Released in 1965
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Written by Charles Bennett and Louis M. Heyward
Based on the poem “The City In the Sea” by Edgar Allan Poe
“The waves have now a redder glow —
The hours are breathing faint and low —
And when, amid no earthly moans,
Down, down that town shall settle hence,
Hell, rising from a thousand thrones,
Shall do it reverence.”
War Gods of the Deep puts a new spin on the AIP Poe movies of the 60’s. Instead of a spooky castle by the sea, they put the castle in the sea this time. And way down there living inside it are a bunch of pirates, their sinister smuggler Captain (Vincent Price), and some freaky humanoid sea monsters. Oh yeah, there’s an active volcano down there too. And the pirates are immortal.
War-Gods of the Deep movie poster starring Vincent Price
The movie starts out appropriately with Vincent Price reciting some Edgar Allan Poe, which is never a bad idea. The action begins when a local washes up dead on shore, and then a woman named Jill Tregillis(Susan Hart) gets kidnapped by one of the gill men. (they were saying Miss Tregillis, but I kept hearing Mr. Gillis) What other choice do Ben (Tab Hunter) and Harold (David Tomlinson) have but to investigate? Unfortunately, while exploring a cave they both accidently fall in a swirling maelstrom that sucks them all the way down into the underwater city. You will probably recognize David Tomlinson from Bedknobs and Broomsticks. His character in this movie provides a bit of lighthearted comedy. For some reason he carries around a British chicken in a basket for the entire film. There’s a scene in the movie where Vincent Price spots the chicken for the first time and he points to the basket and simply says, “Chicken.” Inadvertently hilarious.
After they arrive in the city under the sea they encounter the pirates and their Captain. In a really long exposition, the Captain explains everything to them while they watch the gill men hunt fish with crossbows. (how does a crossbow work underwater?) The rest of the movie is more or less occupied by Ben and Harold trying to escape with Miss Tregillis, which reaches a “climax” in an excruciatingly long and uninteresting underwater chase scene. (back in the 60’s this would be a prime spot in the movie to start fogging up the windows with a hot date at the drive-in)
I tried to give this movie a fair shot but it just doesn’t hold together. Vincent Price’s performance is not bad at all, though. He plays it straight, serious, and subdued. But there’s only so much he can do to prop up the rest of the movie. The unnecessary scenes and Ed Wood-esque underwater sequences all contribute to making this movie a bit subpar.
“and darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.”
The Masque of the Red Death is an interesting movie that finds itself in the middle of Corman’s Poe cycle. Its existential theme marks a departure from the previous Poe films, with a corresponding change in style. The movie is a combination of ideas from Poe’s short story of the same name and Hop-Frog, another one of his stories.
The Masque of the Red Death poster starring Vincent Price
Vincent Price plays the malevolent Prince Prospero, who is a ruthless nobleman in medieval Europe. Prospero is evil; he openly worships Satan, and encourages his subjects to do the same. The interesting thing about the Prince is that he claims he arrived at his philosophy through empirical observation. A world with so much terror, death, war and disease could not possibly be ruled by a compassionate and loving god, but rather a god like Satan. (he might have a point there)
To please his Master, Prospero rules his subjects without mercy. He demonstrates his lack of compassion throughout the film, beginning in the opening scene where he orders an entire village burned to the ground after he witnesses a woman die from the Red Death, which is a plague that causes bleeding from the pores and can kill the infected within an hour’s time. After being insulted by two of the local villagers, Prospero orders them to be garroted, but decides to temporarily delay their executions because of the pleas of the young village girl Francesca(Jane Asher). Prospero takes all three as captives and returns to his castle, which is believed to be the only haven in the region safe from the Red Death.
As a show of generosity and power, Prospero invites the nobles from across the region to stay within his castle and remain safe from the deadly plague. Most of them come immediately, and are lavished with feasts, parties, and other entertainment from the decadent prince. In the meanwhile, Prospero courts his lovely captive Francesca, much to the dismay of his current wife Juliana(Hazel Court). The fate of the other two captives, Francesca’s father and her boyfriend, is eventually determined by Prospero. For the enjoyment of the audience, he forces the prisoners to cut themselves with a different knife alternately; one of the blades being envenomed by a deadly poison.
