"The House That Dripped Blood" is a 1971 British anthology horror film directed by Peter Duffell and distributed by Amicus Productions. The film is a collection of four short stories, each concerning a series of inhabitants of the eponymous building.

Denholm Elliott appears in the segment "Method for Murder," playing Charles Hillyer. He is joined by Joanna Dunham, who portrays Alice Hillyer, Charles' wife.

Peter Cushing stars in the segment "Waxworks," portraying Philip Grayson. Joss Ackland (known for "Lethal Weapon 2," "Watership Down," and "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey," among over 100 other films) plays Neville Rogers, Grayson's friend. Wolfe Morris appears as the Waxworks Proprietor.

Christopher Lee appears in the segment "Sweets to the Sweet," playing John Reid. He is joined by Nyree Dawn Porter (star of "The Forsyte Saga," who turned down the lead female role in "The Avengers") as Ann Norton, the tutor hired to care for Reid's daughter.

Jon Pertwee features in the segment "The Cloak," portraying Paul Henderson. Ingrid Pitt plays Carla Lind, Henderson's co-star and love interest in the vampire film they're working on.

All of the stories were written by Robert Bloch, best known as the writer of "Psycho." Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels and was a protégé of H. P. Lovecraft.

Amicus films are sometimes mistaken for the output of Hammer Films due to their similar visual style and use of some of the same actors. However, unlike the period gothic Hammer films, Amicus productions were usually set in the present day.

In the Second World War, Denholm Elliott (famous to this podcast for his titular role as the Signalman in the BBC "Ghost Story for Christmas," podcast episode 21) joined the Royal Air Force, training as a wireless operator/air gunner in 1942. His aircraft was hit by flak and subsequently ditched in the North Sea. Elliott and four of his crewmen survived, and he spent the rest of the war in Stalag Luft VIIIb, a prisoner-of-war camp.

Later, Pertwee was attached to the top-secret Naval Intelligence Division, working alongside future James Bond author (and of course Big Chris Lee’s cousin) Ian Fleming and reporting directly to Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In 1967, he was chosen by "Dad's Army" producer David Croft for the role of Captain Mainwaring, but Pertwee turned it down. In 1969, Pertwee asked his agent to apply for the role of Doctor Who and was surprised to find he was already on the shortlist. He was the second choice for the role; Ron Moody was the first but was unavailable.

Jon Pertwee later claimed that "The House That Dripped Blood" was meant to be a comedy-horror film and was initially filmed in that way. However, during the production, "the producer came in, took one look at what we are doing, and went raving mad," insisting it be a horror film and not a comedy. This change meant a shift in tone, but the material already filmed remained, resulting in the film dipping in quality and edits to remove comedy elements from Pertwee's sequences. He also admitted that he intentionally based his character on his co-star and friend Christopher Lee. In a scene where Jon's character talks about favourite roles, he says that he prefers Bela Lugosi's Dracula rather than "the chap who plays him nowadays."

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Inside No. 9 is a British black comedy anthology series that aired from February 5, 2014, to June 12, 2024. Written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith and produced by the BBC. The only recurring elements are a setting related to the number 9 and a hidden brass hare statue. The show blends comedy, horror, and plot twists.

The episode we watched, "The Devil of Christmas," is a Christmas special and the first episode of the third series, aired on December 27, 2016. Directed by Graeme Harper and written by Pemberton and Shearsmith, it took heavy inspiration from 1970s anthology programs such as Beasts (see episode 27 and 44 a and b), and Tales of the Unexpected (listen to episode 29 for more details), filmed at Studio D in the BBC Elstree Centre with rented 1970s costumes and props, the production used retrofitted 1970s cameras and lighting. This approach differed from the usual single-camera setup of the series. Producer Adam Tandy noted the blend of heritage and modern technology, while Shearsmith remarked "it looks shit, but it's brilliant".

Graeme Harper, the episode's director, is well-known for his work on Doctor Who, being the only person to direct both the original and revived series. Harper's direction was widely acclaimed, with Peter Davison praising him as the best director he worked with on Doctor Who.

The episode featured Rula Lenska, born Roza Maria Leopoldyna Lubienski, who has appeared in Special Branch, Minder, Boon, The Detectives, Footballers' Wives, To the Manor Born, One Foot in the Grave, Casualty, Space: 1999, Return of the Saint, Robin of Sherwood, Doctors, and EastEnders, where she played Frank Butcher's girlfriend, Krystle, in a 2002 Costa del Sol special. In the 1970s, she was shortlisted for the role of companion Jo Grant in Doctor Who and later appeared in Resurrection of the Daleks. She starred as Mrs. Peacock in series 2 of Cluedo and appeared with John Inman in the series Take a Letter, Mr. Jones.

