Hag Horror in the Hills
Hi hi,
Tis the season for creepy old house movies. Just off the top of my head, there’s Ennis House as the opening for House on Haunted Hill. The Los Feliz monastery Katy Perry was trying to buy was used as a setting for Halloween H20, The Neon Demon, and Scream 3. With that topic in mind, I recently stumbled upon an old horror movie that is the perfect marriage of Halloween and CahuengaPast perimeters.
It’s a 1973 TV movie called The Cat Creature and let’s get into it.
First, one of the stars is Meredith Baxter, best known for playing the “Family Ties” mom and tens (hundreds?) of Lifetime movies. Also, she grew up in this house in Whitley Heights.
Another star we have is Gale Sondergaard, the first winner of the Supporting Actress Academy Award in 1936 for her debut in Anthony Adverse. Gale worked steadily, had a great career, and married director Herbert Biberman and they lived here in Casa Canem under the Hollywood sign. Great house, built by Carl Lindbom.
However, they had to sell in the 50s when Herbert was named as one of the Hollywood Ten and they had to leave town due to all the communist witch-hunting.
After Herbert died, Gale made The Cat Creature, directed by our beloved Curtis Harrington, who I truly never stop talking about. I’m not going to list all his houses again, but covered them in this newsletter
Now, if those connections weren’t enough, one of the primary locations for the film is the magnificent Castillo Del Lago, the 1926 John De Lario-designed palace perched above the Hollywood Reservoir. Once home to Bugsy Siegel, and later Madonna (circa “Justify My Love” era, this was the place her stalker broke into, and yes, at one point her brother fancied himself a designer and painted it pink/salmon/red striped, and neighborhood did not find it cute). A dear neighbor friend had told me that in the 70s, Castillo Del Lago was almost considered a haunted house in the neighborhood. There have always been rumors of tunnels from the house (now destroyed, but allegedly used by Siegel to hide unpleasant mob business like body removal, liquor runs, whathaveyou) so what a perfect location for Harrington’s specific genre of “hag horror.”
There’s also a great story of Gale’s lost Oscar being returned to her while she was in full Egyptian garb on set during this film.
The movie is…I mean, what you expect. It’s cheesy and campy, but great if you are into watching movies and yelling “I know him!” when the Hollywood Reservoir comes on screen.
Because we live in a city that greedily destroys and regularly devours art and has no interest in preserving anything, I have zero moral quandary about sharing this link, should you choose to explore what our favorite crown jewel property looked like in 1973. (There are other versions around too, but I’m a sucker for goofy horror hosts, skip through the first couple minutes if you aren’t.)
Meanwhile, I know things have been quiet. I’ve been working out of town and I’m always reminded of this clip from Wim Wenders about Los Angeles.
This is all, of course, to justify why I haven’t been as active. Yes I am very busy (aren’t we all) but it’s hard to write about Los Angeles without being in Los Angeles, and experiencing the everyday wonder and magic and serendipity of it. But I am t r y i n g ok? Hope you’re getting all your tricks and treats!