This deadly spectacle is not enough to satisfy the crowd’s appetite for amusement, so the Prince declares a Masque will be held at midnight. Near the end, Prospero’s power is put to a final test: Death personified comes calling at his castle in the form of a red-robed figure, and the Prince learns who the master of Death really is.
I found this film difficult to critique because it’s so unlike most of the other Poe adaptations. I enjoyed watching Price as Prospero expound his Satanic philosophy, but found the movie dragged out a bit. It’s not as scary as some of the more straightforward gothic horror movies, but it is definitely more brutal. As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, this movie is more existential in style; it ponders over the concepts of religion, power, and death, and how the common human fits in.
The script and dialog waver back and forth between excellent and perfunctory, and the performances vary accordingly. Vincent Price delivers some great lines, but has his share that fall completely flat, especially during some of the more dramatic moments. Jane Asher as Francesca was decent, but I found myself much more interested in the very dishy Hazel Court. It’s a shame she didn’t have a larger role.
It seems Corman had a bit more time and money to make this movie, and the sets reflect it. The interior of the castle is well done, and the single colored chambers add a dramatic touch, especially in the black and red room where the satanic ceremonies are held.
The avatars of Death were probably my favorite part of the movie. The costumes and the dialog were great. The scene where the avatar of the Red Death is conversing with Prospero is gripping, and the final scene where the multiple avatars of Death are discussing how many people they killed ends the movie perfectly.
The closing credits are nicely done as well. I wish they would have used those as the opening credits instead. Pretty creepy stuff there.
“and the deep and dank tarn closed silently over the fragments of the House of Usher.”
The House of Usher starring Vincent Price is the first movie in the decade-long cycle of Poe adaptations by Roger Corman and AIP. These movies are not strict interpretations of the Poe short stories because they are not generally suited to being converted into full length motion pictures as is; the movies feature expanded storylines that are usually in the spirit of the Poe’s original work. (towards the end of the cycle AIP started labeling movies with Poe titles even though the script and the short stories shared little in common) The House of Usher was a breakout success at the time of its release, and is still considered a gothic horror classic today.
House of Usher starring Vincent Price
The film begins when Philip Winthrop(Mark Damon) journeys to the dilapidated Usher mansion which is isolated in a desolate landscape. Winthrop has traveled there to call on his fiancée, Madeline Usher(Myrna Fahey), and return to Boston with her. Upon arrival, he is denied admittance to the residence by the butler on the standing order of Roderick Usher(Vincent Price). After demanding to see Madeline, Winthrop is confronted by the eerie, brooding Roderick, who suffers from a “morbid acuteness of the senses.” The story slowly unfolds as Winthrop learns more about the treacherous history of the Usher family and the curse of the mansion. Tension builds as Roderick forbids Madeline to leave with Winthrop, and the conflict causes the delicate Madeline to fall ill. To the dismay of Winthrop, Madeline suddenly dies and is interred in the family crypt almost immediately by a relieved Roderick. Winthrop seems resigned to Madeline’s death and makes plans to return to Boston until the butler carelessly slips and reveals that Madeline suffers from frequent episodes of catalepsy. The climax comes soon afterwards as the horrified Winthrop learns Madeline’s fate, which is shared by Roderick and the house itself.
I have watched this movie countless times, and upon each viewing I still find myself gripped by Vincent Price’s performance, which is subdued yet chilling. He manages to seem both effete and menacing, with the assistance of the superb costume and makeup. I can say without reservation that his performance in the House of Usher ranks among the best of his career.
The supporting cast is excellent as well. Mark Damon has the difficult task of portraying Winthrop, which demands him to tread the fine line between being emotional yet strong willed. He must also shoulder the sympathy of the viewer in the process, which he does effectively.
The only criticism of the movie that I have deals with the quality of some of the scenes in the climax. Some of the shots seem a little cheesy, which are undoubtedly due to the limited budget and constraints of the special effects. This doesn’t impact the movie’s overall success, however.
The House of Usher is certified Vincent Price gold, and easily makes it into the top 10 best movies of his career.
In 1969, AIP was coming to the tail end of their Poe adaptation cycle, and it’s here we find The Oblong Box. It doesn’t share anything in common with the Poe story at all; it’s something they just decided to slap on for publicity. They had good reason to trump up the marketing, because not even Christopher Lee or Vincent Price can save this piece of rubbish. It’s bad…really bad.
