Product Description

Two Country & Western singers and their manager are en route to the Nashville Jamboree but become tired and stop to rest in an abandoned mansion. Little do they know, but the basement of the old house is headquarters for the evil Madame Wong and her entourage of foreign spies. Strange things begin to happen almost immediately and they suspect the place is haunted. However, our three heroes decide to spend the night anyway to escape an upcoming storm. Soon, (a song or two later) they settle down to get some shut-eye. But during the night the spies kidnap our female singer. Now things really get exciting as the hillbillys help capture the bad guys and foil a diabolical plan to steal a secret formula for rocket propellant. Now they're off to Nashville, not very rested, but happy and content to participate in the more normal pleasures of entertaining the audience of the giant Nashville Jamboree. Bonus Features: Bonus Previews| Scene Selection. Specs: DVD5; Dolby Digital Mono; 88 minutes; Color; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - G; Year - 1967; SRP - $9.99.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64282 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-03-14
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 86 minutes

Customer Reviews

Rather enjoyable actually...
Hackneyed plot, poor acting, dodgy songs, TERRIBLE miming to those songs and flat direction are all present in HILLBILLYS IN A HAUNTED HOUSE, yet I just can't bring myself to hate this film. Everything is just so sweet and niave, without a hint of malice about it. Seeing Basil Rathbone slumming it made me gasp in horror, but he still tips the film over into 'acceptable' by his mere appearance.
A Country and Western duet and their nervous manager are on the way to the "Nashville Jamboree" when a storm (which we never see) forces them to hole up in the titular haunted mansion. Bag of nerves "Jeepers" needs a rest anyway, so this is the ideal place for a cosy quiet night and a sing-song. Needless to say, the house is occupied by spies who (in typical 'Scooby Doo' manner) use electronic trickery to scare away unwanted visitors. When the spies' pet gorilla (don't ask) kidnaps the female singer "Boots Malone", our two heroes begin the hunt for her. Things wrap up nicely with the trio ending up in Nashville and the last 20 minutes consists of music numbers from people I've never heard of accompanied by stock footage of an appreciative audience from 10 years before!
I mean, just read the audacity of that plot and you'll see what I mean. Joi Lansing as 'Boots' is a pretty & shapely platinum blonde that cheers up the film no end (I didn't think she would fit into that iron maiden in which the villains imprison her as she's, ahem, a little big in front!) and actually offers a nice performance. The comedy is pretty basic, but there are a couple of funny lines lines from nervous wreck "Jeepers" (not many, though!)
Best of all, this film is a reminder of better times that probably never existed and is ideal when you're feeling fed up and need something to watch with a friend, if only to mercilessly pull apart. Even then, you'll have had a good time...

Merle Haggard vs. John Carradine!
"Hillbillies in a Haunted House" is a sequel to "Las Vegas Hillbillies" and is one of the most entertaining Country and Western monster musicals ever made. Ferlin Husky, Don Bowman, and Joi Lansing are an act on their way to the Nashville Jamboree who decide to spend the night in a haunted house, where they meet up with, among others, Linda Ho, Basil Rathbone, Lon Chaney, a Gorilla, and best of all, the always cheery John Carradine. Along the way there are many country songs (including one truly dreadful number by Joi all about the history of gowns...) some of which are good, and some of which aren't. I loved "The Cat Came Back", and was amused by the extremely youthful Merle Haggard cameos.

There is a conspiracy involving an agency named M.O.T.H.E.R. and a villain named Dr. Fu. There is a guy in a gorilla suit (George Barrows, perhaps?) Best of all is the television broadcast that Jeepers watches to help him go to sleep in which the hilariously scowling faces of the villains haunt poor Jeepers while a bad C&W song is being performed. Needless to say, John Carradine wins the contest for chewing the scenery. His scowls and eyebrow twitches never fail to make me laugh. There are silly subplots about spies and the like, and homage is paid to Ed Wood in the 'timeless' day/night location shots (and continuity gaffes of positively Woodsian proportions.)

Finally arriving in Nashville, the last fifteen or so minutes of the film are good old C&W stage acts like Merle Haggard, Sonny James, Molly Bee, and Marcella Wright.

If you like Country music, particularly the vintage stuff, or you just like goofy, nonsensical movies that make you laugh, though sometimes you aren't sure why, this film is for you.

Yahoo
Mix horror-greats Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine with the lovely Lansing and some good country music and you have a fun movie. Thanks to miserably poor acting by Ferlin Huskey's sidekick (Huskey is no actor either), a man in a gorilla suit and continuity errors worse than "Plan Nine from Outer Space" and the unintentional humor makes this much more fun. Watch midnight turn instantly to noon and back again. The slender and loopy haunted house/spy plot is all part of the fun. Buy this one for repeat viewings.