House of the Long Shadows

**_A creepy Welsh manor with Price, Lee and Cushing_** A popular American author (Desi Arnaz Jr.) opts to write his next novel at a spooky mansion in Wales that’s supposed to be vacant… but it’s not. The selling point of the curiously obscure "House of the Long Shadows" (1983) is the teaming o ... f horror legends Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, not to mention John Carradine. You can’t go wrong if you’re in the mood for a mystery/horror that takes place in a huge Gothic manor or castle and the eerie happenings thereof. It’s like a live-action version of Scooby-Doo without the dog, teens or Mystery Machine. Desi Arnaz Jr. (the son of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, naturally) makes for a great protagonist and it’s a shame he didn’t go on to greater success as a starring actor. Meanwhile blonde Julie Peasgood is effective enough as his potential gal, Mary, while brunette Louise English is worth a mention as Diana. I’m not going to give anything away, but the well-done ending was borrowed for future, better movies. While it’s seemingly innovative, Shakespeare used the plot device 380 years earlier. Another interesting element of the film was borrowed by a slasher flick three years later. Speaking of borrowing, “Clue” was obviously inspired by it, not to mention much more successful, but don’t look for any goofiness here. The movie runs 1 hour, 42 minutes, and was shot Rotherfield Park, East Tisted, Alton, Hampshire, which is about 55 miles southwest of London. GRADE: B- read more