looking at the village hall's noticeboard showing the poster announcing the public meeting he is in the studio, and the entrance suddenly has an enclosed surround. This can also be seen from the reverse angle once inside, proving that the action was filmed on a studio set.

Images © ITV Studios, 1969

• Peter Jones' eccentric mode of dress, essentially a Holmesian ensemble of deerstalker hat, oaster, tweed waistcoat, shirt and tie, is highly reminiscent of a similar costume that he had worn previously in The Avengers: The Curious Case of the Countless Clues (filmed in January 1968) as Sir Arthur Doyle. This Avengers episode coincidentally featured Kenneth Cope just prior to his casting in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Cope's fellow The House on Haunted Hill cast member George A. Cooper, and location filming at the Edgwarebury Hotel. Second unit cameraman Brian Elvin seems to be the only crew member involved in both productions, suggesting that coincidence played a large part here.

Images © StudioCanal, 1968 / ITV Studios, 1969

• Amusingly, Jones' character here, Frederick P. Waller, is a ghost hunter who doesn't believe in ghosts. One wonders why then he doesn't seek out a better use for his time...

• We learn that Jenny is Jean Hopkirk's sister and that she is covering for Jean while she is on holiday. Marty also strongly implies that Jenny is single and reckons that Jeff should go on a date with her. They could even end up as brothers-in-law, Marty comments. Jeff notes that they are running a detective agency, not a marriage bureau.

• Jeff sends Marty to investigate the spooky goings on at Merston Manor as he cannot go there himself as he is busy with the Morglands case, which concerns a diamond robbery.

• The only mention of Merston Manor being on a hill - other than in the episode title - is on the poster hanging on the wall outside the village hall, which refers to ending the "haunted hill slur".

• We have a character here named Lattimer, possibly inspired by the Buckinghamshire village of Latimer, seen in For the Girl Who Has Everything and The Man from Nowhere and two episodes of Department S: The Pied Piper of Hambledown and Who Plays the Dummy? This is likely to be a coincidence, but an intriguing connection.

• Langford leaves Merston Manor early to head for "the club", but when everything is wrapped up at the end, he seems to have been forgotten about.

• Only You, Jeff? It turns out that Waller's bumbling sidekick Henry Mace Horsfall (Dermot Kelly) can see and converse with Marty, even though the others at the public meeting about the ghosts at Merston Manor are oblivious to Marty's presence.

• Ghosts and Ghoulies... Merston Manor has a reputation in the locality for being haunted. There are disturbing noises - screams, moans, creaking floorboards and footsteps - and a ghost stalks the property... but Marty's the only real ghost there.

• Marty, of course, does not know this, and is not keen on going to the house to investigate as he has "a nervous disposition". Jeff is not impressed and notes that the fact that Marty also has a death certificate, it is a poor excuse. When they go there together one night, Marty tries to get Jeff to leave by saying that they both need some sleep. "Ghosts can't get tired," states Jeff. Marty complains that Jeff is always telling him what ghosts can and can't do.

• The Vehicles... Appearing in this episode were the following wonders of transport...

	1955 Ford Consul MkI EOTA Registration 72 EML Driven by Frederick P. Waller
	1968 Vauxhall Victor FD 2000 Registration RXD 996F Driven by Jeff Randall	Also appeared in: Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - used extensively throughout the series Department S - 'The Last Train to Redbridge', 'The Man from X'

• Seen It All Before? The name Lattimer had previously appeared in the series on a Harley Street door sign in When Did You Start to Stop Seeing Things? as the forename of a maxillofacial surgeon, Sir Lattimer Glade.

• The room from which Lattimer controlled the spooky sounds relayed around Merston Manor was a redressed version of Sir Oliver Norenton's consulting room from When Did You Start to Stop Seeing Things? - it had most recently been seen in Could You Recognise the Man Again?, redressed as a clothing hire store.

• The lift area seen in Never Trust a Ghost and When Did You Start to Stop Seeing Things? turns up again in this episode as part of the Morglands office building.

• Cock-ups... At 46 minutes and 5 seconds, Lattimer (Keith Buckley) runs towards the room in which Jeff and Jenny are being held captive. As we cut from an interior location shoot on the first floor landing of the Edgwarebury Hotel to a studio set at ABPC Elstree Studios, the door he opens to enter the room changes from a heavy and ornately-hinged dark wood door to a grubby, yellowed modern one. The doors are also hinged on opposite sides.

Images © ITV Studios, 1969

• By 46 minutes and 20 seconds, Lattimer and Jeff are fighting on the Edgwarebury's first floor landing and Lattimer's gun flies out of his hand and comes to rest on the polished wood flooring beside the banister. When they both reach for the gun in extreme close-up, it is laying on an unpolished wooden surface.

Images © ITV Studios, 1969

• And Finally... When visiting Merston Manor - or The Manor Elstree / The Edgwarebury Hotel  - today, something from the era of Who Killed Cock Robin? and The House on Haunted Hill is visibly missing - namely the two distinctive sphinxes that used to sit proudly on guard at either side of the hotel's main entrance. These artifacts, each of which was about 45 cm (1.5 ft) high atop stone plinths, survived up until the hotel was purchased from Corus Hotels by the Malaysian-owned Laura Ashley company and were removed in early 2013 as they depicted animals (albeit imaginary), and therefore went against Islamic teachings. At the same time, the hotel interior's dark wood surfaces were painted in an off-white and all murals were boarded over, robbing the hotel of much of its impact, atmosphere and individuality. Following the Laura Ashley company's collapse in 2020 in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the hotel is now under new management. The new owners have displayed a far greater respect for the building's heritage - and the murals have been unveiled again at last. What no one appears to know is just what became of the sphinxes. Were they put into storage? Were they destroyed? Were they sold off? So, if you're wandering around an antiques shop and see some familiar-looking stone effigies, do let us know!

Plotline: Scoton Productions / ITC • UK Transmissions by Simon Coward and Alan Hayes
Review by Alan Hayes • Declassified by Alan Hayes
with thanks to Vince Cox, Alys Hayes, Garry Herring, John Holburn,
Anthony McKay, Andrew Pixley and Jonathan Wood

All timings given on this page relate to the Blu-ray editions of this episode