13 GHOSTS

13 GHOSTS (1960). Director: William Castle. 

Cyrus Zorba (Donald Woods) and his family have serious financial problems, but discover that an uncle has left Cyrus his spooky old house-- and all of its ghosts. This movie has two clever ideas -- that the uncle actually collected ghosts to study, and that he invented a pair of weird goggles through which one can actually see the ghosts. Aside from that 13 Ghosts isn't one of the more memorable William Castle thrillers, although it's fun in its minor way. Rosemary DeCamp is Cyrus' wife and little Charles Herbert is his mischievous son, Buck; Martin Milner plays Ben Rush, the uncle's lawyer, who may have his own agenda -- all give good performances. Margaret Hamilton might seem like a casting coup as the dead uncle's creepy housekeeper and assistant, but her performance is only adequate. Donald Woods is perfect as the put-upon Cyrus, however. 

Verdict: Worth seeing once. **1/2.