The House of the Seven Gables Reviews

A plodding adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic American novel starring Sanders and Price (in one of his first big roles) as brothers of the cursed house of Pyncheon. The evil Sanders accuses Price of murdering their father, and the innocent sibling is sent to prison for 20 years. Sanders, meanwhile, is after the family fortune he believes is buried somewhere on the family estate which has just been inherited by Lindsay, his cousin and Price's fiancee. Eventually, Price is released from prison, and the family curse is shifted to the head of Sanders who finally meets his doom, leaving Lindsay and Price free to spend the rest of their lives in each other's arms. Luckily the atmospheric photography and fine sets (Universal claimed it built an exact duplicate of the original Salem house) pull the sometimes melodramatic performances through. The score by Frank Skinner was nominated for an Academy Award.