Whow !!! What a story, which is so unusual for this detective TV series. it belongs to the short list of episodes where Ironside is alone somewhere, in great danger, with no help at all, and where he has to help himself. You had the same with MANNIX too. In this episode, Don Weis the director is pretty brilliant too. Some elements here belong to the eerie world, terror stuff that you have found in all haunted mansions schemes all over the years. The whole story doesn't take place in the house of terror, but most of it. It is also a sort of tribute to mystery films from the forties or thirties.
2 Reviews
Ironside does it right for Halloween special!
TopekaBob30 March 2022
House of Terror aired on October 25, 1973, as an Ironside Halloween special, and they did it right. Basically Ironside is trapped inside a mystery house where a madman is trying to kill him, but cleverly, and he has to figure out what's going on and how to save himself. I don't think it's a real spoiler to say that the house isn't really haunted since the show only ever dealt with human criminals.
But, it is a mystery as to what's going on and the haunted house set is fantastic! They went to a lot of trouble to get it right, including finding/making numerous wax figures that are quite eerie. Also, this is a case where Ironside being in the wheelchair adds a very difficult element to his plight. No running away here, he has to use his wits.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Ironside crew is struggling to figure out where he is, but to the show's credit, they don't arrive at the end to save the day, like often happens. Whether Ironside lives or dies is up to to him.
Look for a young Sharon Gless here playing the Commissioner's daughter. She later went on to stardom in the TV series "Cagney and Lacey" with Tyne Daley.
And look for a short but fun scene between Mark and the famous and fabulous Dabbs Greer. Dabbs Greer, like many actors on Ironside, was a staple on TV from the 1960's through the 2000's. But Greer went beyond just being a staple, he was a legend. Directors love him to death and cast him over and over and over. What it means is that if you're watching classic television on METV or whatever, no matter what the show, Dabbs Greer appears! Especially true in westerns, but really in everything. He appeared eight times on Perry Mason, Bonanza, and the Rifleman; Six times on the Fugitive, 76 times on Little House on the Prairie, 42 times on Gunsmoke, and 20 times on Picket Fences! He also appeared on classic Twilight Zone and Outer Limits and in iconic movies such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The House of Wax. It goes on and on. He ended his career on an incredible high note: A big role in the 1999 Tom Hanks movie, The Green Mile, where he played the "older" Hanks. All hail Dabbs Greer!
The Ironside/Star Trek connection shows up here: Lenore Kasdof, with a small part as one of the young partiers, was in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
But, it is a mystery as to what's going on and the haunted house set is fantastic! They went to a lot of trouble to get it right, including finding/making numerous wax figures that are quite eerie. Also, this is a case where Ironside being in the wheelchair adds a very difficult element to his plight. No running away here, he has to use his wits.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Ironside crew is struggling to figure out where he is, but to the show's credit, they don't arrive at the end to save the day, like often happens. Whether Ironside lives or dies is up to to him.
Look for a young Sharon Gless here playing the Commissioner's daughter. She later went on to stardom in the TV series "Cagney and Lacey" with Tyne Daley.
And look for a short but fun scene between Mark and the famous and fabulous Dabbs Greer. Dabbs Greer, like many actors on Ironside, was a staple on TV from the 1960's through the 2000's. But Greer went beyond just being a staple, he was a legend. Directors love him to death and cast him over and over and over. What it means is that if you're watching classic television on METV or whatever, no matter what the show, Dabbs Greer appears! Especially true in westerns, but really in everything. He appeared eight times on Perry Mason, Bonanza, and the Rifleman; Six times on the Fugitive, 76 times on Little House on the Prairie, 42 times on Gunsmoke, and 20 times on Picket Fences! He also appeared on classic Twilight Zone and Outer Limits and in iconic movies such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The House of Wax. It goes on and on. He ended his career on an incredible high note: A big role in the 1999 Tom Hanks movie, The Green Mile, where he played the "older" Hanks. All hail Dabbs Greer!
The Ironside/Star Trek connection shows up here: Lenore Kasdof, with a small part as one of the young partiers, was in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
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