Author: Shieldmaiden

The House That Dripped Blood is a 1971 British horror film directed by Peter Duffell. Starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Nyree Dawn Porter, Denholm Elliott, and Jon Pertwee. The film is a collection of four short stories concerning a series of inhabitants of an old house. All of the stories were originally written, and subsequently scripted, by Robert Bloch.

The house doesn’t physically drip blood, and a more serious name could have been put on this film, as it’s what you might call commentary on the moral failings of the inhabitants. 

PLOT

Shortly after renting an old country house, film star Paul Henderson mysteriously disappears and Inspector Holloway from Scotland Yard is called to investigate. Enquiring at the local Police station, Holloway is told some of the house’s history. Below is a brief list of the inhabitants, without spoilers:

Charles Hillyer, a writer who specialises in horror stories, and his wife Alice, move into the house. Charles begins working on a novel focusing on Dominic, a murderous, psychopathic strangler; Charles becomes simultaneously enamoured and disturbed by the character…

Retired stockbroker Philip Grayson moves into the house. Though initially he occupies himself with his hobbies, he quickly becomes lonely. One day, while wandering around town, he happens upon a wax museum. Grayson explores the museum and finds a sculpture of Salome which resembles a dead woman he had been in love with. The museum’s proprietor explains that he based the likeness of the sculpture on his late wife, who had been executed after murdering his best friend. Disturbed, Grayson vows never to return. He keeps his vow… or does he?

Widower John Reid moves in with his daughter Jane. John hires former teacher Ann Norton to tutor Jane. Ann bonds with Jane, helps Jane get over her fear of fire and teaches her how to read, but begins to suspect John is abusive: he does not allow her to play with other children or own toys and does his best to keep her isolated. Norton confronts John about his parenting, and asks if he blames Jane for the death of his wife, to which John responds that he is glad his wife is dead. Norton manages to get John to allow her to buy Jane some toys; when John discovers a doll amongst the toys bought, he snatches it from Jane and tosses it in the fire. But then….

Temperamental veteran horror film actor Paul Henderson moves in while starring in a vampire film being shot nearby. Henderson, a great fan of the horror genre, is angry over the cloak worn by his vampiric character. He decides to purchase a more accurate cloak and goes by an antique shop run by the enigmatic Theo von Hartmann. Von Hartmann offers him a black cloak after listening to Henderson’s demands, and Henderson purchases it. Before he leaves, von Hartmann tells him to use the cloak for its intended purpose, which is…

TRIVIA

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.

Jon Pertwee later claimed that the film was meant to be a comedy-horror film and was initially filmed in that way. According to Pertwee, during the production “the producer came in, took one look at what we are doing and went raving mad” insisting it was to be a horror film and not a comedy. This meant a change of tone, but the material which had already been filmed remained, resulting in the film dipping in quality and edits to remove comedy elements from Pertwee’s sequences. Pertwee also admitted that he intentionally based his character, the horror actor Paul Henderson, on his co-star and friend Christopher Lee. During the production, Lee realised that Pertwee was basing his performance on an actor, but did not know it was based on him. In a scene in which Henderson talks about favourite roles, he says that he prefers Bela Lugosi’s Dracula rather than the chap who plays him nowadays (meaning Christopher Lee in the Hammer Films genre).

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.” 

Halliwell’s Film Guide described the film as “neatly made and generally pleasing despite a low level of originality in the writing.”

The last review listed above is quite correct. The depiction of smaller stories inside the main one is not unique, but in this case, the set ups are quite varied, the stories themselves are immersive, and the acting is reasonable.

Other than the horror elements this movie has no bedroom scenes or overtly bad language.

You can watch the full film below!

Shieldmaiden is the editor of Corncrake magazine, which publishes classic and contemporary short stories in English literature. She is also a writer of fantasy, both in short and long form. In her spare time, she paints landscapes, sews clothing and quilts, and collects vintage-style brass instruments.