kevin olzak Of the 13 feature films in which John Carradine and Lon Chaney both appeared, 1967's "Hillbillys in a Haunted House" was not only the last, it was one of the few where they actually shared any scenes (shot under the working title "Ghost Party"). Joined in villainy by a game, 74 year old Basil Rathbone, the three actors offer the only real novelty to this tired rehash of old dark house clichés, dragged down by its abundance of country music. A sequel to the successful "Las Vegas Hillbillys" (note the spelling!), retaining stars Ferlin Husky and Don Bowman, but replacing the absent Jayne Mansfield with the equally photogenic Joi Lansing. En route to Nashville for a good old fashioned jamboree, the trio break down and have to spend the night in a house that's not really haunted; its actually the home base for spies trying to steal a top secret formula from a local rocket base. John Carradine alternately scowls and grimaces as Dr. Himmil, when he's not mercilessly teasing the gorilla Anatole belonging to Lon Chaney's Maximillian, who goes undercover by getting past an unsuspecting janitor (all he gets for his trouble is a formula combining nitroglycerin and antihistamine!). As Gregor, Basil Rathbone shares most of his scenes with Carradine, using phony ghosts and noises to try to scare off their dimwitted intruders, whom they mistake for agents from M.O.T.H.E.R. (Master Organization to Halt Enemy Resistance). A genuine ghost closes out the spy stuff at 67 minutes, leaving the final two reels open for yet more musical numbers. Chaney is clearly having a grand time, and Rathbone too, while poor Carradine has to remain sullen for the most part, fewer opportunities to be funny (he did enjoy stealing Anatole's banana!). As bad as the film's reputation is, consider how much worse it would have been without its heavyweight cast of screen villains.

johnc2141 After viewing the DVD the 50 worst movies of all time i was split on some of the selections and after seeing the clips for hillbilly's in a haunted house i wanted to see for myself,don't get me wrong i love b movies and trashy cinema but this one is really awful.a great cast misused in a horrible movie.lets see John Carridine,Lon Chaney JR,Basil Rathbone,the sexy Joi Lansing,Ferlin Husky,and even Merle Haggard.it looked good from seeing the clips but as a whole its a total bummer.with really awful songs and a well worn plot about 3 country singers on their way to a swinging jamboree in Nashville Tennessee,their car breaks down and have to stay at a seemingly abandoned mansion,that happens to be haunted.well its occupied by Rathbone,Chaney Jr,and Carridine and their boss played by Linda Ho.they are sort of espionage agents trying to steal plans for a top secret weapon.the three country singers(Ferlin Husky,Joi Lansing,and Don Bowman)get caught up in the silliness.remember the aip movie ghost in the invisible bikini?well that movie is gone with the wind compared to this.thats about an hour and a half ill never get back,what could've been a great idea falls apart in the first 3 minutes.but I'm glad i saw it for myself.

Michael_Elliott Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967) 1/2 (out of 4) A true disaster to any genre features three legendary horror stars embarrassing themselves. A bunch of country singers have some car trouble and end up having to spend the night at a creepy house, which just happens to be haunted. I personally can't see what the point of this movie was and I also have to wonder who this thing was made for. I love bad cinema but every once in a while I come across a film that doesn't work on any level and that's where this thing comes into play. Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine and Basil Rathbone are nice enough to cash a paycheck here as all three are wasted in thankless roles. I'm sure fans of the three will want to check them out but they're bound to be disappointed. This isn't even good in a bad way. Even worse is that Chaney is in obvious poor health and it's rather sad to see.

DocS-1 This has to be one of the all-time dumbest movies ever made. The storyline and dialogue (somehow mingling 60's spy-stuff with horror with country-music stars) is completely brainless, and most of the musical numbers were crammed into the story with a broken crowbar. I'm embarrassed for Messrs. Chaney, Rathbone,and Carradine (who must have never been given full scripts, or been desperate for cash). And the non-acting doesn't even deserve THAT much respect. All that said, the ONLY redeeming quality this nonsense has is the "live" performances of the country stars of the time at the end. If that's where your tastes lie, scan forward through all the rest!