The Ghost Of Sierra De Cobre (1964)

At the behest of her blind husband (Tom Simcox), a woman (Diane Baker) contacts a paranormal investigator (Martin Landau) to investigate phone calls her husband is getting from his mother ... who's buried in the family crypt! Written and directed by Joseph Stefano (PSYCHO), this was originally intended as a pilot for a TV series called THE HAUNTED with Landau as a sort of "ghostbuster". The pilot didn't sell (reputedly too frightening) so additional footage was shot, the ending changed and turned into a feature length movie which has developed a cult reputation of sorts. While you can feel it's padded out, for most of its running time, it's an above average ghost story. The crisp B&W cinematography by Conrad Hall (IN COLD BLOOD) is superb and doesn't have that flat look that most films shot for TV in the 60s had. This looks like a feature. There's a neat score by Dominic Frontiere (HANG 'EM HIGH). With Judith Anderson in Mrs. Danvers mode, Nellie Burt and Leonard Stone.