Find my husband a new (old) murder mystery to love!
September 2, 2015 2:03 PM Subscribe
My husband has a deep love of old and scary movies. Think Psycho, House of Wax, The Bat, The Haunting, House on Haunted Hill, And Then There Were None... basically, if it's black and white, involves a large mansion, and contains a murder mystery, he's into it.
Can you recommend some old-timey thrillers that have those characteristics? (bonus points for Amazon Prime or Netflix availability)
Family Guy did an episode called "And Then There Were Fewer," which sort of pushed all those buttons for him, so similar "homages" would be cool, too.
Thanks!
For a spoof of the genre, there's always Clue. Crazy dialog + Tim Curry, too!
posted by rachelpapers at 2:10 PM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by rachelpapers at 2:10 PM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]
Arsenic and Old Lace is just amazingly good with a frantic pace. More dark comedy than truly scary, though.
posted by vacapinta at 2:11 PM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by vacapinta at 2:11 PM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]
Dead of Night
Legend of Hell House (in color, though).
posted by holborne at 2:29 PM on September 2, 2015
Legend of Hell House (in color, though).
posted by holborne at 2:29 PM on September 2, 2015
Wait until dark with Audrey Hepburn!
posted by neematoad at 2:33 PM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by neematoad at 2:33 PM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
The Old Dark House is a classic in the "old dark house" genre. A group of people is forced by a storm to take shelter in a creepy house with creepier residents. Not the scariest, but an amazing cast and lots of laughs. Directed by James Whale of Frankenstein fame.
posted by zorseshoes at 3:07 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by zorseshoes at 3:07 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Psych has done a couple of homage episodes to this genre, the best of which was their Clue homage.
Raising Hope also did a Hitchcock homage (all in B&W) which was terrific.
posted by pie ninja at 3:24 PM on September 2, 2015
Raising Hope also did a Hitchcock homage (all in B&W) which was terrific.
posted by pie ninja at 3:24 PM on September 2, 2015
Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte which I never realized was in coior because we only had a black and white set.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 3:59 PM on September 2, 2015
posted by a humble nudibranch at 3:59 PM on September 2, 2015
Carnival of Souls
Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) ends up the sole survivor of a fatal car accident through mysterious circumstances. Trying to put the incident behind her, she moves to Utah and takes a job as a church organist. But her fresh start is interrupted by visions of a fiendish man (Herk Harvey). As the visions begin to occur more frequently, Mary finds herself drawn to the deserted carnival on the outskirts of town. The strangely alluring carnival may hold the secret to her tragic past.
So creepy!!
posted by St. Peepsburg at 4:05 PM on September 2, 2015
Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) ends up the sole survivor of a fatal car accident through mysterious circumstances. Trying to put the incident behind her, she moves to Utah and takes a job as a church organist. But her fresh start is interrupted by visions of a fiendish man (Herk Harvey). As the visions begin to occur more frequently, Mary finds herself drawn to the deserted carnival on the outskirts of town. The strangely alluring carnival may hold the secret to her tragic past.
So creepy!!
posted by St. Peepsburg at 4:05 PM on September 2, 2015
Catpeople perhaps is a bit of a stretch, but it is good
posted by BWA at 4:08 PM on September 2, 2015
posted by BWA at 4:08 PM on September 2, 2015
maybe not old enough (1987) but I remember it having a throwback vibe - Dead of Winter
posted by mannequito at 4:17 PM on September 2, 2015
posted by mannequito at 4:17 PM on September 2, 2015
He's seen Murder By Death already, right?
posted by prize bull octorok at 5:14 PM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 5:14 PM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
One of my favorite lesser-known atmospheric B&W chillers is City of the Dead (not to be confused with Lucio Fulci's City of the Living Dead). It mostly takes place in a spooky, foggy little village in New England. Christopher Lee plays an American, which takes some getting used to.
posted by doctornecessiter at 5:22 PM on September 2, 2015
posted by doctornecessiter at 5:22 PM on September 2, 2015
As a spoof there's Tiny Toons Adventures' Sepulveda Boulevard. It's it color though.
posted by fuse theorem at 5:36 PM on September 2, 2015
posted by fuse theorem at 5:36 PM on September 2, 2015
It's not really horror; it's something of a spoof, but it's my favorite movie of that kind from that era: "The Raven". With Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, and Vincent Price! (How can you go wrong?)
