Edgar Soberon Torchia I recently finished Peter Hutchings' book on Terence Fisher, where the author studies the work of the British filmmaker, and avoids forcing him into the boundaries of the auteur theory, concentrating on his skills for delivering effective motion pictures. Unfortunately he did not pay too much attention to this funny title in Fisher's filmography, which has suffered from quick, unfair evaluation probably based on the presence of singer Pat Boone as the American leading man who is trapped in the big, dark, old house of his British girlfriend's family. Surprisingly this is a far better movie than what I had read about, if admittedly of the "silly" almost infantile kind of comedy, and Boone proves to be a more than adequate comic actor. I even had a big (silly) laugh when Boone so unexpectedly started to sing the title song, which is more a cultural joke than the obligatory Boone song in all his movies. Conceived as part of a double bill with Don Sharp's horror drama "Witchcraft", there is nothing original about the plot of "The Horror of It All". At first it resembles Richard Matheson's adaptation of "The Fall of the House of Usher", but it is just the beginning: the screenplay by Ray Russell also takes elements from other horror films and comedies, from "Frankenstein" and "The Old Dark House", to Oscar Wilde's "The Canterville Ghost", frequently making little jokes about Boone's nationality. All the members of the cast seem to enjoy what they are doing, especially Andrée Melly as the resident vamp lady and Jack Bligh as Uncle Percy, an inventor completely out of his time... in reverse. Fisher was an efficient director and here he proves it once again, handling everything in an adequate manner and never pretending he was making anything grand. If as Terence Fisher you take it for what it is, "The Horror of It All" works just fine.

jfarms1956 The Horror Of It All is a movie that would appeal to those 14 and older who like B rated comedies and/or horror movies. The movie is too comedic to be a true horror movie and contains too much horror type things to be a comedy. It is neither fish nor fowl. The movie is in black and white I suppose to add to the horror features of the movie. It is probably best enjoyed on a rainy afternoon or late at night. I could almost see the movie being watched at a teenage slumber party since it will not give anybody any real gruesome nightmares. The musical background is over the top horror type music. However, the acting is almost comedic since it too is over the top horror type. Popcorn all around here.

moonspinner55 American encyclopedia salesman working in England pays a surprise visit to his fiancée, who lives with her uncle and assorted relatives in an eerie countryside estate. Retread of "The Old Dark House" given curiously jaunty undermining, but these eccentric spooks are not very funny and one simply longs for the central character to get away. Pat Boone has the lead, and he does very well pretending to be interested in this ridiculous scenario; his intended is a colorless bird, and her family would certainly cause any sane person to head for the hills, but Boone proves to be quite capable here (he might have grown even more as an actor if Fox had given him some half-way decent roles). Talky, low-budget second-feature with flimsy-looking sets tries for a light touch but doesn't have the goods to keep it afloat. * from ****

preppy-3 It's even more depressing when you consider the talent behind the camera--Terence Fisher did this??? I won't bother to get into the plot. It's a "horror comedy" (I use both terms very loosely) about an old, dark house and a bunch of idiots running around doing lame slapstick and unfunny jokes. Badly acted, directed and written. Go see "Hold That Ghost" or "An American Werewolf in London" or "The Howling". Even the remake of "The Old Dark House"! They're all prime examples of how to do horror and comedy.