13 Ghosts

This article is about the 1960 film. For the 2001 remake by Steve Beck, see Thirteen Ghosts.

13 Ghosts
Directed by	William Castle
Written by	Robb White
Produced by	William Castle
Starring	Charles Herbert Jo Morrow Rosemary DeCamp Martin Milner Donald Woods
Music by	Von Dexter
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures International: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	July 1960
Running time	85 min / 82 min (black-and-white version)
Land	Vereinigte Staaten
Sprache	Englisch

13 Ghosts is a 1960 horror film directed by William Castle and written by Robb White. To the dismay of some of the cast members, Castle gave top billing to 12-year-old Charles Herbert. It was remade in 2001 under the title of Thirteen Ghosts, directed by Steve Beck. Margaret Hamilton's performance is enhanced because she doesn’t have much of the clunky dialogue that the script overflows with the film itself. According to Buck, Elaine was a witch, though this was never confirmed in the film. However, it hints at the end, Elaine took a broomstick with her when she leaves the spooky mansion (possibly to fly on it). These clues were short references to Hamilton's notable role in The Wizard of Oz.

Plot

When occultist uncle Dr. Plato Zorba wills a huge ramshackle house to his nephew Cyrus and his impoverished family, they are shocked to find the house is haunted. Their new furnished residence comes complete with Dr. Plato Zorba's housekeeper, Elaine Zacharides, plus a fortune in buried treasure and 12 horrifying ghosts. His family soon discovers that these spirits include a decapitated man, a fully grown lion, a wailing lady and a flaming skeleton, who are held captive in the eerie house and must find an unlucky thirteenth ghost to free them. Dr. Zorba leaves a set of special goggles, the only way of seeing the ghosts. However, there is someone in the house who is also looking for the money and is willing to kill for it.

Cast

• Charles Herbert as Buck Zorba
• Jo Morrow as Medea Zorba
• Rosemary DeCamp as Hilda Zorba
• Martin Milner as Ben Rush
• Donald Woods as Cyrus Zorba
• Margaret Hamilton as Elaine Zacharides
• John van Dreelen as Van Allen
• Roy Jenson as Dr. Plato Zorba's ghost

Illusion-O

As with most of his productions, Castle used a gimmick to promote the movie. For 13 Ghosts, audience members were given a choice: the "brave" ones could watch the film and see the ghosts, while the apprehensive among them would be able to opt out of the horror and watch without the stress of having to see the ghosts. The choice came via the special viewer, supposedly "left by Dr. Zorba."

In the theatres, scenes involving ghosts were shown in a "process" dubbed Illusion-O: the filmed elements of the actors and the sets — everything except the ghosts — were displayed in regular black-and-white, while the ghost elements were tinted a pale blue and superimposed over the frame. Audiences received viewers with red and blue cellophane filters. Choosing to look through the red filter intensified the images of the ghosts, while the blue filter "removed" them. Despite Castle's claims to the contrary, not many heart attacks or nervous breakdowns were averted by the Illusion-O process; although the blue filter did screen out the ghostly images, the ghosts were visible with the naked eye, without the red filter.

Because the ghosts were indeed viewable by the naked eye, the movie ran for years on television with no viewer needed to see the ghosts. DVD editions have varied in their preservation of the Illusion-O effect, with the latest DVD release including versions with and without the ghost outlines and a set of special viewers.

External links

• 13 Ghosts at IMDb
• 13 Ghosts at AllMovie