If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

A biographer and his wife move into the old Hollywood mansion of 1930s movie star Lorna Love, who died at a young age and whose body lies in state on the property--embalmed and behind glass. The couple is writing a book on Lorna and want to be close to her spirit, but get more than they bargained for (surely other books about such a world famous star had been written before, but the movie doesn't take details like that into consideration). The agenda here is to have the writer, whose own father once had a torrid affair with Lorna, become hypnotized by the girl's portrait and turn against his wife, all while someone dressed in black is lurking around causing trouble. Tacky TV-movie from the prolific producing team of Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, here working with a fifth-rate script, a cheap rehash of 1968's "The Legend of Lylah Clare" (itself a mishmash of movie memories). Kate Jackson runs from room to room in the mansion calling out for husband Robert Wagner, who isn't doing any writing; Sylvia Sidney is the faithful housekeeper, still on staff in the empty house; and Joan Blondell is a friend from the old days who hints that Lorna and she were involved in witchcraft. The sepia-toned flashbacks are well done, though Marianna Hill is all wrong as Lorna Love (she's too modern), and James Barnett's teleplay is full of dead ends and deadly talk. A twist at the finish line brings up more questions than Barnett or director E.W. Swackhamer could ever hope to answer, while Wagner's book (a MacGuffin, as it turns out) appears to be permanently shelved.

While two of those films in my summary are all-time classics and the other one is a camp classic, this one won't fit into any category other than bad 70's TV movie of the week where a fictional 30's legend has become the subject of research by a married couple (Robert Wagner and Kate Jackson, how more 70's can you get?) for a book and possible movie. Wagner's look-alike father was once involved with the late legend whose portrait dominates the Beverly Hills mansion she lived in and whose body apparently lies in permanent state at the mausoleum where she intended to remain beautiful forever, much like "She who must be obeyed".The problem with Lorna Love is that she looks nothing like any 30's love goddess, especially any of the tragic figures who died early on. Her whole style is 60's schlock, and with Marianna Hill playing the part in flashbacks, newly filmed movie clips and dream sequences, it totally defuses any indication that she would have out-done Jean Harlow, Rita Hayworth, Joan Crawford or even Dorothy Lamour who plays a rival here, seen filming a coffee commercial then telling both Wagner and Jackson how evil Love really was. Hill is never convincing in this part, and at one point, is filmed looking more like a department store mannequin than a human being, grossly made up and seriously badly acted in movies which are supposed to take place during the silent era and early sound era.The cameos of 30's stars are more than welcome, with Lamour still gorgeous even without wearing a sarong, Joan Blondell totally outrageous as her fan club president who has an obvious obsession with the dead star, and John Carradine as her former director who was destroyed when no studio would hire him after Lorna had him blackballed. "Maude's" Bill Macy is briefly seen as Wagner and Jackson's agent. Veteran 30's leading lady Sylvia Sidney plays Lorna's all-knowing housekeeper, a mysterious woman who says little but drops enough hints to give away the plot twist at the end. A few scary moments including one where Jackson is locked in a bathroom with leaking gas are intense, but the continuous shot of a man in an obvious Satanistic robe is just plain silly and never resolved after a scene where Carradine sees this character during a rainstorm.The 1970's had a lot of nostalgia with fond looks back at the past, several remakes of classic movies, and biographical looks back at stars like Gable and Lombard, W.C. Fields, a young Judy Garland, Bogart and Bacall and Rita Hayworth. This fictional Hollywood melodrama never captures the magic that was old Hollywood and ends up being more of a curiosity piece because of its inclusion of the older stars. The same theme would be better done without the horror elements when Billy Wilder went back down "Sunset Boulevard" movie with the underrated "Fedora".

"Death At Love House" is the tale of two writers (who are married to each other) that move into the former estate of dead actress Lorna Love to write a book about her. However, strange things start happening around the house and the husband starts becoming a little too obsessed with Lorna Love, and the woman has to find a way to end the madness once and for all! This was surprisingly a well-done film that featured an all-star cast and a good storyline. "Death At Love House" also features a good plot, with twists and turns that keep you interested throughout the entire film. Definitely check this one out!Not Rated: Contains Mild ViolenceGrade: C

NYC writers Joel Gregory and his pregnant wife, Donna, move into the estate of long dead Hollywood sex goddess Lorna Love to research their latest book. Years before, Lorna had had an affair with Joel's artist father and when he left her she turned to witchcraft to ensure he'd come back to her one day... This low budget Aaron Spelling ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK has future boob tube icons Robert Wagner and Kate Jackson in the leads as writers who's marriage and lives are in jeopardy when it looks like Lorna's returned from the grave to pick up where she left off in her love life. It was filmed almost entirely on the old Harold Lloyd estate and has the late Miss Love's preserved body under glass in the garden tended by her sinister housekeeper (old-time Hollywood star Sylvia Sidney). 1960s starlet Marianna Hill is the lovely Lorna in flashback with cameo appearances by John Carradine as the movie queen's former director, Dorothy Lamour as her one-time cinematic rival, and Joan Blondell as her adoring fan club president. The story itself is more mystery than horror and nostalgia for Hollywood -and the "Golden Age Of TV Movies"- is the main reason for tuning in.