The House Of The Seven Gables (1960)

In the mid 19th century, a young woman (Shirley Temple) comes to stay with a poverty stricken distant relative (Agnes Moorehead) in a rundown mansion. The mansion is reputed to be haunted and the family has a history of witchcraft, corruption and mysterious deaths. Based on the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne and directed by Arthur Hiller (LOVE STORY). Originally done for television, this is a stripped down Readers Digest version of the rich and complex Hawthorne source material. But at least it remains relatively true to the Hawthorne novel as opposed to the 1940 film adaptation which made unacceptable changes. As the young country girl, Temple shows why she never made a smooth transition from child star to adult actress ... she's a terrible actress. But to be fair, the limited adaptation doesn't offer any of the actors an opportunity to flesh out a character. With Robert Culp, Martin Landau, Jonathan Harris (LOST IN SPACE) and John Abbott.