Hillbillies in a Haunted House

Hillbillies in a Haunted House (1967) starring Ferlin Husky, Joi Lansing

In Hillbillies in a Haunted House, a country band is headed for Nashville, when they have car trouble. They try to stay overnight in a haunted house, but they run into spies …

Review

Actually, Hillbillies in a Haunted House is a strange hodgepodge of older-style country music, a haunted house comedy, with some spies mixed in. If you crossed a Scooby Doo episode with country western music, this would be their love child. For example, while the trio of protagonists are on the road, they naturally enough sing a song. Then, when they take refuge in the haunted house, another group of entertainers come by, and then they sing a couple of songs. At the end of the movie, they’re actually in Nashville, and a variety of performers sing. But in the meanwhile …

[Boots screams when she sees a gorilla, which disappears before Woody and Jeepers turn around]
Boots Malone: It could have been my imagination.
Jeepers: Boy, between the three of us, there’s sure a lot of imaginatin’ goin’ on.

The “haunting” is courtesy of a ring of spies, trying to steal an atomic formula. Madame Wong’s in charge, Professor Himmil is to verify the formula, and Maximillian …. Well, he just likes to kill people. He’s not very good at it, though. And there’s Anatole the Gorilla, who eventually kidnaps the lovely Boots Malone. But with the help of a government agent, she gets rescued, the villains are caught, and the trio’s back on the road.

Conclusion

In short, it’s not a terribly good movie, but it’s not horrible either. There’s some entertaining comedy, but the pace is slow. If you’re a fan of older country music, you’ll probably enjoy it — I did. And, you can see some of the horror film greats toward the end of their career. It’s not the last film for any of them, but it frankly makes me sad to see how the great had fallen.

Product Description 

A country band is headed to Nashville when their car unfortunately breaks down. They stop overnight at an abandoned mansion, which turns out to be haunted. They soon realize that not only is the house haunted, but it’s the headquarters for ring of international spies who are looking for a top-secret formula for rocket fuel.

Cast of characters

• Ferlin Husky (Las Vegas Hillbillies) … Woody Wetherby
• Joi Lansing (A Hole in the Head, Marriage on the Rocks) … Boots Malone
• Don Bowman … Jeepers
• John Carradine (Five Came Back, Blood of Dracula’s Castle) … Dr. Himmil
• Lon Chaney Jr. (The Mummy’s Curse, The Wolf Man (1941)) … Maximillian
• Linda Ho (Confessions of an Opium Eater) … Madame Wong
• Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes: The Woman In Green, The Comedy of Terrors) … Gregor
• Molly Bee (Going Steady) … Molly Bee – Singer
• Merle Haggard (The Legend of the Lone Ranger) … Merle Haggard – Singer
• Sonny James … Sonny James – Singer
• Jim Kent … Jim Kent – Singer
• Marcella Wright … Marcella Wright – Singer
• Richard Webb (Sullivan’s Travels) … Agent Jim Meadows
• Larry Barton (The Human Duplicators) … Hillbilly
• George Barrows (Robot Monster) … Anatole the Gorilla
• Pat Patterson … Hillbilly
• Allen Jung (Terry and the Pirates) … Dr. Fu
• James Nusser … Janitor
• Jay Jasin … Television Announcer
• Marshall Wright … Hillbilly
• Virginia Ann Lee … Agent Ming Toy

Songs

• Jamboree Time
  • Performed by Ferlin Husky, Joi Lansing, Don Bowman
• Living in a Trance
  • Written by Ferlin Husky (uncredited)
  • Performed by Ferlin Husky
• The Cat Came Back
  • Written by Harry S. Miller
  • Performed by Sonny James and the Southern Gentlemen
• The Minute You’re Gone
  • Written by Jimmie Gatelie
  • Performed by Sonny James and the Southern Gentlemen
• Gowns, Gowns, Beautiful Gowns
  • Performed by Joi Lansing
• Someone Told My Story
  • Written by Merle Haggard
  • Performed by Merle Haggard
• Tell Me Shoes
  • Performed by Jim Kent
• Jamboree Time
  • Performed by Ferlin Husky, Joi Lansing, Don Bowman
• Swinging Doors
  • Written by Merle Haggard
  • Performed by Merle Haggard
• Heartbreak U.S.A.
  • Performed by Molly Bee
• Wrong House
  • Performed by Don Bowman
• Part-Time Lover
  • Performed by Joi Lansing
• The Bridge I’ve Never Crossed
  • Performed by Ferlin Husky