In 2009, Lenska joined the cast of Coronation Street as Claudia Colby, an old friend of Audrey Roberts. She left in May 2011 to join the Calendar Girls tour. Lenska was married to actors Brian Deacon and Dennis Waterman, with both marriages ending in divorce. She appeared in commercials for Alberto VO5 in the US during the late 1970s, becoming a running joke on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show. Her work with the London Gay Men's Chorus led to her participation in the UK version of Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, where she made headlines for a role-play task with George Galloway.

Since today's topic was a last-minute change to our schedule, we didn't have much time to research Steve and Reece thoroughly. I’m sorry we don’t have more to share about them, but they seem like really nice guys. Both, along with the other two members of the League of Gentlemen, consistently create content that we pretty much universally like, if not love. (Ross is speaking for himself here, but I think Jon and James would agree.)

This episode also features the voice of Sir Derek Jacobi, Professor Yana himself!!!!. Due to time constraints, our research for this episode was limited. We'll need to cover another project featuring Derek so we can properly explore the life and work of this wonderful actor. If you have any suggestions, please tweet us @GeneralWitch1.

In May 2024, it was announced that Pemberton and Shearsmith had adapted the series into a West End stage play, Inside No. 9 Stage/Fright. They will perform in the production, premiering in January 2025 at Wyndham's Theatre, London. (Ross and his wife have tickets to go in April!)

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Intro music from:

Arthemis - Survivor (Destiny's Child Cover)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjYCOtYjCY4

The Survivor is a 1981 supernatural horror Australian-British co-production directed by David Hemmings and starring Robert Powell, Jenny Agutter, and Joseph Cotten.

In Adelaide, Australia (not Eton in the UK as in the original novel written by James Herbert), airline pilot David Keller (played by Powell) survives the crash of his Boeing 747-200, unhurt despite all 300 passengers dying in the accident. With no memories of the accident, he starts to suffer strange supernatural visions.

Director David Hemmings is most famous for his acting roles, including Dildano in Barbarella, Marcus Daly in Dario Argento's Deep Red, and Thomas, the fashion photographer in the hugely successful avant-garde mystery film Blowup – a role turned down by Sean Connery because director Michelangelo Antonioni would not show him the full script but only a seven-page treatment stored in a cigarette packet. Hemmings would later feature in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Connery 37 years later.

Robert Powell, best known for his portrayal of a charismatic cult leader/son of a carpenter in the 1977 epic television drama series Jesus of Nazareth, also played secret agent Richard Hannay in The Thirty-Nine Steps, appeared in Ken Russell's Tommy as Captain Walker and, at the request of his friend and golf partner, comedian Jasper Carrott, co-starred in the BBC sitcom The Detectives (which ran for five series!). He also lent his voice to the 2002 rock opera The Hound of the Baskervilles by Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman, playing John Watson. Powell was considered for several roles in Lifeforce (featured in episode 39 of this podcast). A founder member of the Social Democratic Party in 1981, he campaigned alongside Barry Norman on behalf of the party's first leader, Roy Jenkins.

Jenny Agutter (OBE), who plays the role of Hobbs the clairvoyant (a male character in the novel), is best known for her ongoing role in the inexplicably popular Call the Midwife. She also starred in two adaptations of The Railway Children, the critically acclaimed film Walkabout, and, relevant to this podcast, An American Werewolf in London (listen to episode 26 for more info).

The film also features Joseph Cotten, (best man at Orson Welles's wedding to Rita Hayworth) appeared in five films selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant. In addition to these classics, he appeared in many films and TV programs, including, pertinent to this podcast, one episode of Tales of the Unexpected. He later admitted, "I was in a lot of junk. I get nervous when I don't work." This was his final motion picture, suffering a stroke shortly after working on it.

James Herbert, author of the source novel, sent a note to David Hemmings offering his assistance. He never received a reply, and in 1988 dismissed this film and the later Deadly Eyes (the film adaptation of The Rats) as "They're terrible...absolute rubbish. I can only say - don't blame me." The Survivor was Herbert's third novel, published in 1976, coming after The Rats and The Fog.

The music for this film is by Brian May! …but not the one you're thinking of... This is the Australian Brian May, who has an impressive musical CV, including: The Blue Lagoon, Gallipoli, Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Missing in Action 2 and Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare.

This was the first Australian movie to cost more than $1 million (Australian) to make. The location was shifted to OZ as a complex tax dodge, allowing English investors to completely write-off on the whole film.

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