The Oblong Box starring Vincent Price
The film opens with a weird scene where an african witch doctor is doing something to someone, who we later find out is Edward Markham, the brother of Julian Markham(Vincent Price). What the witch doctor is doing is not revealed(witch doctor stuff i guess), but apparently it’s vicious enough to drive Edward insane and leave him disfigured. Cut back to England, where Julian has his crazy brother chained up in the attic. A group of conspirators get another witch doctor to shoot some kind of medicine pellet into his room, which he ingests. The drug puts Edward in a state resembling death, and when his brother finds him they nail him in a coffin and bury him. Fortunately for Edward, the nefarious Dr. Neuhart(Christopher Lee) needs cadavers for his medical experiments, and is promptly exhumed. The rest of the movie is a collection of mismatched scenes where Edward takes his revenge on those who wronged him, including several people that have nothing to do with the story whatsoever.
There’s a funny scene in the movie Ed Wood where Ed says to the movie producer, “If you take a crap movie and put a star in it, then you’ve got something.” The producer bluntly responds, “Yeah, crap with a star.” Two stars, in this case.
Vincent Price looks absolutely bored to tears in this movie. He phones in a mediocre performance beginning at scene one. It’s hard to blame him though, because the god awful script doesn’t give him much to work with. Contractual obligations can be a bitch sometimes.
Christopher Lee does his standard Christopher Lee thing as the icy doctor, but his performance is wasted because his character exists solely as a necessity of the plot and is not fleshed out in any way.
Did I mention how bad the plot is? Well, it’s terrible. It makes no sense, so don’t even try to piece it all together in your brain.
Do yourself a favor and don’t watch this movie. Also, I recommend that you smash with a hammer any VHS/DVD copies of this movie you are unfortunate enough to find so that others may be spared of the agonizing experience that is The Oblong Box.
Released in 1962
Directed by Roger Corman
Written by Richard Matheson, inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe short stories
“Bring on the wine! Bring on the wine!”
Tales of Terror
Tales of Terror is another one of Roger Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe adaptation films from the sixties. It consists of three separate story segments: Morella, The Black Cat, and Facts In the Case Of M. Valdemar - with segues narrated by Vincent Price, who plays a different character in each story. Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone star in the second and third segments, respectively. While the first segment is weak, the film improves in the second and third segments due to the comedic stylings of Lorre and the creepy performance of Rathbone.
The first story, Morella, is loosely inspired by the short story of the same name. Despite getting off to a spooky start similar in style to the Pit and the Pendulum and the House of Usher, this segment sputters out in the end. Even Price’s engaging performance fails to bandage the mismatched plot, which left me scratching my head. Thankfully the first segment is only twenty minutes long and we can move on to the next one, which is much more enjoyable.
The second story is more light-hearted than the first. It’s an amalgamation of Poe’s The Black Cat and The Cask of Amontillado. Peter Lorre plays Montresor, a professional alcoholic who is constantly hassling his wife for drinking money while frequently abusing his poor cat. One evening in a stroke of inebriated luck, he finds himself at a wine tasting convention where he brashly challenges Fortunato (Price), the most respected connoisseur. The tasting competition that ensues is worth a chuckle or two as Price and Lorre try to outdo each other. (it’s reported that they got drunk in real life while filming this scene) The segment takes a darker turn after this when Montresor begins to question his wife’s fidelity and plots revenge, Poe style, and multiple people end up being buried alive. (the cat survives, at least)
This brings us to the third and final segment: Facts In the Case Of M. Valdemar. Vincent Price plays Valdemar, a man afflicted by a terminal disease who employs a creepy hypnotist(Rathbone) to relieve him of the uncomfortable physical symptoms. The hypnotist requires only one thing in compensation: permission to use his hypnotic skills on Valdemar the instant before his death. The motives of Rathbone’s character are unknown, but Valdemar’s regular doctor suspects the hypnotist may have designs on Valdemar’s beautiful wife. The chilling climax comes when Valdemar dies(kind of) and the true motives of the hypnotist are revealed.
Overall I’d say this film is so-so. While the first segment is weak, the second and third help to even it out. The performances of all the main actors are entertaining, but the supporting cast is somewhat forgettable. If you are interested in the Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, try watching another one of these: Pit and the Pendulum, House of Usher, Masque of the Red Death
