Of the 13 feature films in which John Carradine and Lon Chaney both appeared, 1967's "Hillbillys in a Haunted House" was not only the last, it was one of the few where they actually shared any scenes (shot under the working title "Ghost Party"). Joined in villainy by a game, 74 year old Basil Rathbone, the three actors offer the only real novelty to this tired rehash of old dark house clichés, dragged down by its abundance of country music. A sequel to the successful "Las Vegas Hillbillys" (note the spelling!), retaining stars Ferlin Husky and Don Bowman, but replacing the absent Jayne Mansfield with the equally photogenic Joi Lansing. En route to Nashville for a good old fashioned jamboree, the trio break down and have to spend the night in a house that's not really haunted; its actually the home base for spies trying to steal a top secret formula from a local rocket base. John Carradine alternately scowls and grimaces as Dr. Himmil, when he's not mercilessly teasing the gorilla Anatole belonging to Lon Chaney's Maximillian, who goes undercover by getting past an unsuspecting janitor (all he gets for his trouble is a formula combining nitroglycerin and antihistamine!). As Gregor, Basil Rathbone shares most of his scenes with Carradine, using phony ghosts and noises to try to scare off their dimwitted intruders, whom they mistake for agents from M.O.T.H.E.R. (Master Organization to Halt Enemy Resistance). A genuine ghost closes out the spy stuff at 67 minutes, leaving the final two reels open for yet more musical numbers. Chaney is clearly having a grand time, and Rathbone too, while poor Carradine has to remain sullen for the most part, fewer opportunities to be funny (he did enjoy stealing Anatole's banana!). As bad as the film's reputation is, consider how much worse it would have been without its heavyweight cast of screen villains.
Review of Hillbillys in a Haunted House
