Pretty darn enjoyable Universal film from 1940 with the same cast (pretty much) and crew as that same year's The Invisible Man Returns. Do yourself a favor, though, and forget the Hawthorne novel, mmkay? 160 years ago a certain Colonel Pyncheon made a land grab by accusing the landowner of witchcraft; as the poor slob was hung, he cursed the family, and sure enough, Col. Pyncheon dropped dead the day the house was completed. Hey, maybe the guy WAS a witch, eh? Now it's modern times (well, 1850 modern times) and the house is owned by big brother Vincent Price and little brother George Sanders (my GOODNESS there's a dinner table for ya) and the older brother wants to sell the property and get rid of the whole mess while younger brother is convinced there's a fortune in gold hidden somewhere in it (see also God's Little Acre). So, younger brother frames older brother and sends him to prison and the years pass and when Vinnie is finally paroled, he's got the chance, with Dick Foran's help, to fry up some VERY cold revenge. Margaret Lindsay and Nan Grey are lovely distant cousins looking forward to marrying somebody or other. Million-dollar Dialog: Judge Sanders: 'This nation is headed for destruction! When the vote of the people places such incompetence in office it is time to withdraw the vote!' Mr. Foran, laconically: 'Or restrict it to those who vote your way.' Judge Sanders: 'Exactly!' The cast is excellent; I particularly liked Miss Lindsay (Miss Grey? She's VERY lovely) and the supporting players are the typical Universal guys; it's fun to see Alan Napier, Miles Mander, and Cecil Kellaway outside the typical horror films I usually watch from the Big U. Not a great movie, but a handsomely mounted one and Sanders and especially Price are having a field day. I enjoyed it. Lovely print on the DVD.