Death at Love House
| Death at Love House | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | Horror Mystery |
| Written by | James Barnett |
| Directed by | E.W. Swackhamer |
| Starring |
Robert Wagner Kate Jackson |
| Music by | Laurence Rosenthal |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Leonard Goldberg Aaron Spelling |
| Producer(s) | Hal Sitowitz |
| Cinematography | Dennis Dalzell |
| Editor(s) | John Woodcock |
| Running time | 74 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Spelling-Goldberg Productions |
| Distributor | ABC |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 3, 1976 |
Death at Love House (a.k.a. The Shrine of Lorna Love) is a 1976 American made-for-television horror film directed by E.W. Swackhamer. Part of the ABC Movie of the Week, the film stars Robert Wagner and Kate Jackson.
While on a tour in Hollywood, a young couple, Joel and Donna Gregory (Robert Wagner and Kate Jackson), arrive at the house of Lorna Love, an infamous actress who died in 1935. There, they meet with housekeepers Clara Josephs (Sylvia Sidney) and Oscar Payne (Bill Macy), to investigate the mystery behind Lorna and finish a book that they are writing on the actress, an interest that came out of the discovery that Joel's father was her lover. While staying at the mansion, strange incidents occur. The couple immediately notice a portrait of Lorna, painted by Joel's father, and shortly after, Donna catches a 1930s-dressed woman at the center-located shrine in the garden.
At their first night, they are visited by Conan Carroll (John Carradine), a film director who directed Lorna in her first breakthrough film Gone of Desire. Conan claims that Lorna ruined his life, and that Joel Sr. was the only person ever to walk away from her, after telling her that she had no soul. He quickly wants to exit the mansion, leaving Joel and Donna with even more questions. As Conan leaves, he is attacked by an unknown creature, and falls in the fountain, in which he drowns following a heart attack. While processing this information, Donna finds a mysterious blade that was commonly used in witchcraft and one of her photos torn apart. Joel, meanwhile, tries to find out more on a locked room, and finds out through Clara that it was Joel Sr. and Lorna's bedroom.
Later that day, Joel and Donna visit Denise Christian (Dorothy Lamour), an aged actress and former rival of Lorna at a set for a commercial. Denise explains that Lorna tried to blackball her at every studio as soon as Denise became as big of a star as her. She continues to tell that she first met Joel Sr. at the studio - where Joel Sr. was working in the art department - and that Lorna stole him from her just to bug Denise. Denise concludes to reveal that Lorna contacted a healer for eternal beauty and youth, and could not sleep ever since: after Joel Sr. smashed all the windows and left, she lived in a spiritual world of eternal fire.
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