Sept. 3, 1963 - “The Haunting,” a film version of Shirley Jackson’s novel, “The Haunting of Hill House,” will open in New York Sept. 18 at the Paramount and the Trans-Lux 52nd Street Theaters. Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, and Richard Johnson are in the cast of the MGM melodrama which was directed by Robert Wise. The film depicts the experiences of a small group of people invited by a paranormal investigator to investigate a purportedly haunted house. Screenwriter Nelson Gidding, who previously worked with Wise on the 1958 film “I Want To Live!,” perceived Jackson’s book to be more about mental breakdown than ghosts, and although he was informed after meeting Jackson that it was very much a supernatural novel, elements of mental breakdown have been introduced into the film.
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