With special added bonus: Jack Nicholson, with a full head of hair!
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:02 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
With special added bonus: Jack Nicholson, with a full head of hair!
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:02 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Not movies, but he might enjoy the old Thriller, Alfred Hitchcock, Twighlight Zone and Night Gallery episodes.
posted by BoscosMom at 6:42 PM on September 2, 2015
posted by BoscosMom at 6:42 PM on September 2, 2015
Laura and The Uninvited seem like they might work.
It's from 1988 but he might try The Lady in White.
posted by gudrun at 8:52 PM on September 2, 2015
It's from 1988 but he might try The Lady in White.
posted by gudrun at 8:52 PM on September 2, 2015
This question made me think of The House on Telegraph Hill, which is about avoiding being murdered rather than solving a murder but does involve a large house and grounds.
There's also Notorious by Alfred Hitchcock which involves Ingrid Bergman slowly becoming trapped within a large house (and the situation within the house) as she tries to spy on the Nazi she married. (She married him for the sole purpose of spying on him.)
The Fallen Idol also has a large mansion (which is an embassy in this case) and I recall genuinely not knowing if Baines' wife had been murdered or not so there was a mystery.
posted by kassila at 9:05 PM on September 2, 2015
There's also Notorious by Alfred Hitchcock which involves Ingrid Bergman slowly becoming trapped within a large house (and the situation within the house) as she tries to spy on the Nazi she married. (She married him for the sole purpose of spying on him.)
The Fallen Idol also has a large mansion (which is an embassy in this case) and I recall genuinely not knowing if Baines' wife had been murdered or not so there was a mystery.
posted by kassila at 9:05 PM on September 2, 2015
Not black and white, and it's set on a boat, but I bet he'd love The Last of Sheila.
posted by thetortoise at 4:04 AM on September 3, 2015
posted by thetortoise at 4:04 AM on September 3, 2015
How about The Maze, a British Black and white film from 1953. The plot turns out to be a little preposterous, but it's set in an old and very mysterious Scottish castle.
posted by Samarium at 4:44 AM on September 3, 2015
posted by Samarium at 4:44 AM on September 3, 2015
The Private Eyes (1980) with Don Knotts and Tim Conway
posted by fourpotatoes at 5:59 AM on September 3, 2015
posted by fourpotatoes at 5:59 AM on September 3, 2015
Dementia 13
One of Francis Ford Coppola's first movies, set in an Irish castle, features a haunting, murder and insanity.
posted by OrderOctopoda at 8:01 AM on September 3, 2015
One of Francis Ford Coppola's first movies, set in an Irish castle, features a haunting, murder and insanity.
posted by OrderOctopoda at 8:01 AM on September 3, 2015
Seconding The Old Dark House.
I would also recommend The Black Cat. Contains no plot-important black cats, but it does have Karloff, Lugosi, a gorgeously creepy Deco house, cultists, and the line, "Even the phone's dead."
posted by darchildre at 2:40 PM on September 3, 2015
I would also recommend The Black Cat. Contains no plot-important black cats, but it does have Karloff, Lugosi, a gorgeously creepy Deco house, cultists, and the line, "Even the phone's dead."
posted by darchildre at 2:40 PM on September 3, 2015
The Uninvited (1944) is a beautiful and unsettling ghost story with a mystery.
posted by ants at 9:31 AM on September 14, 2015
posted by ants at 9:31 AM on September 14, 2015
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