House of the Seven Gables (1940)

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This fine adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic tale about a cursed family opens with a title card that reveals how the Pyncheon family stole, cheated, lied, and murdered their way to wealth. But within the hearts of the family's bloodline lay fear of the curse of Matthew Maule, a man they… More This fine adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic tale about a cursed family opens with a title card that reveals how the Pyncheon family stole, cheated, lied, and murdered their way to wealth. But within the hearts of the family's bloodline lay fear of the curse of Matthew Maule, a man they crossed many years earlier. Jumping to the year 1828, upstart judge Jaffrey Pyncheon (George Sanders) is called to his family's beloved seven-gabled house where he is told by his father (Gilbert Emery) and brother Clifford (Vincent Price) that the home is to be sold in order to pay their debts. A bitter, loathsome man who deeply believes in Maule's curse -- and the legend that gold is hidden in the house -- Jaffrey takes the opportunity of his father's death to accuse the innocent Clifford of murdering their patriarch. Clifford is sentenced to life in prison, but in a bizarre quirk of legal fate, the house is left in the care of Clifford's lively fiancée Hepzibah (Margaret Lindsay), who immediately boots out the hateful Jaffrey. The passage of 20 years leaves the house in shambles and Hepzibah a bitter spinster. The arrival of two people -- Hepzibah's pretty young cousin Phoebe (Nan Grey) and a mysterious boarder named Matthew Holgrave (Dick Foran) -- spark Hepzibah into opening the old house as a business. Clifford is finally released from prison and returns home for a touching reunion, but after a serious a strange reports about him leak out, Jaffrey plots to have his brother committed. However, Clifford has some plans for his evil brother and a plan to end the family's curse. ~ Patrick Legare, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 23 min.
Directed By: Joe May
Written By: Lester Cole, Harold Greene
Genres: Drama

On DVD: May 26, 1998

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic tale about a cursed family.

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

If you've seen a lot of Price's movies you will notice that a scene from this movie is played out in his later movie Tales of Terror. With this film you get the whole story. I loved it, it's a great story.

Cast

            George Sanders as Jeffrey Pyncheon

            Margaret Lindsay as Hepzibah Pyncheon

            Vincent Price as Clifford Pyncheon

            Nan Grey as Phoebe Pyncheon

            Dick Foran as Matthew Holgrave

            Cecil Kellaway as Philip Barton

            Alan Napier as Fuller

            Gilbert Emery as Gerald Pyncheon

            Miles Mander as Deacon Foster

            Charles Trowbridge as Judge

            Caroline Cooke
            
            Harry Cording as Blacksmith

            Kernan Cripps as Workman

            Robert Dudley as Bailiff

            Martin Faust
            
            Margaret Fealy as Town Gossip

            Ellis Irving as Man

            Colin Kenny as Foreman

            John K. Loofbourrow
            
            Murdock MacQuarrie as Town Gossip

            Etta McDaniel as Black Woman

            Nelson McDowell as Courtroom Spectator

            Mira McKinney as Mrs. Reynold

            Edgar Norton as Phineas Weed

            Russell Powell as Grocer

            Hugh Sothern as Rev. Smith

            Harry Stubbs as Printer

            Claire Whitney as Woman

            Harry Woods as Wainwright

            Ed Brady as Man with Blacksmith

            Leigh DeLacy as Laundress
See full cast