HOUSE ON BARE MOUNTAIN (1962)
Article #1533 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-26-2005
Posting Date: 10-23-2005
Directed by Lee Frost
Featuring Bob Cresse, Laine Carlin, Leticia Cooper

A granny who runs a school for girls who like to go topless is actually a bootlegger with a werewolf assistant.

Let’s face it; you go into a movie with expectations. Given that the title of this movie is HOUSE ON BARE MOUNTAIN, and that my foreknowledge of this movie was that it was a nudie with monsters, I can admit to having some expectations. I expected that there were going to be a lot of topless women, lame monsters, no story to speak of, bad jokes, poor photography and rotten sound.

So what did I get? Yes, there are a lot of unclothed women in the picture, though it stops short of full frontal nudity. There’s only one real monster; the rest are just guys in monster costumes, so it could be considered a disappointment on that level, but I think I’ll let it slide; after all, in this context, it doesn’t matter much. The plot was just as elaborate and scintillating as I expected.

In the final assessment, though, the movie was better than I expected, but this is just my way of saying that the occasional joke wasn’t too bad, and that the photography and sound were both acceptable. It’s greatest strength is a simple one, though; despite the copious nudity in the movie, Granny Good herself remains clothed throughout, and considering that she’s played by Lovable Bob Cresse, this is a good thing. You’ve got to be thankful for such tender mercies.