Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and John Carradine in one movie is like a dream come true and a recipe for a truly great time. House of the Long Shadows is not a great movie, but it is an interesting one and better than I was led to believe. It does have flaws of course, the ending is unsatisfying and feels like more than one ending rolled into a single one, the middle drags and Desi Arnaz Jnr gives an awful lead performance, very wooden and overly-serious. However, the production values complete with a suitably Gothic mansion are in keeping with the spooky atmosphere and in the genre House of the Long Shadows is an example of. The music has a very haunting sound to it, I loved the tongue-in-cheek humour and thrills in the script(Vincent Price having the best lines and he really relishes them),and the story has some nice-if occasionally silly- twists and turns and is mostly swiftly paced. The opening sequence is great. The murder sequences are not exactly subtle, but are suspenseful and evoke some chills. The four stars Price, Cushing, Lee and Carradine- easily the highlights of the film- are brilliant, distinctive and commanding with a very one-of-a-kind chemistry. In conclusion, fun and interesting if far from perfect. 7/10 Bethany Cox

One of those films where the sole reason for success is in the awesome casting, this is perhaps the "last gasp" of old-fashioned horror (British and otherwise) and fittingly reunites four of the biggest actors in the genre, who for four decades between them made the horror genre their very own. Without such a cast one can only ponder on the fate of this film, but when the script is written (originally from a play) with such actors in mind you can't separate the two. Although the plot is weak and far too much screen time is given over to the uninteresting Desi Arnaz Jr. in the leading role – sadly for Arnaz he is given a rather smug and arrogant character, making him the result of much hatred in horror circles – there are still a fair few reasons to watch, with of course the four "long shadows" taking precedence over any others.

The murder-mystery plot screams Agatha Christie and the clichés come thick and fast. Late in the film, events take a step towards being a slasher film, complete with shocking scares, mouldy corpses, and some mild gore (faces washed with acid, etc). Despite the ridiculous twist ending and the horrible acting from female interest Julie Peasgood (now a regular soap star),the setting of the dark and brooding mansion in the middle of a storm is a good one and the secret passages and mysterious locked rooms help add to the atmosphere no end. The script is fairly witty and boasts some minor but impressive supporting turns from the likes of Sheila Keith as a sinister housekeeper and Richard Todd as a friend who knows more than he lets on.

But what of the four old men around whom the film is based? It has to be said that some come across better than others. John Carradine, on his last legs bless him, has little to do with the proceedings other than lie around and look ill, but he still gets a few choice lines and his presence is a fairly amusing one. Peter Cushing, unfortunately, is saddled with the role of a whimpering coward, but he does get to act drunk for one of the few instances in his career which is a bit of a change. Vincent Price hams it up as only he can, and his line-readings are as impressive as ever; in fact he steals the show whenever he's on screen. However Christopher Lee has the most developed character of the group, and while he plays very much the type of stern, arrogant, and short-tempered character that he is always known for, he makes a good effort of it and I would consider the performance as one of his best. Hardly a great film, and probably much better than it has any right to be, but the cast alone makes this worthwhile. Interesting note – the director is none other than Pete Walker, the man who helped create the X-rated genre of '70s British horror, here handing in a very genteel, polished and not very scary film compared to the ones he used to make.

An author named Kenneth McGee (Desi Arnaz, Jr.) whose career is on the decline wagers his publisher $20,000 that he can write a novel comparable to "Wuthering Heights" in 24 hours. To do so, he is holed up at a manor in Wales.

Can you beat this cast? Vincent Price as Lionel Grisbane, John Carradine as Lord Grisbane, Peter Cushing as Sebastian Rand and Christopher Lee as Corrigan. This is the final film in which both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing appear.

The lead actor, Desi Arnaz, is pretty awful. He delivers lines that seem like they should be humorous with a straight face, which makes no sense -- is this humor delivered poorly, or serious lines botched before they even reach the man's tongue? I am not sure which, but he talks in such a tone and pace that I cannot believe any real person would talk in such a way.

The copy I watched was of a very poor quality, or at best of "modest" quality. It was full screen, seems to be a VHS transfer, and had Swedish subtitles ingrained into it. That is not how I prefer to enjoy a film.

The story is bizarre and sloppy, in some ways reminiscent of William Castle's "Old Dark House". Only not as entertaining. Mike Mayo says it is a variation of the Edgar Wallace story, the "tightest" of those he knows of. I find nothing tight about this film, and am unclear how much is Edgar Wallace and how much is writer Michael Armstrong. Armstrong freely admits to adapting the tale from the novel "Seven Keys to Baldpate" by Earl Derr Biggers and the dramatization by George M. Cohan.

This all comes from director Pete Walker, whomever that is. This was his final film. The gore only comes in during the final twenty minutes, and it is not much. Would I recommend this movie? Maybe if it was cleaned up, just to see the cast. The film itself is nothing special.