For most of the classic-movie crowd, Robert Wise will forever be remembered for bringing “West Side Story” to the big screen. But, horror fans, who have never found a gang of boys snapping and singing as time well spent, Wise is the man who brought Shirley Jackson’s novel “The Haunting of Hill House,” to the screen.

You know all those cliché haunted-house moments where the woman blindly walks through the darkened halls only to find what she least expected and the audience knew was coming? All those were spawned from Wise’s 1963 film “The Haunting.”

The movie starts off with the same narration as Jackson’s short story. This narration sets the stage for the movie to come. It details what Hill house is and why it is seen as the outcast and black eye of the country landscape. From there the audience is introduced to Eleanor played by Julie Harris (“Voyage of the Damned.”) The set up is great with Wise showing us why Eleanor is the way she is and giving a brief back-story into her mental and family history. The movie unfolds at the house. Eleanor is invited to attend a study done by a doctor who has more on his mind than what is going on inside his test subjects’ minds. His plan for the weekend is to prove the existence of ghosts and anyone who has seen the title of the movie can guess he succeeds in that search.

Wise, before directing this, lent his hand to helming “House on Telegraph Hill.” Why is this important? Wise brings to the stage a history of knowing how to direct a noir-type film. Now, “The Haunting” is pure blood horror, but the mystery and suspense Wise brings to the table is noir. This black filmmaking creates great scenes where Eleanor is traveling through the vacant corridors of a house that is as large as it is mysterious.

What I really liked about the film is the way the audience can understand Eleanor through her inner thoughts. The narration tool is sometimes an over used style, but with horror movies, it feels and sounds like a necessary one.

Where “The Haunting” is a little short is in the pacing. Sure noir films tend to be a little on the slower side and if there isn’t a nuclear-altered monster hunting someone down, then horror movies also loose a lot in its speed.

I think “The Haunting” could have capitalized in a lot of the scenes, especially with the unique camera angles Wise brings. He keeps his eye on the characters and does not do a lot of camera switching; think of M. Night Shyamalan today.

Obviously Eleanor has problems and Harris tackles these issues with the greatest of ease. She is confident in her portrayal of the woman whose life in on the edge, and it helps the film’s credibility. However, I would have liked to have seen these issues dealt with further. I wanted to know how these problems, such as her mother’s death, is effecting her in more than just a mental way.

“The Haunting” still remains as one of the top haunted house movies by which all others are judged. It’s precise and the dialogue is tight without too much redundancy. The movie is a classic and this is why so many other directors have either tried copying it or simply remaking it.