ldpasco
I remember this little number from the good old days and being a youth at the time I got a real kick out of it. Little did I realize that this hour long TV film (pilot?) was more of an updating of 1932's 'Old Dark House' as it tells the story of a family that arrive at a storm swept inn (might be a house but I believe the family was gonna take control of it due to mercantile reasons but I could be wrong) and encounter all sorts of menacing occurrences in a kinda 'Airplane'-ish way. Lotsa lightning storms and spookhouse atmosphere and I believe there was a klutzy overweight bellhop if my memory serves well. Also an elderly cobwebbed freak lurking about the premises and brandishing an axe add a welcome sense of horror to the shenanigans. But when all is said and done, just like 'The Old Dark House', everything is explained away and anything appearing malevolent turns out to be, on the contrary, appealing (those who saw this will know exactly what I mean). While nothing supernatural occurs, the atmosphere of the proceedings completely belies this fact and this, hands down, is far more entertaining than the dank 1981 film 'Private Eyes' that for some strange reason is exceedingly popular and had a huge berth upon its release. Just my two cents on another lost bit of television..
