Scrapbook, 1962-2011

Robert Berry collection, 1962-2011

Robert Berry (born 1940) is an actor, playwright, and teacher. While a student in the Theater Department at Indiana University Bloomington in the summer of 1962, he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in a feature-length psychological horror film, "House of Dreams". The film, which was shot entirely without professional help with a budget of $10,000, is perhaps the first feature-length film created primarily by Indiana University students. The film was shot in Decker and Vincennes, Indiana and utilized the historic Sam Jordan House as the haunting centerpiece of the story. "House of Dreams" premiered in Vincennes on September 11, 1963. Given the involvement by local citizens and representation of small Southern Indiana towns, it was heralded locally as a distinctly "Hoosier" film.