And it scared me to death back then. Of course I was only six or seven. They handed out special cards with two colors. One one the top so you could not see the ghost and the red on the bottom so you could. I spent a lot of time going back and forth because because while I was scared, I still wanted to see what was going on the screen. I have fond memories of this movie.
NdB
"Listen, I don't tan, I don't burn, I implode."
I saw it then, too, in the Palms Theater in Culver City, CA. I remember Castle's footage at the start and the end. Including his skeleton secretary.
I don't like to post obscenities online...at the end Castle urged the audience to "take the viewer home with you! Then when you go to bed tonight and turn the light off, look through the red part of your viewer--if you dare!" some guy in the audiendce stood up and shouted a two-word insult beginning with "f."
That 'guy' was me!! (I was still ticked that my girlfriend saw me being so scared during the movie).
shareMy dad always tells me how this scared him to death when he was a little kid. I really want to see it, because I've only seen the remake.(and that kinda scared me!)
shareEvery kid in the neighborhood couldn't wait to see this, one of the few movies I remember as an 8 year old kid in 1960. Only the "wimps" looked through the blue cellophane (that made the ghosts disappear) .. but us "he-men" looked through the red. Can't remember one hoot about the story itself, just the coolness of it.
shareSo, if you saw the ghosts when you looked through the red cellophane and didn't when you looked through the blue, then what did you see when you didn't look through either? Ghosts or no ghosts?
What about today? If I was to watch it on DVD or t.v. would I see the ghost or not? Just curious.
I recall my family going to the theater to see this, and I remember the "ghost viewing" glasses. I've always been a bit different and proved it then, too, for, when everyone was peering through either color, I was looking over the top on several occasions, just for comparison. I admit to feeling a bit disappointed that I could very clearly see the ghosts without the viewer's help. But, I loved the movie, as everyone else did, and I've no doubt seen it far more than 100 times. In fact, I'm watching it yet again on good ol' TCM!
By the way, I was about 9 years old. Even in semi-old age, I can appreciate those old films by William Castle and other showmen. Kids of all ages AND their parents could enjoy the experience.
Nowadays, people pick apart the stories, acting, etc., but all these guys wanted to do was entertain people while making some money. They understood that movies, for the most part, should be fun. I love "Matinee" for being such a great tribute to them though it might have been even better in B&W.
*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***
Wow, 100 times? You certainly are a dedicated fan. I would've loved to see this movie back when it was in theaters. I wish they still made horror movies just for fun nowadays. The ones now take themselves far too seriously and aren't very fun to watch. It really is a shame filmmakers can't relax and have fun anymore like William Castle obviously did.
Come, fly the teeth of the wind. Share my wings.
I'm watching it yet again on TCM=} I'll never tire of it and all of the other golden oldie scaries of the Sixties and back.
I saw the remake years ago on a cable movie channel, and it's so nasty and awful that I never want to see it again. As Stephen King would say: They went for the grossout. There's no good storytelling in it, at least not coupled with those awful, overboard effects.
But, this one is something that young horror fans can enjoy and that Baby Boomers can revisit and appreciate.
I wouldn't doubt that it contributed to my fascination with parapsychology. For many years, up until time to go to college, I wanted to be a parapsychologist, replacing my previous fixation on paleontology. Sadly, I didn't get to study either in college, as back then they weren't commonly offered subjects in this region. So, I continued my studies on my own. I still have my library of books about dinosaurs/paleontology and, especially, parapsychology/the supernatural/the paranormal.
*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***
The movie was black & white, but there were specific scenes where the screen kind of changed color and those were the scenes where you used the glasses to see the ghost. If you watched the scene without the glasses, you could still see the ghost, but sort of faintly. The glasses (can't remember if it was the red or the blue part) made the ghost appear 3D. And even though a lot of it WAS silly, the whole atmosphere, like The Haunting (1963), was genuinely horrifying because it made you feel that you could be in your own house and have it go out of control on you in a terrifying way just like it was happening to the family in the movie. Truly, truly scary to me when I was 9, and probably aspects of it could still be scary to an adult.
shareYou are very lucky to have seen this on the big-screen, and to have been a child at a time when filmmakers used some real imagination and showmanship. For better or worse, we live in a much more cynical age, and we're all jaded as a result.
One question: Would this film have been scary to adults as well in 1960?
I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid. What spooked me out the most was one ghost going "UHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Now a few months or years later ( I can't remember) this group (can't remember their name) came out with a song called "Gypsy Lady". It started with and in the breaks as well, one of the guys going "UHHHHHHHH!!!" like in 13G. Every time I heard that song it reminded me of that scene--and I hear it on the oldies stations and it STILL freaks me out! LOL!
Anyhoo, the movie's playing in a coupla days on TCM. Haven't watched it in years. Gonna tape it and remember those UHHHHHHH! days :)
Would that be "Gypsy Woman" by Brian Hyland, maybe?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV1x9izuwvU
I remember, a few years earlier, the Zombies had "Time of the Season," which for some reason always gave me the creeps. It's a beautiful song, but there's something haunting about the chorus and the organ. Plus the fact that the band was the Zombies made me think of "Night of the Living Dead," which also came out in 1968. For some reason, the two are always linked in my mind.
It's strange how we associate some movies and songs with each other, even if it's all in our minds.
No it wasn't brian HYland. I remember that as a remake. I checked out the internet and it refreshed my memory :) It was a Motown-like group called The Impressions (with Curtis Mayfield). Hyland merely covered the song. But I bet it was Mayfield doing those spooky UHHHHHHHHs in the background in the original. (Gotta check if YouTube's got that)
shareWhat scared me the most about seeing this as an 8 year old in 1960 was the second movie on the double bill, Psycho.
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