20 Films From The 1950s That Everybody Should Watch

14. House On Haunted Hill

Though a frequently overlooked classic, William Castle's 1959 horror would unwittingly lay the foundation for all low-budget horrors to follow. Even the master of suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock, looked to the picture for inspiration for his upcoming thriller Psycho. With a suitably straightforward plot in which a classically sinister Vincent Price challenges a group of people to stay overnight in a haunted house, the film showed that a cinema hit didn't need to be overly complex so long as it was thrilling and entertaining. The special effects are, in all honesty, quite poor, but such inadequacies only add to its campy charm and allure. In the '50s tradition of cinema innovation, Castle implemented his so-called "Emergo" system by installing an elaborate pulley into some theatres so that a plastic skeleton could be flown over the audience's head when the action called for it. It was gimmicky and a little bit silly, but it worked. Though rarely shown in theatres these days, House On Haunted Hill has been re-released a number of times since '59, and the system has been re-used to pleasing effect. In stark contrast with the 1999 remake, this remains a must-see horror classic.